Feeling stretched

There are many things that make having a large family challenging. Dont get me wrong I wouldnt have it any other way, but never the less there are still challenges. For example clothing. Oh how I loath clothing. There is always just way to much of it. About every 6 months I go through all the clothes and get rid of things that are stained or ruined. Yet what about ALL those clothes whether it is out of season clothes or the unreal amount of hand me down clothes. I cant seem to find a system that works for me. I had been doing all winter clothes together (or vice versa) and then going through them at the beginning of the season and pulling out everything that were the right sizes and then packing up the other season. Yet there are just to many sizes for this to be efficent any more. Now we are adding girl clothes to the mix.

The other problem I have is there is not enough of me to keep this house clean. This may sound crazy to some, but nevertheless it is true. My house is to big to keep clean. I can keep it tidy, thats not the problem. Its the deep cleaning that I never get around to, because keeping it tidy is a full time job. Yes, my boys are all responsible for keeping many rooms clean. Which helps to some degree. Old homes like this are so dusty and they have extra features to get dusty.

I can create a pretty mean cleaning schedule but it just doesnt matter if you cant keep to it. I guess I just need to try harder, work more deligently and organize better. There has got to be a way to make this work more efficiently.
Any ideas?

Edited later in the day: So far today I have deep cleaned my bedroom, which included going through all the clothes in my closet and getting rid of ...you know, the size 8's I wore a few years ago and will never fit into again. I also went through some totes of clothes that were stacked in my room and sorted through those. I dusted from the ceiling to the floor, that was an undertaking. Swept and sh-moped the floor and put away all 6 loads of clean laundry that were hanging out in laundry baskets in my room.

I cleaned Eve's room. I had not cleaned it sense my mother left, that is were she was sleeping and had her stuff. So I dusted in there and changed sheets and comforters and windexed and got that weird person smell out (other people always smell different than your family) I put all her clothes back in there restocked the changing table and made it pretty again.

In our home on the second level, there is a long hallway that goes from one end of the house to the other. I vaccumed and dusted the stair railings and base boards and swept and
sh-moped the floor and wiped down all the doors leading into the different rooms.

The boys 2 bedrooms are left up there (not going to be my job) so all that is left is the boys bathroom and the upstairs will be done!!!!! I started this at 9:45 and it is now 2:25. I am hoping to get the downstairs done today as well and then come up with a plan to maintain, while maybe deep cleaning a room a day or possibly three rooms on "deep-clean Friday"
(which we have been missing these past few months)

I think that with me not having been feeling well the past 3 months, I am way behind and need to just dig in and catch myself up. The first few months of pregnancy really takes its toll on me and my home. So off I go, I here the boys upstairs cleaning their room. YAY!

Edited even later in the day: It is 5:00 and I am pooped! Not to mention burning up. During the later part of the day the house gets very hot. In rooms with no AC units it is about 90 degrees. That tends to pull the uummph right out of me. So I havent finished the entire downstairs. I cleaned the bathroom, swept and sh-moped the halls and entryway and excersice room downstairs. I spent the past two hours in the library. The kids love to come in here and build forts with the couch cushions. Play in all the art supplies. Cut up paper and leave little pieces all over the place. Eve loves to pull ALL the books off the shelves and leave them lieing everywhere. I on the same note had way to many stacks of paper that needed to be gone through. I also swept and moped and dusted. There is still some work that needs to by tied up in the library but that can happen tomorrow. All that is left is the Living room, dinning room, kitchen and utility room. Those will have to wait until early tomorrow morning. Except of course the kitchen, its where Im heading next. I know you are exhausted from reading this long drawn out post of mine, but if you head on over to Blest with Sons Blog
you will find an actual uplifting & good post about hard work pertaining to house cleaning.

A trip to......

So its been over 100 degress outside for a good 2 months now....what is a mother to do with 5 energetic boys who will only play outside if the sprinklers are on? I'll tell you what she does. She wakes all her little precious men up at 7:00 am. Gets them dressed, fed and they head out the door by 7:30 am to the park. Where they proceed to run and jump and spin and play. We sat at the pond and watched the ducks while a cool breeze came off the water. It was so peaceful!

The Fruit of Her Hands

I am about halfway through a very wonderful book (so far) called The fruit of her hands written by Nancy Wilson. You can purchase it through Cannon Press. The chapter I just finished reading is titled Respect and Finances. Here is an excerpt:

Now I want to address a specific area in which women have trouble submitting. What if your husband fails to provide for you? What if you are hopelessly in debt, and he is not bringing home an adequate paycheck? There are several temptations you need to avoid in this situation.

First, do not seek to protect him from the consequences of his folly. Even though you may want the Lord to "wake him up", most wives do not want the Lord to be too rough on their husbands. We want to shield the blow, ease the hardship, or take on some resposibility ourselves. But this will only drag out the problem. You must allow the consequences to fall on his shoulders, no matter how hard it may be for you to watch. I am certainly not saying that you take a morbid delight in seeing your husband go through difficult times. Of course you must be a support and help and source of encouragment, but that is a completely different thing then trying to shoulder responsibilities that are not yours. When a wife tries to bear the responsibilities that her husband should be bearing, she suffers.

Have you ever been here? I know I have in the past. Your situation may not be as extreme as what is mentioned above, but it all boils down to the same thing. I think that a very real problem in this country and many others is that the man no longer has HIS place. The woman can do just as much, probably better. Society has taken away a mans role, resposibilities, place, status, headship ect. What is he left with? He is left a boy and can not grow fully into the man he is supposed to be. We as wives need to step back and allow our husbands to take their place in the home. Allow them to step up, maybe fall down...stand up again, wipe their scrapes off and become the awesome men God intends for them to be.

Why Children?

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Why Children?



Each year the Russian population decreases by about one million. With a 0.8 child-per-family average, a higher rate of abortions than births, and a systemic birth-control and anti-child philosophy, the Russian people are not only facing the extinction of their family life, but the loss of their culture to other groups with an aggressive pro-child philosophy. Russians, like Germans and other European peoples, are finding that Muslims increasingly govern the economic infrastructure of their nation. Why? Because Muslims can fill the jobs, then send others to fill more jobs, and eventually dominate the marketplace. They average more than four children per family and their faith emphasizes the necessity of strong family culture built on loyalty and shared beliefs -- thus ensuring the birth of even more Muslims to further populate and influence the nation.

When it comes to viewing children as a blessing, most Muslims are closer to the biblical paradigm than the typical professing Christian evangelical. This is not a vindication of Islam, just an observation that Mohammedanism is aggressively populating the world using a borrowed Christian doctrine, and proving that even a broken clock is right twice a day. The fact that many of their beliefs are Satanically inspired and completely foreign to the biblical notion of the family is beyond the scope of this newsletter. The point is, their religion and influence is spreading exponentially, while nations that once claimed a Christian worldview are dieing in direct proportion to their philosophy of children.

Americans are not immune, and Christians tend to be the worst at concocting all sorts of reasons to reject children. Far too many have bought hook, line, and sinker into the contraceptive mentality. Even worse, they have rationalized twisted notions of personal freedom, "household order," and "self-fulfillment" as the basis for rejecting the second greatest gift after salvation which God gives to man and woman: a child.

The decision to prevent children because "they are too expensive" (as if God cannot provide for the living souls He places in your home); or that they are "too much of a burden" (as if the inconvenience of training children outweighs the blessing of nurturing souls which will live for all of eternity), is fundamentally a function of the selfishness of our age. I have actually heard Bible-believing parents make a "quality of life" argument that one should not have a child unless one can assure the ability to "send them to a good college."

Some have even argued that "it may be good stewardship of time and resources" not to have children. If this is true, please show me any clear pattern, precept, or principle in the Bible that links the notion of stewardship with the act of cutting off the godly seed (no out-of-context prooftexting, speculations, or bizarre analogies, please). Remarkably, those who make this last argument are usually typical Americans who, from a standard-of-living perspective, are fabulously wealthy compared to 99% of the people who ever lived. The fact is, God says to the rich and the poor: "children are a blessing" and "be fruitful and multiply." (A friend of mine has correctly observed that the Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing, but in our culture we apply for curses and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture.)

Given the overwhelming admonitions and evidence found in Scripture that parents should trust God for children, the burden of proof for presenting a theological argument for not having children is squarely placed on the proponents of child-prevention -- not on those who see children as an inherent blessing.

