Safe and Sound in my Arms!

Thank you all so much for all of your prayers, I could really feel them pulling me through and the timing for everything was perfect...of course!

I called Rob at 1:00 and said that I wanted him to try and leave early from work. He said he would rap things up and be on his way, then I called him 30 minutes later and asked him "when are you leaving?" his response was "right now" good answer, buy that time I was very uncomfortable and wanting my hubby.

I called the midwife at around 1:45 and told her she might want to start heading this way, by this point labor was very obvious...I had no doubts. I tried to get the house picked up and keep my mind busy for the 2 hour wait for Rob.

Rob and the midwife showed up at the same time, about 3:15. When the midwife checked me I was already fully dialated and ready to push. Ava Rose was born at 3:53 pm on January 30th. It was hard as always but totally worth every minute.

She has a full head of black hair and weighed 7.3 lbs, 19 inches long. Perfect in every way!!!


Brand new, about 2 minutes old!



Taken this morning, shes 17 hours old..... Look at all that hair!

Babies is on her way...post more later!

What a long night

I guess I have been spoiled with the last two, at least. I went into labor and that was that, I would have a baby a few hours or minutes later. This one has been really challenging. I started having contractions again yesterday evening around 8pm very strong, make ya want to throw up, or run for the hills contractions, and I have been having them all night and into today. They are productive, I can physically feel that they are moving her down, but they are not consistent. Between 2-6 every hour.

Its most frustrating because my hubby works almost 2 hours away, so I don't know if I should summon him home, or if they are going to putter out again. I am getting tired and every time I have a "big" contraction I seem to loose a bit of confidence. Uggh!

My midwife came over last night for my checkup and all is well. I am finally measuring 40weeks and the head is down and ready. I still haven't gained any weight in about 6 weeks, but my body seems to top out at a certain weight and wont go any higher. My iron levels are fantastic, which has always been a huge problem for me. So that is great!

I guess I am just tired and not liking this "new" labor style. I liked having a few really good contractions and saying yep this is it, lets get ready. I feel like I will be in labor for ever, or worse yet she will come with in minutes like Elijah did and I will be here alone with the kids.

I just need to stop worrying and realize that The Lord knows what He is doing and all will be fine. Thank you all for your prayers! Its amazing how special people can be to you when you have never even laid your eyes on them ;-)

Noah's into fashion?!?

Eve comes walking in the Library where I am getting ready for the boys school lessons, and she is waring a movie. Yes, she can accessorize anything apparently. We have a tote of (not waring right now shoes) for the kids upstairs and she will pull the top off and try on all 30 pair, she is such a hoot! This girl thing is such a blast.

So if you ever need to know how to make that Noah's Ark video the perfect ensemble, apparently this is how its done.

Its "D" Day

I am doing fine over here. Sense I started drinking the Raspberry tea daily, I no longer feel as though delivery is immanent...in fact I feel like I could be pregnant forever. LOL No more contractions and I'm not really uncomfortable so the journey continues.

My estimated due date at the beginning (I was nursing still, so no period to go off of, just going off of positive pregnancy test result date) was no later than Feb 10th. So I figure any time in the next 12 days. Honestly I could use a few extra days to finish up a couple of things. ;-)

Rob and Devon went to the Mavericks game last night. They had a blast! I was going to go but our sitter fell through. I'm glad that they got to spend some time together.

Today I plan to finish up 4 dresses and list them in the store, as well as get the school work for next week ready. I have a bit of laundry to put away, and that concludes my to-do list.

Have a lovely Sunday!

2 Days To Go

I started drinking my Raspberry tea like I'm supposed to, 3-4 cups a day. It has stopped 95% of the contractions I have been having for over three weeks now, and it makes me super thirsty. I guess all of these things are good?!?

I'm sure all is well, just waiting out those last few days. Who knows the sono may have been off and my momy intuition was closer to the correct due date. Funny how we will bypass our own thoughts and go with the much "superior" knowledge of science LOL.

None the less I have not had one stay in there and not come out, yet, so we'll just wait patiently!