In point of fact, the Bible knows nothing of the child-prevention philosophy. It teaches precisely the opposite. In Scripture, we are taught that having children (and lots of them -- "to be fruitful") is part of the prime directive for every parent. The book of Malachi even declares, "for this cause did I make the two one, that they would bring forth a Godly seed." The Bible explains that our children are our true riches, more precious than gold and silver; they are our inheritance, and a blessing from the Lord. The Bible is replete with examples of "poor" and "rich" men rewarded with many children, thus demonstrating that there is no correlation in the Scriptures between economic status and the blessing of children. Children help to define our God-ordained mission in life. God's commandment to families was that they were to be fruitful and multiply, and, with that as a foundation, would take godly dominion over the earth. Each of us are to pray for and prepare our children to know Jesus Christ, and to be faithful covenant-keepers, thus perpetuating the Church of Jesus Christ, and defeating the enemy with righteous population.

PARENTHOOD as a LIFE MISSION

The view I have just articulated is not popular today. It is rarely preached from the pulpit. But once upon a time, it was an unquestioned assumption of orthodox Christianity, as is evidenced from Christian writings ranging from the Church Fathers to the Reformers. Each of us needs to be reminded of the rich pro-child philosophy from past centuries, which is why we must read the right books. This year, a number of the families of the Vision Forum have been reading Home-Making, a remarkable book written in the 19th century. With theological precision, but also passion and poetry of expression, the author communicates the joy and significance of children and parenthood. The book is my top recommendation from our catalog for this year. Following is an excerpt:

God has so constituted us that in loving and caring for our own children the richest and best things in our natures are drawn out. Many of the deepest and most valuable lessons ever learned are read from the pages of unfolding child-life. We best understand the feelings and affections of God toward us when we bend over our own child and see in our human parenthood a faint image of the divine Fatherhood. Then in the culture of character there is no influence more potent than that which touches us when our children are laid in our arms. Their helplessness appeals to every principle of nobleness in our hearts. Their innocence exerts over us a purifying power. The thought of our responsibility for them exalts every faculty of our souls. In the very care which they exact, they bring blessing to us. When old age comes, very lonely is the home which has neither son nor daughter to return with grateful ministries, to bring solace and comfort to the declining years!

It is a new marriage when the first-born enters the home. It draws the wedded lives together in a closeness they have never known before. It touches chords in their hearts that have lain silent until now. It calls out powers that have never been exercised before. Hitherto unsuspected beauties of character appear. The laughing heedless girl of a year ago is transformed into a thoughtful woman. The careless, unsettled youth leaps into manly strength and into fixedness of character when he looks into the face of his own child and takes it in his bosom. New aims rise up before the young parents, new impulses begin to stir in their hearts. Life takes on at once a new and deeper meaning. The glimpse they have had into its solemn mystery sobers them. The laying in their hands of a new and sacred burden, an immortal life, to be guided and trained by them, brings to them a sense of responsibility that makes them thoughtful. Self is no longer the centre. There is a new object to live for, an object great enough to fill all their life and engross their highest powers. It is only when the children come that life becomes real, that parents begin to learn to live. We talk about training our children, but they train us first, teaching us many a sacred lesson, stirring up in us many a slumbering gift and possibility, calling out many a hidden grace and disciplining our wayward powers into strong and harmonious character.

'Children are God's apostles, day by day
Sent forth to preach of love, of hope, of peace.'

Our homes would be very cold and dreary without the children. Sometimes we weary of their noise. They certainly bring us a great deal of care and solicitude. They cost us no end of toil. When they are very young they break our rest many a weary night with their colics and teethings, and when they grow older they well-nigh break our hearts many a time with their waywardness. After they come to us we may as well bid farewell to living for self and to personal ease and independence if we mean to do faithful duty as parents. There are some who therefore look upon the coming of children as a misfortune. They talk about them lightly as 'responsibilities.' They regard them as in the way of their pleasure. They see no blessing in them. But it is cold selfishness that looks upon children in this way. Instead of being hindrances to true and noble living, they are helps. They bring benedictions from heaven when they come, and while they stay they are perpetual benedictions.

'Ah! what would the world be to us
If the children were no more?
We should dread the desert behind us
Worse than the dark before.

'What the leaves are to the forest,
With light and air for food,
Ere their sweet and tender juices
Have been hardened into wood,--

'That to the world are children;
Through them it feels the glow
Of a brighter and sunnier climate
Than reaches the trunks below.'

When the children come what shall we do with them? What duties do we owe to them? How may we discharge our responsibility? What is the parents' part in making the home and the home-life? It is impossible to overstate the importance of these questions.

It is a great thing to take these young and tender lives, rich with so many possibilities of beauty, of joy, of power, all of which may be wrecked, and to become responsible for their shaping and training and for the upbuilding of their character. This is what must be thought of in the making of a home. It must be a home in which children will grow up for true and noble life, for God and for heaven. Upon the parents the chief response rests. They are the builders of the home. From them it receives its character, whether good or evil. It will be just what they make it. If it be happy, they must be the authors of the happiness; if it be unhappy, the blame must rest with them. Its tone, its atmosphere, its spirit, its influence, it will take from them. They have the making of the home in their own hands, and God holds them responsible for it.



CLOSING COMMENTS

Last two thoughts from me: First, for those that God has not blessed with children: be at peace. God has a plan for you as well -- perhaps even rescuing a child from abortion or abandonment through adoption. (My own bride was adopted and for this I am eternally grateful.) The point, however, is that all of us must have a child-loving, family-oriented vision -- this vision is not just for present parents, but also for the single, the barren, and the aged. God places the solitary in families. His plan for the elderly is not to be playing golf in Florida, but to speak into the lives of grandchildren. Each of us is to live in and around families, and to encourage families as foundational to the strength of the local church, the community, and society. Each of us has a role to play affirming the blessing of children to the body of Christ.

Second, if you are a parent, it is not enough to know that children are a blessing. You must passionately feel it. You must crave your children, rejoice in them, and long for their love as an all-consuming hope, second only to your love of Christ and your spouse. Every time you look at them, you must say to yourself "I am blessed. Thank you God." You must cry to Heaven: "Thank you God for this undeserved reward." The thought of these little ones must bless you as no earthly entertainment or comfort could ever bless you.

But this is not enough. Each of us must act must act upon this passion. It is not enough to be hearers, or even "feelers" of the Word. We must be doers. That means action, interaction, engagement, and involvement. And this for a lifetime with your progeny. After all, what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, but to lose the souls of his children thanks to his own neglect and indifference.

"Dear Lord, bless us with a life-affirming, child-loving passion for our children, and for those children yet to be born."

A busy Saturday!

So today will not be a day of rest and relaxation. I have got to get some things done around here. My to do list goes something like this:
Clean master bedroom....boys clean there room....clean the rest of upstairs
Clean and organize the library and ALL paperwork for school and business....put away ALL the clean laundry....Prepare new master schedule and chore chart....create an art folder for Jordan to keep all his master pieces in ;-))

Then on Sunday I will plan and get together all the school work for the next 4 weeks. That should take most of the day. So I am off the computer and on to work.
I think the picture below is cute so just wanted to share.



Miss Eve

My Lovely Children

"Summer of 2006"

Out of the mouths of babes

My older boys get tired of cereal ( I am that mean mom who only allows them to eat the healthy cereals) and some mornings I just don't feel like making a 4 course breakfast. This was one of those mornings. So the older two boys made themselves cinnamon toast. The younger ones I just made bowls of cereal for. Well my 5 year old wanted cinnamon toast to, but I told him that I didn't feel like making cinnamon toast this morning (I know bad mom)

He looks at me and says why did they get cinnamon toast? I said lovingly, "well they didn't listen to mommy" (I had told them to eat some cereal when they asked what was for breakfast) so he thinks about it for a second then says "I no listen to you to, mommy!"

What a cutie!

Brother and Sister

These two are inseperable. Jordan from day one has taken great care of her. He gets her out of bed in the morning.

When she is taking a nap and it has been about 2 hours, Jordan will say "mom should I go check on Eve?"

She loves him just as much. She was sucking her thumb with her head laying on his shoulder right before I took these pictures. So adorable!

Arent kids the best!!!

I'm down here..............