We'll its deep clean Friday, yet again. So I have to get everyone pumped up about it, namely myself. I have the kitchen, two bathrooms and laundry...then there is just all the overseeing and guiding of the rest.

Everyone have a great Friday!

Letisha.....your Baked Oatmeal is getting cold over here.....;-)

4 Days and counting

Nothing yet...still holding strong. This is definately a strange pregnancy for me. I have been having cramps (like the monthly kind) I dont remember that happening before. I had them so bad in the middle of last night that it woke me up. The other thing is that her boney behind is so crammed into the top of my stomach it feels like she will burst through at any moment.

I fianlly have gotten around to going through the boxes of baby girl clothes and am washing and putting them away today. Eve helped me go through it yesterday and she found a hat that she just loved

Isnt she a cutie pie? I really could just eat her up!!

I am working on planning our backyard farm for this year. Calculating up costs and determing what we will attempt. Our first concern is tilling the land for the garden, this year it will be very big. I am so excited and so is Devon. Then a few weeks after we get that all tilled up and the fence around it, the chickens will arrive. We are planning to have 10 layers in one chicken tractor for eggs of course, and then every four months I am going to raise 30 broilers. So we will have an additional tractor for the broilers. This will be our first dealings with chickens and yes we will butcher them ourselves. So it should be very interesting to say the least!

Some other things we want to add as we go this summer are bees (on a very small scale and only for pollination) We want to add some fruit trees and berry bushes around the property as well.

No truer Words....

I read these poetic words today over at Elise's place. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, grab a tissue, especially if you are a hormonal pregnant lady who would love to freeze time right where you are. ;-)

Thanks Elise, you have such a fantastic gift with words!

Still Counting Down ;-)

Yep, nothing yet. I do technically have 5 days to go...give or take so why rush things, right? LOL
I am still having on and off contractions, but they are tolerable. I have a feeling that she is in a weird position that she is having to correct to get to the starting line.

Yesterday would have been a good day, I had the house in order. Mopped and waxed all the floors and stayed on top of everything. Who knows I might actually make it to the Mavericks game on Saturday! I hate going anywhere that is not within 30 minutes of the house this close to delivery, so we'll see if I'm up to it ;-)

Did anyone get to watch the TLC special last night on the Heppners Family? I Tivo'd it and watched it this morning before the kids got up (I love that because I can skip all the commercials and an hour show becomes 30 min.) I enjoyed the show. I loved seeing another large family that doesn't spend 6oo dollars a week at the grocery store. They were very candid about their life and past mistakes, yet the love they had for The Lord was so apparent.

I couldn't help but being sad as I watched it though. My heart just ached as I thought about my kids leaving the house someday. You could see that they really missed their older children. I think I will feel the same way when that season of my life rolls around. Most folks cant wait until their children are grown and gone, but I would love nothing more than to have a Stucker neighborhood, where all of my children lived and I could at least see their faces frequently. The thought of them being off somewhere and me not seeing them for weeks, months at a time is to much for me to think about. So, I will enjoy these days as I have them all to my self!

I smell the Baked Oatmeal cooking in the oven and my stomach is growling!! I have to admit I love that stuff as much as the kiddos. My 3 year old just asked whats for breakfast and I said "Oatmeal cake" and he jumped up and down saying "YAY!!" So I guess I'm off to start my day!

Letisha has your friend delivered yet??

Recipes

There are few recipes I have wanted to share and just havent gotten around to posting, so here they are:

Whole wheat bread:

Hand Method 0r Kitchen aid (makes two loaves, I make this about every other day)

1/3 C honey (I omit this most of the time)
1/3 C oil (coconut if you have it)
2 1/2 C Warm Water
1 1/2 TB SAF Instant Yeast (I buy online)
2 1/2 tsp salt
6-7 C Fresh whole wheat flour
1 1/2 TB Dough Enhancer ( I buy online)

Combine the warm water (2 1/2 C) , yeast, and 2 cups of fresh whle wheat flour in a large mixing bowl and allow to sponge. This usually takes about 15 minutes. Add the honey, oil, dough enhancer, salt and mix, then slowly add remaining 4-5 cups of flour. Add additional if needed just until the dough clears the sides of mixing bowl. You want to allow it to mix for about 7 minutes after it has cleared sides to develop glutten.