...........can you hear me? Under the various piles of paperwork that need to be dealt with. Underneath all the clean clothes that need to be put away. No wait, I'm under this big huge to do list with a hundred things written on it, and another 50 that I keep forgetting to write on it.

Call this person....make this appointment...finish this bid on the computer....schedule the next few months....complete school work with all the children....keep the house clean....make healthy meals that ALL the kids will love (hahaha).

It seems that as my life around me keeps getting bigger, I remain only one person! Two...Three...Five...Seven children. Still one me!

One...Two...four...grades to teach. Still one me!

1100...1800...2400...3000...3600 sq ft to clean. Still one me!

I am realizing that as life gets bigger you have to become more of a micro manager...with super human organizational skills...and the determination to walk through a day with the job of six profesionals on your one, not so super human back!

Will I make it to the surface? That is still to be determined.

That one "special" child

My darling almost 7 year old, my 3rd son, Seth. Oh how I just cant seem to understand how you are wired. You were the absolute most perfect baby to ever grace this earth. You never really complained about anything, and you waited patiently in all things. Then one day something happened. Maybe the earth shifted just a smidge, but something was thrown terribly off.

From the time you hit 3 you became a different little boy. Always getting into things....over and over again. No spanking or punishment or talking to ever swerved your determination. If we are in a busy place you are the one that will wonder off. Perhaps we could just call you strong willed, determined, focused. But I don't think that paints the whole picture.

You anger your poor older brothers into oblivion. Of which it seems they can not return. They have known you to be this way for so long, always causing problems, not playing right, tearing up their games, that I'm not sure you will ever be able to redeem yourself. I am not really sure what to do to help you understand. I have explained to you what I feel you need to know in order to be an easier person to be around. Yes, it is true that at this point your brothers have built a resistance to you, perhaps they are just as much a part of the problem as you are.

I thought for sure with age it would get better (and it has a bit). You guys would have more in common. You would mature a bit and understand what is appreciated in a relationship. You are so kind in other ways, cuddly and loving. Its not all bad. Perhaps you are just that special child in the family, that no one ever really understood, who will go on to change the world.

I pray dear son that you will develop great discernment and wisdom in all things. That you will know without a dought the difference between wrong and right, and that you will always choose what is right. A personality like yours has to know these things. I pray that you direct all your ways to The Lord and use all that determination for good!

The Lord hears our prayers

So, she is gone. She left this morning not saying where she was off to, but at least she is off to somewhere. I am sad in a way, not that she has gone, but that it just cant be different. I am pretty sure this is the end of our relationship. If I hear from her again I would be surprised.

My 5 year old said "granny is moving back to her house?" (he doesnt realize that some people dont have homes) I said "yes honey she has moved back" and he said "but she didnt say good buy to me" I could see it in his eyes that he was hurt. But that is how it goes I guess, with people who are only really interested in themselves. They just cant even imagine that they may be hurting someone else.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. The Lord was listening. It didnt seem that she would be in a position to leave for a few more weeks, yet she left today. So, He made a way. Just like He always does. I do hope....and feel confident that I did all that I could have done for her, although I'm sure she doesnt see it that way. All that matters really to me is what The Lord thinks. Again thank you all!

Have a BLESSED Day!

Some added thoughts on yesterdays post

I wanted to say that I realize it seems I could be harboring horrible unforgiveness for my mother through my words. But I want to make it clear that I am not. I have forgiven her and do so on a daily basis, as she speaks hurtful things to me. I realize that she is what she is and doesn't even see the error of her ways.

My real struggle is that the peace and tranquility that I and all moms, who love their home and families create around them, is shattered at this time. There is no refuge for me right now. So I try and write it out as not to say anything harmful in return to her. Maybe grasping for that one ounce of truth to combat all her deception.

There is great power in forgiveness and we must all forgive one another. We do not however have to continue to be beat down and emotional drained by those who we really have no responsibility to. I have learned much through this time. My eyes have been opened and things revealed that make me a stronger person. I have such gratitude that The Lord has given me a sound mind and an understanding spirit. There really is no greater gift aside from salvation. It has been a spiritual battle. As she speaks to me and then the devil backs up her words in my mind. I then have to sift through it and put it all back under the truth. It can make you very weary. But as I said before, I am getting stronger and learning how to stand firm in My Lord and not lies. I am just ready to be through this so that I can be a mom and wife to my best ability without having to be on guard all the time. That time will come. That time will come!

What to Do??

Have you ever just been in an impossible situation, where you just know that if you have to bear another day of it you will surly die. That has been my life in my home for the past 2 months. Many know that my mother (whom I really dont know) called unexpectadly and said that she needed a place to stay. In hind sight I should have said "I am very sorry, but that is not possible" But me being the ever so forgiving and helpful person that I am (like a sucker) said sure I suppose you can.

I have tried, I really have. But the thing about her is she lives in a different reality than most. A place where the devil is always after her. She never wants to let anyone know her business because they might curse her. This is a self proclaimed christian woman. But I am having a hard time finding the fruit. I have searched I really have. I want so much to believe that she is not some disfunctional person.
She has come into my home and told me how I should be and act and made reference to the "lie" that I am not as close to The Lord as she is. Or perhaps that I am not christian at all. Yet I look at her and think are you serious? Here you stand before me with nothing and no one at the age of 56. You have nothing! Oh I'm sorry I forgot it has nothing to do with your decisions in life...it was all the devils doing. I know the devil lady. I also know that if you are under the blood of Jesus, the devil cannot touch you without The Lords permission or you opening the door and letting him in.

I cant really take much more of this! She had been givin 2 weeks to get herself together and move out, yet she cant keep a job. I feel sorry for her, that she cant find peace in her life. But I feel like she has stolen mine. Her very presence makes my spirit cringe. I have tried and given all that I can give, but I am a grown woman and this is my home and I need it to be a safe place for me and my family. It is not safe right now.

Am I wrong for saying such harsh things about the woman who gave birth to me? I dont know. I guess the Lord will let me know on judgment day, if I am right or wrong. But is it worth my peace to allow her to stay. Should my life be thrown out of wack, because she cant handle hers? She has been asked to leave and yet feels like she doesnt have to, due to the job situations. I didnt say if all works out according to your plans, you can leave in 2 weeks. I said you need to be out in 2 weeks. Yet here she stays. I guess I need a place to go for a few weeks until she is gone.

Ugh

I must have dove head first back into the trenches this morning. I have had a miserable day. I seem to have this recurring migraine headache, that hit me so hard today (of course while Rob was gone). I seriously thought I wasn't going to make it through it. I could not open my eyes because the light was piercing. Not to mention the awful nausea that accompanies a migraine. I took 2 Excedrin Migraine and it has taken the edge off. I don't feel as though my head is about to implode. Although it is still pounding. I have locked myself away in the library on the couch (its the coolest room in the house). Eve has been so sweet. Its like she knows I don't feel well and she has just been playing quietly in here while I rest. The boys are in the rest of the house, behaving.

My friend Emily (she's on the MOMYS list) had her baby this morning. A little girl! YAY! Congratulations Em. I don't know any details except that none of the midwives made it in time, so it was a family affair.

Ahhh, the light at the end of the tunnel

Today has been a fabulous day in prego land. I have felt wonderful. I woke up feeling good (which usually is the case) so I thought, I will get busy early this morning and get some house work done before the yukkies set in. I made breakfast, started laundry, washed breakfast dishes, moped the floor. When I realized, hey I am still not sick! So then I cleaned the bathrooms, made lunch, washed the lunch dishes, cut out material for a maternity dress (cut one side wrong, have to go get 2 more yards of material, sigh) and in all I did 7 loads of laundry and FOLDED and PUT THEM AWAY!!

It has been wonderful to feel like my old self. I did have about 30 minutes at about 3:00 where I thought here it comes, but it shortly subsided. Now if I make it through the late evening with out the quizzes I am home free! I seem to feel at my worst in the evenings. I am expecting the best though.