Pour it onto lightly oiled surface, cut in half, shape into two loaves, split the top if desired, place into greased bread pans and allow to rise in slightly heated oven (or where ever) for about an hour, until it has basically doubled. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Whole Wheat Biscuits:

This recipe is the same as a basic baking powder biscuit, just using fresh ground whole wheat flour instead of all purpose. I always triple this recipe.

3 C whole wheat flour (you can always use all purpose if thats what you have)
6 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening or lard
1 1/2 cups milk

Put flour, baking powder, salt in to large bowl and cut in shortening. Add enough milk to make a soft, puffy dough. Turn out dough on a floured surface and gently knead about twenty times, adding flour as needed (dont make it to stiff) Flatten dough and cut. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes, or until they re no longer soft in the center. It may take you a few times to get them absolutely perfect, but they are delicious with gravy or just butter.

Baked Oatmeal:

My kids LOVE this and would eat it all day if I let them. These are children who do not like the texture of regularly cooked oatmeal. Oh and I double this one too ;0

(Mix together)
3 cups of rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar 2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 stick-a-butter (melted)
1 1/2 cups milk
(and whatever else you may want to throw in, raisins, nuts, etc)

Preheat oven to 350, pour ingredients in bowl into a greased 9x13 baking pan (I use a large glass caserole dish) and cook for 30 minutes. Serve warm (also good cold) with syrup or butter or whip cream. This is delicious!

Enjoy...oh and I cheat with gravy and buy the already mixed peppered gravy in bulk. One day I will master that recipe, but it hasnt happened yet ;-)

6 Days to Go!

I thought she was going to make her grand entrance last night, but she changed her mind...silly girl. Rob and I took the kids and the dogs for a walk because it was beautiful yesterday. I wasn't sure I was going to make it home. Very strong contractions but they were more pain than pressure. They continued for about 2 hours then tapered off. For me this is not the norm, I usually go right into hard labor with little time to prepare.

Today I feel fine, except for this stuffy nose that I can NOT shake. I woke up at 5:00am and could not get back to sleep, its hard to sleep when you cant breath! So I just got up and fixed Robs lunch, sent him out the door and got to work on the laundry. I need to go put the baked oatmeal in the oven for my hungry crew that will be awake here shortly.

Everyone have a blessed day! I am coming back later to post a few recipes, some of our family favorites!

9 Days To Go!

I post poned my MW appointment yesterday so that I could go in the evening after Rob arrived home, that way I wouldnt have to get the kids out in the aweful weather. It was a pleasent visit this time. Like two good friends chating in her bedroom, thats just the way I like it. I'm weird I suppose.

I hadnt gained any weight in two weeks and then this past week I lost 3 pounds. I also am measuring a week less than last week. Thats a first for me. I am usually a week over in my measurements, but I am now 3 weeks behind, measuring only 35 weeks, with a measurement of 36 last week. Its not a concern, just funny how you can have a hand full of pregnancies and they can all be so different. She sounds great, my BP's fine. I think this head cold that I have had for 3 weeks is wareing on my appetite. I have to make myself eat 3 meals a day.

As far as cleaning goes I got half of the library done yesterday and maintained the rest of the house. I took a 2 hour nap while Eve and Elijah napped, that was really needed. I just felt worn out. My older boys are such a blessing to me, I cant imagine not having them here to help out. While I nap they watch the younger ones and play with them and keep the house in order. They are such awesome kids!

I watched my nine year old yesterday with his sister, it was so neat. Without me asking and it wasnt even time for lunch yet, he put her in her highchair, put her bib around her neck and brought her a snack and a drink. Then waited patiently for her to finish. When she was done he wiped off her face and hands and got her down. The whole time just talking so sweet to her. I just sat there watching and smiling. Then it occured to me how important it is for our older children to care for the younger ones. It creates so much in them, compassion, love, understanding, patience and the list goes on. Of course there will always be that last child, but I truly think it is such a gift to give our children younger siblings. I do think the fact that she is a girl, makes them extra attentive to her as well and that is so cute to me.