I received my NF prenatal vitamins in the mail today. I have heard some good things about them and thought I would give them a try. They are horse pills though, and you have to take 6 a day. If I could give advice to any lady just starting out in the season of pregnancies and nursing it is this. Take extra GREAT care of your self. I have always been really healthy. Although I was young when I had my first couple of kiddos and the body bounces back really fast. I was a size 6 a few weeks after having my 3rd child. But let me say the older I get(a whopin 30 now LOL) the more I can see where I should have taken prenatals and eaten better, TAKEN CALCIUM. I am horrible about taking things. I will take vitamins for a few weeks then I just fall away from it. So I say this on record now being pregnant with number 7 and nursing and growing all these wonderful babies, I should have taken my vitamins in years past. Another thing I suggest is to strengthen your tummy muscles while not prego. It is so important to have a strong core. And don't forget those Keigals. You should try and do 200 a day.

So if you are a momy who prays to have many pumpkins in your child bearing season take your vitamins, rest when your pregnant and for at least a week after delivery (I never can seem to do that one), and keep those baby carrying areas of your body toned.

May all those lovely ladies who are pregnant, have blessed healthy pregnancies and deliveries and babies. For those of you praying and waiting (eat a twinky) you know who you are ( I love you ;-) I did read the other day that a woman who is under 6% body fat will have a very difficult time concieving. I'll send you a box of Hostess!

Seeing Green

And not the paper kind! Apparently there is a really rare green rash going around. Have you heard about it? Yah, me neither, but here is what it looks like. It apparently only strikes naked children in diapers. So keep your children fully dressed and you might be able to keep it at bay. It also effects children in two's. So perhaps if you kept them all separated it wont visit your house. But in all honesty if you have a bunch of toddlers running around your house it will more likely than not make a visit to your home as well. I here it can come in many colors, preferably not the black permanent kind!

In the trenches

Thank you so much ladies for asking how I am feeling. I am presuming I am almost to week 10. It is funny the only thing keeping track for me is the ticker at the top of my page. I will click on my blog every couple of days and go " oh look Im 9 weeks today"

I am still in the trenches. I had my worst week yet this past 7 or so days. With horrible migraines and nausea at its height. The first few months of pregnancy are hard times for me and it is the only thing I dread about having more blessings. I feel totally unavailable to my kiddos. Meals around here become sandwiches and fast food. I struggle to keep up with the house, laundry, showering (LOL) and my adventurous 3 and 1 year olds.

But I thank the Heavenly Father He has blessed me with such an understanding husband, who tolerates it for a few months until I come back to life. The upside is that I have only been this sick before with my daughter, so I am really thinking we might be seeing pink again!

Touching Words

I am a member of a group called MOMYS (mothers of many young siblings). Here over 2000 ladies ask questions, give advice, encourage one another and share in each others losses and additions. I have learned alot on this list and met some ladies that have changed my life. It is a christian group and often there are questions concerning relegion or church, or the like. Here lately there has been much discusion on what it is that The Father asks of His children. We know we are to follow His commands, it says it over 200 times in the Scriptures. Often many dont know what that is. What are His commands. Well we have been taught that the 10 commandments are important to follow and that is absolutely true. But what about all those weird commands in the OT. We really dont have to follow that nonsense do we. It makes no sense, it can be bothersome and not to mention inconvenient. Does it matter if we follow the OT laws? Are we saved by following them. Absolutely not! Does it please The Father when we do what He asks? I think so! A question was asked about wearing only dresses and the lady asking the question basically said why should I "have to" when I dont feel like its for me. Below is a reply from a very wise woman Tina, she owns the group....here is what she says, and you can not put it in any plainer words than this

<<["Have to"? What do I "have to" do to be their mother? What do I "have
to" do to be his wife? What do I "have to" do to be her daughter? Think of the
many of us here who have lost children or parents or even husbands.
Is the attitude, "oh, good, I no longer "have to" serve them?

If you believe you "have to" - then that is legalism. You don't "do" things to
earn anything; not God's favor, not salvation, not glory or honor. These things we do as an outflowing of the love in our hearts to please and bless and
serve a God who has given us some indications of those things that please Him. Like baking your husband's favorite desert for his birthday. Do you "have to" or "get to"?

Praise God, I get to clean Skip's hair out of the sink and once in a while pick up his socks. Do I "have to"? Only if I want the blessings that result - a clean sink and a clean spot on the floor, and him knowing (maybe) that I am doing
some little thing as an act of love for him. It's an opportunity to say, "Thank You, God, that this man is in my life and I am in his home, and he is here to serve!" What if he was so distant from me that I didn't know which foods he
prefers? What words he likes to hear? Which is his favorite chair? How blessed and loved I feel when he brings me my favoirte flowers, or fixes me my favorite latte!

If Skip asks for oatmeal-raisin-nuts&cinnamon cookies on father's day, shall I bake oatmeal only because it is too much trouble to go the extra mile and add the nuts and cinnamon? Do I leave out the raisins because I don't like them? Who am I baking these for? Why? Do I "have to"?

If God says, "do this....." do we try to convince Him that something else means the same? Or do we try to figure out what it means to Him, and do that the best we can?

Maybe you think more about these things as you get older. What if we didn't know God? What if He hadn't sent His Spirit and His Son? What if He hadn't
allowed others to be grafted in to His family as adopted sons and daughters?

Tina]>>

Six Flags Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised of Six Flags. Look for the boys in light blue shirts. Devon is so scared of heights that he has his head bent down on most of the high flying rides. And Elijah was cute, as we were waiting to ride the tea cups he said "I want to ride the coffee" I love the toddler mind!

Bowling

The bowling alley here in town gives free bowling cards to the kids for the summer. They can bowl (shoes included) one free game everyday. Isnt that awesome! So we have been bowling alot lately. The boys are getting competitive and have made ribbons for the winner each time we go. So that is where we are going today!

We went to Six Flags this past Saturday and I took lots of fun pictures that I cant share with you because my adaptor cable for my camera is still MIA. Its just kinda boring to say "we went to six flags" and not back it up with some fun pictures of the kids on the rides. I will see if I can find one while Im out today running errands. I just know that as soon as I break down and buy one, mine will turn up.

Anyway, Im off to watch my boys bowl their little hearts out. Have a GREAT day!

Im melting

Well I was going to upload and share with yall the cute pink and maroon dress I sewed for Rob....haha, just checking to see if you were paying attention.... Eve. But apparently our child that I don't remember giving birth to "not me" has taken off with my adapter cable. So no pictures today.

So instead I will just complain about THE HEAT! Some of you will gasp when I tell you that our home does not have central heat and air. And from speaking to others in the area who have opted to put it in their 3500+ sq ft homes, it resulted in energy bills larger than their house payments. That is something we have opted against for the near future. Maybe when the house is paid off we can afford the energy payment and will install it then. So how is a Texas summer with out AC? Not fun!! We do have window units in all the bedrooms upstairs and in the library and dining room downstairs. Some of these are newly added just this summer. I look back on those past summers and wonder how in the world we survived. The first summer, we had 1 air conditioner in the boys dorm room. So the kids all slept well. Then the next summer we added one in our room because a baby was on the way. Then this past summer we added 3 more. 1 in the nursery (Eves room) and the 2 downstairs. We need one more in the living room and that should cover it. But even having the window units...it gets hot! The rooms and hallways without air, in the hot of the day stay at 85-90 degrees. So we hang out in the smaller rooms because they hold the air in better. Im not sure how I did it last year with no air in the downstairs of the house. But I am soooo happy there is some relief this year.

I give my humble ode to those who wore layers of dresses, aprons and bonnets while working in the hot summers. That's when woman were woman. LOL I feel a certain kinship to those woman of old and bach at those who bask in there artificial 75 degree environment. Just Kidding...Im really jealous of you. So go cook dinner in comfort and I have got some dishes to do in the sauna.

All in the spirit of saving a few dollars

So when we first bought our home 2 years ago we tried going through Farm Bureau....who provides our other insurance needs, for our homeowners policy. Of course the house was, is, super old and needed painting at the time we bought it, so long story short they denied us. We had heard that getting insurance on large older homes in our area was not impossible, but difficult. We did find a company to cover us at a large increase in premium.

So here we are 2 years later and I thought what tha hay...lets try again. So they came out and took pictures and all that good stuff. I get a call from our insurance agent today Drew...yes we are on a first name basis with our insurance agent.....not because we are always making claims...infact we have never made a claim...I think that is just the perk of paying the company so much on a monthly basis. Our faces and names are probably on a poster in his office with the title over insured. Oh by the way Ann, Drew said to tell you hello, LOL...he really did!

OK Im getting back on track now, so he calls and says "well, the only problem they have is the door that leads to no where off your second story. There is this door you see, that actually leads to the roof, which used to be a deck on the roof of the kitchen. Im not sure... its weird. So yes, at the end of the hallway upstairs there is a door that leads out of the house, to nothing. I was shocked that THIS was the excuse they were going to use. They say its because someone might walk out the door not knowing there is nothing there and fall to their death.

So, I plead my case. I pull out the old faithful "look, we have lived here for 2 years with 5 small boys, dont you think that if someone were going to get that door open and fall off they would have done it by now?"

Then I say well we will just nail it closed and take the door knob off? Apparently not good enough either. Then I remembered that my husband just bought some gorilla glue at Home Depot, I promised we would gorilla glue it shut. He laughed hysterically for a good few minutes at that one. What?...I was serious.

Then I asked if we could just put up a sign on the inside of the door that read "if you can actually pry this gorilla glued door open and walk 10 feet to the edge of the roof, then plummet to your demise, you deserve the 300,000 in liability insurance, only those truly committed may enter"

So long story short if we want better coverage and cheaper premiums we have to remove the door and either wall it in or make it a window. Is nothing ever easy? You would think that the garage that is falling over and might crush someone at any moment would be more of a hazard? But I am just a silly consumer, what do I know?

I haven't posted a good yucky post in a while.....

....so here goes. As you know we buried our beloved Diddy the cat a few days ago. Today, I had sat down at the computer and heard some scratching noise on the side of the house that the cat is buried on. So I gasp in fear that my concern a few days ago was coming true.

I jump up and look out the window to see it....yes....the dog was digging him up. Devon was standing there and I yell, RUN DEVON....RUN. He knew what I was talking about without me even saying what was wrong. The smell apparently on day 3 of being buried is pretty bad and the dog smelled it and wanted to find out what it was.

We caught him right before he got to the blue blanket he was wrapped up in was visible(this dog can dig wholes like no other). The smell was putrid, pregnantly nauseous or not. We covered him back up and I advised Devon to find a bunch of rocks to put over the cat in hopes that the dog will not try it again.

So I am spending my whole day looking out the window. I need to run to the bread store but I am afraid of what I might come home to. The best part is that I emailed Rob to let him know what Maverick (the dog) did. And his reply was "sorry, I thought that might happen once the cat started stinking" Yep, love you to sweety!

So there you go, are ya grossed out yet? If not give me a few more hours and Im sure I can come up with something else that is sure to deliver.

What The day Holds

This will be a boring post....its what I have to do today. (if my car will start)

1) Pay Bills
2) Go to post office
3) Go to Wal-Mart and buy groceries and stuff
4) Boil Chicken for the week (cant wait to smell that smell, ughh)
5) Laundry
6) Clean bathrooms

All of this while wearing a little white up-chuck bag around my neck, and hoping that I can find something to duck behind when the urge comes. Oh happy days! Only 6 more weeks to go ;-((

Ode to Baby Diddy

My husband walked in after work one day and inside his lunch box was this little tiny kitten. It had fallen asleep in the tire well of one of his co-workers trucks and ended up at work. So here is this cute little kitty, who Ethan lovingly would call baby diddy, henceforth came his name only shortened to Diddy. This cat became the possession of Devon, Im not sure why. Maybe because he and Devon just bonded.

So a year has passed sense Diddy came to live with us. He was an indoor-outdoor cat, and loved to fight with the neighborhood bully. Who beat him up on an every other day basis. So this past weekend he had a really bad tear on his tail and we took him into the vet. At the vet they gave him an FIV (feline aids) test and he tested positive. No dought that he got it from that bully neighborhood cat. Sighhhh, so we opted to put him to sleep, because it was only a matter of time before he got real sick. Devon cried ALL day. I felt so bad for him!

My awesome husband who has been working 13 hour shifts 7 days a week, with an hour and a half drive home stayed after work to weld a headstone together and then came home exhausted and dug a whole. The memorial service was sweet, Devon insisted on carrying him and placing him in the grave and then covering him up.

So farewell Diddy, I will miss you spraying on my couch (not really) and waking me up in the middle of the night so that I can let you outside. I will miss your hair being all over the house, and cleaning out your litter box. But the one who will miss you the most is Devon.

As your headstone says...Sleep Well...Diddy~!

The uspoken part of the curse

You will bare children with great pain.....yep, that part is true....but the part that was left out is the....you will also feel like you are a walking zombie the first few months of pregnancy. With the urge to hurl at every smell that wafts your way. You will want to sit on the couch (or dirt floor as it would have been) and do nothing, because you feel like 3 day old poop.

BUT...... you wont be able to because you have breakfast to cook, and dishes to wash, and dirty diapers to change...usually 2 in a row. You have laundry to do and you still have to go grocery shopping, just stay as close to the bathroom as you can. Your children will still want lunch and dinner and that means more lofty lovely smells to get your gag reflexes rolling. I agree that feeling like you are being ripped apart for an hour during labor is disheartening, but if I must choose, I would say that the unspoken part of the curse is the real kicker.....so why on earth do we continue to have babies? Well, its all worth it when you look in that new little babies eyes and once again you are a mother. Will I do it again? .....I sure hope so!!!

Eve's First Baby Doll

For her first birthday she recieved her very first baby doll. It is as big as she is! Perhaps we should have started a little smaller. LOL

A Hard Days Work

I just didnt have the heart to tell him that there isnt really a market for crayons made with the most loved Crayola Crayon Maker. The sign was super cute, it read Devons weird and wacky crayons....10 cents each! What a cute kid...if I do say so myself. LOL

Raising children you like to be around!

I love my children. Especially after being around someone else's children, who may not act exactly as you think children should. Which got me to thinking why are my children so well behaved? Well, the answer to that is simple. I expect them to be and will except nothing less. Are they perfect, hah, NO! But they know that I mean what I say...thats the key.

I have read many parenting books over the years. Some I agreed with quite a bit, others not so much. One thing is for sure if your children are less than enjoyable to be around, it is your fault!
Yes, there are difficult children...I have one. Who is the poster child for difficult, but he would never tell me NO to any thing I asked him to do and he knows that even after the struggles that he may throw into a situation, he is still going to end up doing what is asked of him.

My favorite child training site is http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com/

This is a wonderful tool for anyone who may have less than lovely children, or even if you have great children and just need a little encouragment. Parents it is our responsibility to raise kind, loving, respectful, responsible, hard working human beings. This is no small task! And for those of you who are in my shoes with many little blessings, its a full time job!

Well........

..... it happened. No matter how much I complained or tried to ignore it in hopes that it would just not come. It DID! You are officially one! Sooobbbb

I remember the day I looked in awe at you, like it was yesterday. I was shell shocked for weeks...to think that I, the mother of five boys could even house a girl in my testosterone friendly womb. What a miracle!

So there you were perfect in everyway. And you still are. You are the epitome of what a girl represents. Dainty, fragile, yet can swing and hit ya square on before you knew what happened. I just grin at you with such giddy pride as you lay on your back and kick your feet....and say to everyone watching, look at that "little girl fit" she is throwing isn't it the most precious thing you have ever seen? All kidding aside you have a sweet attitude most all the time. With a smile that could melt the coldest heart.

You are super nosy...which is just a slang way of saying you pay attention to everything around you, to the smallest detail. You will watch and study someone with great seriousness. While I am nursing you you will pull up your dress and rub your belly button....you love your belly button, checking at least 100 times through out the day to make sure no one has made off with it.

So what has changed around here sense your arrival 12 months ago, well...everything. There are the obvious things such as pink, frilly dresses. Hair barrettes and little panty hose.
There is actually a pink room in this house...that is something I never expected to have.

Then there are those things you can not see. My sons learning to protect and be gentle with little girls. Your daddy coming home to that big smile of yours and you pushing through all the boys to get to him to give him a hug. And me....well....I cant even begin to put into words the way you have changed my life. You have brought a joy to me that is unexplainable. I have a friend, a helper, a fellow dreamer, someone to pass on my legacy, as a woman, to.

I have a daughter! Happy birthday my precious Eve!

Goings on around here

Whats been going on around here......