We are going Sat. to the farm to pick up our yearly order of wheat berries (about 400lbs) as well as pick up some free range, grass fed beff and lamb. I was really excited about getting my order in, but apparently my wheat grinder is not as enthusiastic about it. Yesterday I was grinding wheat for bread and it started to make these very sad, struggling sounds. Just what one needs 400lbs of wheat berries and a broken wheat grinder. I wasnt really wanting to buy a new one anytime soon. I'm am seriously thinking about getting a manual one and letting the kids grind it.

Well time to get moving.

10 Days To Go

The boys and I finished the entire second floor yesterday! I am so glad that we did, because I am feeling very crampy and soar this morning. Hmmm...could this be the beginning? I am shooting for the weekend, so that I know Rob will make it home in time.

I have a midwifes appointment today, but dont feel like going. One of the things that I hated about "traditional" dr/hospital births was the general feeling of going through the pointless motions. The last two visits with the MW have been about 15 minutes long...that included p**ing in a cup, measurement, heartbeat, and blood pressure check. I can do all of these myself right here at home without having to drive 30 minutes away. Did I mention it hasn't been above freezing in about 4 days and is very icy out. Which will likely be my reason for not going. Plus the last visit took a turn that I didn't anticipate, and was not happy with. Apparently she has a new apprentice (theres a school near here so new graduates are always looking for hands on hours) well I dont like last minute changes, especially in this area. I feel like it went from her knowing that I prefer a very laid back, intimate, no frills birth (and really would rather it be just my hubby and I) to now I'm a school specimen. Not real happy about it...can you tell? LOL

OK, so on to our countdown. I honestly feel like doing nothing today but cuddling up on the couch with my fluffy pillow and a warm blanky and a couple of kiddos. But I still have the main floor to complete. The one room I really want to tackle before Ava gets here is the library/school room/office. Which with all those titles gets pretty cluttered sometimes. So that is my focus today. With the help of the older boys this may not take to terribly long. The kitchen, dinning rm, living rm and laundry rm are cleaned daily so those are not to concerning to me. I would like to tidy the sewing room and entry way and the downstairs bathroom could use a good bleaching. So we'll just see how I am doing after the Library is complete...maybe I'll have some spare energy somewhere.

Yes, Letisha we are staying warm, Praise The Lord! The additional stove that we bought earlier in the season has been wonderful. It has barely felt cool in here even with temps in the 20's at night. What a huge improvement from being able to see your breath in 60 percent of the house, to now being comfy no matter where you are. It has been such a blessing!!!!

God is Good!!!!!

11 Days To Go!!

I spent alot more time in the master bedroom yesterday than I anticipated, plus had to run some errands. So the Master is spotless. I bought new curtains and still need to buy another set because our windows are so big the one did not cover it correctly. I bought two new pillows which are going to take some time to break in (I realized last night as I kept tossing and turning;-)

It was cleaned from top to bottom. I even dusted the doors and base boards and vaccumed windows and the matress. I got rid of about 10 pairs of shoes that I havent worn in about 6 years. Which is funny because I hate stuff. I am the kind of person if I havent looked at it in 6 months its gone, but I guess I just havent purged my closet lately. One big time consumer was two more large totes of clothing. One had boys winter clothes that they can ware right now and about 30 pairs of jeans in them. Ugh! Just when I thought I had gone through all the clothes. None the less it is through!

I couldnt stop with just one room so I moved the kids bedrooms to today and cleaned their bathroom yesterday. I hear them diligently working hard up there cleaing their room. I need to go direct and help, and go through ALL those clothes and decide which ones will stay out and which ones are going back in the tote, because no child needs 20 pairs of blue jeans and 30 shirts at one time.

So today we will, Lord and body willing tackle:
Boys Room
Girls Room
Nursery

Have A Great Day!

Edited later: I thought it would take a good portion of the day to clean the kids rooms, yet it is 11:30 and I am done with the boys and girls rooms. Now all that is left is the nursery which wont take to long! Cant clean it right now though because Eve's taking her nap.
I love progress!!