My mother is feeling better and she has found an avenue financialy to fix her condition on a permenant basis. That is good news. Now what her plans are on a long term basis...I havent a clue. I know she is wanting to look for employment here, but if it will be in this town, I dont know. Im not sure she wanted to come here other than she was sick and needed help. So we will see what happens with it all. It is nice to get to visit with her. We have never been close. I met her when I was 14 and then did not see her again until I was 20. So its a touchy relationship...but I think the Father has plans and healing that needs to be done.

The fence is pretty much done. We have one last gate to build and then we will have what my sister calls "the great wall of Stucker" finished. It really is a sea of cedar. I didnt realize how large the yard was until we put that fence up. BUT...it has done what it was supposed to do and that is block all the racket from the neighborhood. It is awesome to be able to sit in the back yard and have privacy for once in 3 years. Well worth every last penny we spent on it.

The dog is getting better...kinda...OK not really. He is still a nuisense. But I guess thats a puppy thing. I cant wait until he decides to be a dog.

Robs ankle is healing up slowly. He was told that he would have to ware the foot boot for 3 weeks and then they would re-evaluate . Well he wore it for 1 week and that was it. He managed to skip his follow up appoinmnent. But that is Rob for ya, he doesnt have time nor the patience to be down for any amount of time. So hopefully it will continue to heal. He said it has been bothering him more the past few days, but he has been really active, so what can you expect.

My car is on week 3 of sitting in the driveway. It is supposed to be fixed tomorrow, but I was told that it would be fixed yesterday...so Im not holding my breath. Thats what happens when you have to wait on family. Your at their mercy. So we had to miss the farm visit today. The kids were so looking forward to the goat milking and hay rides....so was I. There is a family (with 12 children) who own a farm here in the area. They raise grass fed beef, chickens and such. They also sale goats milk and eggs. It is always so fun to go there and just sit and listen to the quite. I really enjoy it.

My father called me today and said that he has sold his house in CO and will be moving closer. He is moving to Mississippi, not sure why....but thats where he's heading. It will cut the drive time to his house in half. We may actually be able to see him more than once a year now. YAY

And lastly I am trying to get things cleaned up around here. A real deep cleaning....because I know what inevitably lies around the corner. MORNING (all day) SICKNESS. I know that I will be unavailable for a few months. I hate that part! The irony is to that with Eve I was horribly sicker than with the boys, and I am hoping that this is a sister for Eve. But it would be worth it!

So there is the scoop...boring I know. LOL

Here's a token picture of Eve, one of the only few left. Yes, all the first year of her life was lost when my D drive died. I am sooooo sad about it. This was her first chocolate chip cookie!


Needless to say she loved it!

The Other News

OK....I can tell yall now. LOL

# 7 is on the way!!!

We should be due sometime in February. I am so excited!

To much all at once

Sorry I havent written in a while. I have been super over extended this past week. I got a call from my mother...whom I dont really know all that well...thath she was coming to saty with us and that she would be here in a few hours. WHAT?!? UMM....OK

So there she was and to top it all off, she came sick. I have spent countless hours at the hospital or running errands for her, that I am very tired. I think she knew she was going to get sick and that she had no where else to go, but here.

She is out of the hospital now...so hopefully things will get somewhat back to normal. I had to postpone the Big Birthday Bash, because it just wasnt a good time....yes not fair to the kids...but I didnt know what else to do. So the Party is this Saturday. The fence is finished and the yard is picked up and mowed, that is a great thing.

My hard drive took the final plung a few days ago, you know, the big blue screen of death...taking my life with it. NO, nothing was backed up...I lost it all. Including all the pictures from Eves first year of life. I hate technology, although it is so conveniant. Its a love hate relationship for sure. I am back up and running now with an empty computer that seems so (not mine) Trying to re-download and recreate all the software and spread sheets that I lost as well. UGGG

I have other news but will wait until later to post it.....so stay tuned....I am off to try and have some kind of normal day today. Wish Me Luck!!!

If I never....

....see another screw again it will still not have been long enough. I am tired!!!
I spent all weekend "outside" in the "SUN" screwing in pickets. I am a color of red I didnt realize I could be. I woke up many times last night because my hand was hurting so badly. If I had to imagine what Hell was like I would say that it is probably screwing in an endless sea of pickets while holding a 10lb drill, in the boiling sun. YEP, thats what hell must be like.

There are 6 screws in each picket and over 800 pickets. They need to make a pretty pink drill that weighs only a few ounces because the big yellow Dewalt is not my friend. Are we finished yet? Well almost but not quite. Still one last side to put up. But the majority is done. So sense I hadnt had quite enough I decided I would stand on the roof today and paint some more on the exterier or our house this morning. I am now red with splotches of white and green.

Sorry for the random and short thoughts being thrown out but my brain has melted out my ears and complete thoughts just are not in my grasp right now.

Hope yall had more fun than me!!

Grateful and Sorrowful

There are two families right now that are in a place I hope to never know. The first family is the Snow family. Two weeks before Christmas last year, Melissa a mother of six girls and a brand new baby boy; found out that she had brain cancer. She was optimistic as was the family. It was a whirlwind to them I am sure. Now she has been given 6-12 months to live.

The second family is a wonderful family with 8 children. The father Jeff is very likely in his last hours of life. They are still holding out hope that The Heavenly Father will heal him. I hold out that hope with them as well.

These things cant make much sense, except just knowing that The Lord is in charge of everything and He knew our life before we were even born. That in itself is the only comfort one can take away from all of this.

So as I am filled with sorrow for these families. I am also filled with a grateful heart. That today no matter what the day brings I am healthy, Rob is healthy, my children are healthy. I thank you Heavenly Father with every cell in my being that you have given us health. That as of this day we have not had to deal with such heart ache. Lord please forgive me for ever feeling that I did not have enough, or that something wasn't fair. Forgive me for complaining in my ignorance. We are truly blessed!

Please lift these families up to The Lord. And pray for complete healing for them both; and if that is not The Lords will that they may have peace through it all.

Happy Day!

So, what did you do on mothers day? Well, Im glad you asked! I built a fence! I hate feminism and consider it the downfall of our wonderful nation....but alas I must say....I am woman here me roar!! I did not do it all by myself, but I did screw in 5 lbs of screws...which roughly is about 500 screws.



We are not done; still about 200 feet to go, but I am still so happy. We have 2 empty lots next to our home and have tried in the past to purchase both lots. This past spring one owner decided to sell, so our yard is in the shape of an upside down L; yet one day we hope that the other owners will change there minds.



We chose a wooden privacy fence because even though there aren't to many houses directly around us the ones that are there the people are well.....profane. They cuss while saying good morning to each other. Its pretty sad. So needless to say being able to sit in the backyard and not hear them will be a blessing.

Busy Times

Well it has been a busy few weeks, hence the no postings here. Sorry about that. As you know Rob hurt his ankle

He had a Dr's appointment this past Monday and was told that he will be fine in a few weeks. A far cry from the emergency room Dr who said that it would require surgery and no one ever fully recovers from this type of injury. Praise THE LORD!

We went camping last weekend to Tyler State Park. I love that park. It is where my family went when I was a child so it brings back old memories, and we make plenty new ones. This last trip we were there while no one else was. I like it that way. If I can go somewhere and be one of a few people there I am a happy camper. I guess it is easier to keep up with my brood that way, plus I like quite and calm. Busy and loud makes me nervous and anxious. Anyway we swam and we hiked; where we found wild blackberry bushes and picked and ate until our fingers where red. Then we found some hunysuckle plants and I taught my boys how to eat them. Oh still more old childhood memories flooding in, I am glad to be able to pass them along to my children. We also did smores and tick picking and the usual camping criteria. The boys caught at least 15 tiny fish. Elijah my 3 year old caught one and said look its a shark. To Cute. He also says "I want to go fishing pole" instead of lets go fishing. I love 3 year olds, just delicious!

We or mostly me have been putting up the fence. It is going slowly but I am hoping this weekend we can make some headway. Lifting 50 lb bags of concrete....not my backs favorite thing to do! I'll post some pictures when we are done with it.

We also had our sewer lines replaced.

and now have a nice muddy mess to tend with, but the upside is we have a nice knew sewer line; which comes in handy when the hotwheels cars are flushed down the toilet.
And for those of you who know when we started painting our house...yes it is still not done. It has been 2 whole years. To our defense it is really hard to paint a house that is so tall. By the end of this summer I plan (Lord willing) to be posting a picture of a completely painted home!