The Count Down Cleanup!

We are counting down the last days, until the new little one arrives! 12 days to go infact..YIKES! I'm still not totally ready. So I decided that I will start my 12 day countdown to a clean house. I am actually going to do this in 10 days and add some finishing touches the last 2 days if I have them to spare ;-) My house really is not filthy, at first glance it looks fine, but there are all those little things like under the beds, the curtains, the ceiling fans, those one or two drawers that are filled with stuff....etc, etc! That is my focus.

So we will start our count down on day 12! Today we will be "overhauling" (cleaning every inch) of the
Master bedroom
1) clean cobwebs
2) clean ceiling fan
3) starighten closet and drawers
4) clean out under bed
5) windex windows
6) sew new curtains ( I will do this on day 2, if I dont find time today)
7) wash bedding and vacume mattress
8) vacume and mop floors

Nursery (Eves room for the next two months)
1) cobwebs
2) windex windows
3) dust furniture
4) clean curtains
5) clean beding on crib and day bed (needs a new crib matress)
6) organize dresser and changing table
7) put away Ava's clothes after washing them (they will share a dresser and closet)
8) vacume and mop floors

Future Girls room (where Eve will move)
1) dust
2) windex
3) clean & organize toys
4) straighten dresser
5) clean out under bed
6) vacume & mop floors

That should hold me for today! LOL We still have school to complete and the normal daily duties to keep on top of, so this will be fit in after we are through. Fill free to join in on my countdown cleanup, an organized clean home is so nice no matter what season you are in.

Icey Cold

Today we woke up to ice everywhere. Which was great because that meant that Rob stayed home. The boys are having a great time playing outside in the ice, I dont understand that but apparently its great fun!

School is underway and we are almost done for the day. I am a bit closer to being ready for this baby. We pulled out the box of baby girl clothes out of the storage closet. I also found that I have 2 very large totes of baby boy clothes, that Rob tried to get me to give away....not ready for that just yet ;-/

Well, I need to get back to work around here. Just a reminder for those of you who are interested The Arndt Family will be on TLC (The Learning Channel) tonight at 9:00. They have 13 boys and 1 girl. It should be great fun to watch them in action.

Have a Great Day!

Please Pray for Mary Zander

This little precious girl has been heavy on my heart lately. She is 2 and was very recently diagnosed with severe lung disease. It appears in our human perspective that she is not improving and infact declining. I am so glad that my perspective is faulty and that He sees the whole picture. I continue to pray that the Lords will would be that Mary would be healed completely.

My children and I are lifting her up in prayer on a daily basis!

You can learn more about Mary and how to pray for her specifically on a daily basis by visiting her at www.carepages.com under MaryZander

A busy day ahead

...if we stay on track that is ;-) Today is friday which around here is "Deep clean Friday" Yes, those are the groans of my oldest children you hear in the background. LOL I'm not sure what I would do without the help of my oldest two/sometimes three boys. They work (most of the time) without complaint, and really help me stay ontop of the house. The only rooms in the house that I am in charge of are the kitchen, two bathrooms and my room. The rest is divided between the oldest 3/4 boys.

They each have their own zones that must be cleaned/neatened two times a day.

1)Devon/ Living room, library, boys room, upstairs balcony, laundry

2)Jordan/ Dinning rm, library, laundry rm, Eves rm (nursery), downstairs porch, trash

3)Seth/ stairs & stair railings and landings , upstairs and downstairs hallways, entry way, excersise rm, spare bedroom, back porch

On any normal day duties include keeping the floors clean, picking up trash, cups and keeping it neat. On Fridays this includes dusting, windexing all windows inside and or out if needed. Cleaning out "under things" like the couches, beds, cabinets etc. Mopping floors and wiping down walls and door casings.

Fridays also mean cleaning up outside. The backyard must be pooper-scooped, trash picked up, sidewalks swept off etc.

This all may sound like a lot of work, but when you do it daily/weekly it doesnt take much time at all. Fridays take about 1.5 hours to complete all tasks. Not bad!