One of the cool things that we saw while they were digging is that our street used to be bricks.In fact all of Old Downtown Greenville used to have brick streets.



Well thats been my last few weeks.....busy times.

Prayer Requested

Hi everyone, I am asking that everyone will pray for Rob. On his birthday (the 30th 2 days ago)
He tore/ruptured all 3 of the tendons that attach your ankle to your leg. Needless to say not his favorite birthday present. He went in to work today, because well, he has to work. They told him that he needed to go home and that he couldn't come back until he was off the crutches. This is not an option. All of you that know Rob, knows that he cant sit still for long and this is going to really test his patience. I believe that The Heavenly Father allowed this to happen for a reason, but that as soon as that reason has been fulfilled, I am believing fully that dh will be healed, without having to have surgery! So please pray that The Fathers will will be done quickly and that healing will be immediate at that time! Thank you all!

Heaven on Earth

There are some days that hold within them all that your heart holds dear. Those days make you feel whole on this fallen earth.

One of those days was today for me. The bluest skies with the whitest clouds floating above my head. So bright that you must squint to look at it. When the air is the perfect temperature; a cool breeze yet the sun shines so warmly on your skin; a perfect combination!

The green leaves; all shapes and sizes blowing in the wind. The colors blue and green, so clear and bright as they contrast one another. The smell of Spiarea and Whisteria flowers so thick on the wind; I am sure that is what heaven smells like (with a touch of new born baby smell)

Your children playing happily; laughing, giggling, smiling.....enjoying the same wonderful day as you only in the way a child would.

All is right. Dare I say perfect for a moment in time. There are perfect moments! There are moments when I get a tiny glimpse of heaven here on earth. Praise you Abba for such beauties. If the creation is just a small reflection of the creator, how glorious You must be.

Funny Things!

So we are sitting at the table eating lunch when we here the front screen door open and shut. I do a head count and feel that oh-gosh feeling when I realize that everybody is still at the table. Devon and I look at each other and he realizes what I am thinking. "we are all here...so who was that" He and I jump up at the same time and walk slowly to the front foyer. We walk past the couch and he picks up a hairbrush laying on the couch. We slowly peek around the corner to see if someone was standing in the entryway...there was no one! Shoooo.... that was weird, we concluded that the door had not been closed all the way and had blown open and shut by the wind. So as we are walking back to the table I look at him and laugh "what were you going to do with that hairbrush, brush them to death?" He laughed and we both said at the same time "watch out I have a hairbrush and I know how to use it!" I was really happy though that he was trying to protect us what a great 10 year old!

Saturdays full of The Fathers Glory

I love Saturdays. Yes most people do! I especially enjoy the rest. I do not do any house work or school preperation. No laundry, no nothin! I do fix meals and wash the dishes, but that about concludes my Saturday domestic duties. The boys get to do what ever they feel like doing and dont have to be worried about mom calling them in to do school or chores. They especially LOVE Saturdays. This Saturday was extra neat

Devon built a mud castle complete with mote....



I climbed this wall.....



To take a picture of this.....




There is a Robin couple that have lived at our house for 2 years now. The boys being the wall climbers that they are spotted the eggs a few days ago and have been watching them every sense. One egg had hatched this morning and the other two hatched out by noon today. They are so sweet. So vulnerable. I am excited to watch them grow over the next few days.

Well I hope that your Saturday is as peaceful as mine and filled with The Fathers Glory!!!

Contempt shown to large families

I read this article here on Tiany's blog yesterday. I thought it made a few great points. I hope that the percentage of people that truly feel this way are small. I think the real lie that people believe that keeps them from having any or many children is that they have to be in a certain place financially or emotionally. That is just not true. If The LORD gives you children HE will also provide for those children. In a perfect world people would realize what a great privilege it is to have children, whether it is one or 20...and hopefully its more than one ;-))

All joking aside...I believe that we should allow the LORD to use our lives in what ever way he sees fit. We are not here for us...we are here to do HIS will. If that means He gives us more than 1.3 children then so be it. Children are a blessing from HIM a REWARD! No where in scripture does it say otherwise!

Anyway enjoy the article and if you are one of those people he is talking about, well....I apologize in advance because I will probably bump into you one day with all my children in tow and I will ask them to be on there worst behavior...haha...just kidding...maybe!

What peace, wisdom can bring

I wanted to share something that I read yesterday that touched me in such a profound way. We as humans are so emotional. We wrap our emotions around our situation and become very self absorbed...I know I can if I don't watch myself. But what about those things in life that we feel are so horrible that we are entitled to feel like we have been wronged. Such as loosing a child. I have never, praise the LORD lost a child and cant say how I would react if I ever did, but I hope that I could be as wise as Melissa, who lost her lovely son 45 minutes after his birth to a rare form of dwarfism. Below is the letter she wrote thanking everyone for their condolences and prayers.

Thank you everyone for your prayers. We need them! I just have to say that this was my personal "worst scenario." I love being a mother, I love my children and family more than anything and thought that if anything like this ever happened to me, I would physically die. I didnt. I am doing great. Mathew had a purpose and he fulfilled it. And being a mom is so much more than I thought it was. I WAS his mom for that short time. You CAN squeeze a lifetime of love in to a few moments. I was given alot of reading material about the grief I would feel. What bothered me the most is the references to how people became bitter about a lifetime of lost memories, as if you somehow deserve and are guaranteed a certain kind of life with your child. We get no such guarantees....not for a newborn, not for an adult child . I didn't lOSE this baby's lifetime of memories, they were never mine to begin with. His life story was written before he was ever conceived. All of ours are.

That was my very best birth. It was so precious, so special and beautiful. I have no regrets which is helpful when you are going through the grieving. I cry, but not out of regret, just out of the natural emotion of sadness we go through as our bodies grieve. It also helps because we took lots of pictures of Mathew and I could see how his little body was formed incorrectly. He didn't look scary to me, which I was really fearful of. He was perfect in his way and just so darn cute! I am so glad we got to see and hold him before he passed on.

So hug your children a little tighter today and remember that nothing....nothing happens in this world that GOD is not in control of. If we can be happy with whatever HE gives us for whatever amount of time HE gives it to us, that is pure peace....and true wisdom. Please pray for Melissa and her family. Thank you Melissa for showing me that we aren't entitled anything and that even if your time here is but a few minutes you were here for GODS purpose. What wisdom!

Sugar and Spice and Hair Barrets

Do You See It?!?......Is that not the most awesome thing you have ever seen?!?......I have been waiting 10 years to do that!!....And I must say, yes it felt so good!!!......All day today everytime I looked at those cute little pony tails I could not keep from smiling! I do that alot, how could you not! She is just addorable!

Getting Dirty

We love to garden...or maybe its I love to garden. So we spent Friday cleaning out the old and planting the new. I love being able to walk out in the backyard and pick a few pieces of lettuce for my sandwich, or a pepper for dinner. There is such a freedom in it. As well as knowing where it came from. Have you ever thought about that, how trusting we are to continually eat food that we have no idea where it has come from.

The boys helped, they do love the digging in the dirt part of it. The dog jumped right up there and started digging to, I think he was making restitution for all the messes he has been making lately...although it did not mean he was done making messes.

We planted bell peppers and tomatoes (all kinds) and we still have the squash to get into the ground. I need about 4 more raised beds to have all the things I want in my garden. Like corn and beans and okra and onions and sweet potatoes and on and on. I probably could plant half of our yard and still not have enough room. It must have been quite a feat a hundred years ago to grow a garden for a large family and have enough to can for winter. How privileged we are these days!

My Eve

Well Eve its been 10 months. How am I doing at this whole mom of a little girl thing? I hope you think I am doing well. I must admit it is different in many ways. You are so little and dainty...and all that hair...I can not wait until I can put it up in a pony tail. Yes you are my little doll. I will find myself changing your clothes a few times a day just to put that next really cute dress on. The more ruffles it has the better!

You only smile when you want to and you already have such a great sense of injustice. But when you are happy it is beautiful. I love you so much my little Eve. I pray that I will be all that a mother is supposed to be. Have patience with me please...I was raised by my dad and never had a mother...so it is all a learn as you go thing for me. I am not a mushy, huggy kissy person, but I am working on it...although from what I can gather you arent either.

So heres to the future and all that it will bring. Thank you for bringing pink into my life....it has been so much fun!

Things Children say...and keep saying

So I am dusting the living room and my 10 ys came up to me and asked if he could dust for me. I said "Im almost finished, your lunch is ready...go eat it" Then he says "Well I am feeling helpful right now so you better use it while you can!" ROTFLMBO

On to the things that children never stop saying...there are days where I feel like if I hear "that" one more time my brain will surly melt and ooze out onto the floor and then I will have to mop it up and rinse it down the drain, which would be good because I would be comatose and then could not hear "that" being said again and again...things like....

"MOM, how long is it till my birthday?" (literally asked by at least 2 children a day, some more than once) This requires thought on my part and they want an answer, so I fumble through all the birth dates in my head until I match the appropriate one with the face I am looking at. Then I must remember what the date is today and then I must do math. What do they want from me?

So since necessity is the mother of invention and apparently the thing that will hopefully keep me from moping up my brain off the floor, I have decided to make a chart that will show all the days of the year. It will have each of their birthdays clearly listed and I need to come up with a simple way for them to "count down" until the day. If you have any good ideas Im all ears. haha

Go fly a kite

I love hanging out with my kiddos doing childish things. We have a large field next to our house and the kids were having a blast flying their kite and hiding in the very tall grass. I love spring!

I wasn't going to do this........

.....but I feel led to.... so here it goes. I have another blog that I am writing called My Journey Out. I began writing it as a way for me to put into words the things that The LORD has been showing me. It has been a very interesting past few months, and all I can say is WOW....who knew! I had no idea where all the "Christian" things that we do came from. Now I know they are the "traditions of man", and not from scripture. I encourage you to look deeper than what you are taught and ask the Father to show you the truth! I am still learning, learning, learning and have many more things I want Him to show me. You may not agree with me but perhaps you will begin to search yourself for the things of the LORD! If you fill led to read than go here, if not....well....then don't!

Oh POO, how I hate thee

Well in case the chuckle from this poo story has worn off, I thought I would give you a new hardy...haha!

We will go where this story begins.....2 weeks ago, our sewer clean out line clogged up and my ever inventfull husband decided to put the water hose down it and flush it out......now we can come back to the present where I am trying to water the back yard. I concluded that using one water hose would not allow me to get to the very back of the yard so I hook up the second water hose (the one mentioned above). Well for some reason after hooking it up and turning on the water, the sprinkler was not spraying...hmmm, scratching my head...it worked a minute ago?!?

So I turn the water off and go to unscrew the sprinkler to closer examine it. Now have you ever unscrewed a sprinkler while it was still pressured up with water....and it sprayed you all over? Great, now add 2 week old poo to that spray and you have me standing in the back yard covered in crap.

The neighbors got a good laugh...hope you did to! I just hope that this week brings less poop my way! And while Im at it may your week be filled with all things not poopy!

Happy Birthday Elijah!

It was three years ago today that you made your entrance into this world. You were in a hurry and decided you were coming with a vengeance. Needless to say within 30 min. of that first contraction you were here. I am glad I was at home and not in the middle of the grocery store. If I ever thought that I was having a girl it was with you. That was such a different pregnancy, perhaps it was just the high altitude of the CO mountains....but on that eventful day you ended up being my 5th son. It was a great day!!

You are the only child who was not born in Texas, but we all made a pact to never let you know that. Yes you are a Texan, not a Colorodian. Thats just a clerical error on your birth certificate...I've just never had time to get it fixed...ya that's it..no time...no time!

All joking aside...you are a great source of JOY to our family. Always having a wonderful smile on your face and making us laugh. Yes you are turning three now which means all that cuteness will melt away into a pile of whining mush on the floor...because in this house its the terrible 3's!
But I will wait patiently for you to turn 4 so that peace can rain once more in the Stucker household.

Happy birthday my son! May The Heavenly Father Bless you and watch over you all the days of your life. I pray that you will fulfill The LORDS purpose for your life here on earth. Always seek HIM and HIS will in all that you do, for there is no other reason to live. Never look to the right or the left but keep your eyes on HIM! May you be like your name sake Elijah and always walk with The LORD! In Y'shuas name I pray... Amein

UNO

It is the game that never ends
It just goes on and on my friends
We simply started playing it not knowing what it was
And we are still playng it forever just because

It is the game that never ends
It just goes on and on my friends
We simply started playing it..................

The great thing about the Sabbath Rest is you get to play games until your fingers bleed. Today was the card game UNO. The first 7 games were great and I won the first round. Then of course we have to play another round so that someone else can win. The problem with UNO is that you could play the same game for hours, which is what happened today. We had to call it quits after about what seemed like 2 hours. So I am the raining UNO champion at this time. YAY ME!

Remember The Last Post?

Well, this one is nothing like it!!

All I have to say is YUCK, PPLLAAA, SPPIITT, PPPLLUUUY and GROSS!!!!

Have you ever had more gross things happen within 3 minutes of themselves than is really humanly possible to deal with within a whole day. Our lovely and happy to crap in the house dog had...yes...crapped in the house.....again. So I was dutifully cleaning it up as I hear "MOM...Elijahs shooey and its coming down his leg". So I finish cleaning up the dog poop, when I see Elijah and realize yes he is shooey and it is more than just coming down his leg. He was holding his diaper on as one side had come undone. I grab my diaper changing equipment and mentally prepare myself for what lied ahead. Yes...gross but no big deal...done this a million times before how much worse could this be. I take a wipe and wipe one of his legs off...as in the distance I hear that very familiar...she has something in her mouth again and is choking on it. (she puts everything that she finds on the floor in her mouth, no matter what it is) I jump up because quite frankly a choking baby is higher on the priority list than a nasty one, so I find her. It seems as though as Elijah was walking down the stairs holding his diaper he dropped some of that precious cargo on the floor, and YES she found it and YES she was eating it. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I run like she is on fire to the kitchen sink. I cant seem to get her to turn inside out so that I can wash her insides out so I have to settle for her hands and mouth. Oh My Gosh....my precious princess has eaten poop, and no, not her own, which is much more exceptable than eating someone elses. I get her all cleaned up. Well at least on the outside and go to finish with poor Elijah who is still standing there holding his diaper up. I walk into the living room only to find the dog has found that wipe I used to wipe Eli's leg and is chewing on it on the couch, YUKE..can it just keep going because I havent had enough yet?!? So then I finish cleaning up Eli only to scrape the nasty diaper across the floor for yet more crap cleaning fun to be had.

So here is my concern. I have heard those stories about the water parks where a child pooped in the water and another child ingested a piece of it and got sick and died! Should I be rushing my little girl to the hospital or do I have nothing to worry about? Someone please answer and answer quick!!!

Strive to enter by the narrow door

Strive, as in an agony of holy fear. A promise has been made of your entering into His rest (Hebrews 4:9-11). Strive, lest you should come short of it..........

.........Strive to enter in at the narrow gate. Strive, not only by this agony of soul, of conviction, of sorrow, of shame, of desire, of fear, of unceasing prayer. Strive, likewise, by putting in order all your conversation, your whole life, by walking with all your strength in all the ways of God---the way of innocence, of piety, and of mercy. Shun all the appearance of evil......deny your own will in all things, and take up your cross daily. Be ready to cut off everything that would hinder,and to cast it from you. Be ready and willing to suffer the loss of possessions, of friends, of health----of all things on earth---so you may enter into the kingdom of heaven."

If you are looking for funny...then move along

Yep its one of those days where you want to throw in the towel and say I give up.

When you realize that there are just some things you and your husband will never be on the same page about. Although you already thought you were.

When you are having the worst time at getting your children to read, write or anything else regarding schoolwork and realize you have been to lenient in the past or perhaps they wouldn't be this lazy.

When you have said for the gazzilianth time please don't say mean things to your brother. Yes, we all know he is a pest, just embrace it!!!

When you have to tell your son who just got in trouble for being mean to said son above that he would not be any happier if he ran away, but if you must, I'll help you pack...OK didn't say that last part but sure felt like it.

When you wonder if your husband was right all those times he said we should only have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

When you feel like you really stink at all this stuff and maybe you can find someone to replace yourself with that would treat your family better.

When the dog has slept in your spot in the bed for 2 straight nights forcing you to sleep on the couch and shows his appreciation by doing this...again