Today we also have to go to the grocery store and post office. Then this evening I go see my midwife and check on little Ava Rose. So its a busy day ahead!

Getting Things Done!

Rob and I finished the laundry room this past weekend. All except the tile on the floors, still need to get that down. It is such a huge blessing to have it completed. I love clean, freshly painted, crisp walls. Here are the before and after pictures.







As you can see the sheet rock was missing in places along the ceiling due to some water damage that had occured before we bought the house. There was also a half wall, between the entrance and the washing machine. Rob and the boys tore that out and replaced everything with new sheetrock. Rob textured it and put up new trim and base and hung a new light. I love it!! I have such an awesome, hard working husband. So here are the after pictures.

That is one thing off my list. I am going to run today and get a double hanging laundry basket so that the boys can sort the laundry every morning and it will be ready to just throw in the washer. I still need to clean out our storage closet that holds ALL our seasonal, extra clothing totes. There are literally at least 10 totes in there and much more. I rummaged through the top totes and found the infant boy clothes, but no luck on the infant girl clothes. I'm sure they are at the bottom. So we will do that this Sunday and get it cleaned out.

School has officially started this year. The boys are doing well. We are focusing simply on reading and writing this first two weeks, to get them back in the swing of things. Then will incorporate all the other things.

I didnt get much sleep last night as our two dogs woke me at least 5 times. I finally was left alone at about 3:00am when I threw them outside. The Mastiff, wakes up in the middle of the night and tries to steal loaves of bread. He is succesful most of the time, we werent sure how he was managing the 5 ft scale up the counter to get it, but I watched him last night. It is no problem for him at all. I did finally put all the bread on top of the frig, which he apparently had trouble reaching last night. So its safe for now. But I am tired!

Well I'm off, everyone have a blessed day!

How to make the towel toothbrush holder!

Many of you have asked how to make the toothbrush holder out of the towel, so here is what I did.


Buy a regular bathroom hand towel, not to thin and not to thick, a good medium texture. Lay it flat and cut it right down the center:

This will allow you to make 2 holders! Then you want to fold over and pin the raw (cut edge). I pin it and then sew a straight stitch. You may want to serge it or even bias tape it for more durability.

The next step is to fold over the bottom, where the toothbrushes slide in. I fold it in the middle of the decorative embroidery section, move it around to however you like it most. Then you will want to measure for your toothbrushes. I start in the center and work my way out, but really it just needs to fit what you want.

It helps me to actually set up the toothbrushes then measure across the bottom, while marking, this particular one I measured 1.5 inches for each section except the toothpaste in the middle was about 2 inches. I would not suggest using the large tubes of toothpaste, this one is the smaller 3.5 oz, I think the larger ones may weigh it down to much. You dont have to add toothpaste at all, I just thought I would see how it turned out.

Once you get the bottom marked, mark the top as well to help guide you while you are sewing. Next you will go to the sewing machine and sew a straight stitch along all your measurments. Then you are done. I do like to reverse stitch the tops to make them a bit stronger as that is where the tugging will be as they are pulled out.

Lastly you will either want to attach metal circle snaps, or just sew a button hole in the top corners and hang it on the wall. And you are done! It takes about 20 min to sew one and the cost is practicaly nill, If you buy a hand towel for two bucks, your cost is 1.00 a holder!!

Happy toothbrush holder making!!

Sword of The Spirit

How much does the Lord except and embrace the following of other gods? Lets look and see. There are so many versus that I could not even get them all on here, infact there are 74 versus that specifically deal with warnings and or charges of following after other gods "false gods" Plus many more which relate in varius ways. So heres a few:

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exo 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Deu 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

Deu 6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

Deu 7:4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

Deu 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

Deu 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

Jdg 2:12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

Jer 1:16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Jer 16:13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not show you favor.

I think I have made my point and to make my point even further there is only ONE JESUS....Yeshua Messiah....Savior Redeemer. There is only one infalable word of God...The Holy Scriptures...The Bible. All else are false "other gods" "another Jesus" "Baal" "satan" The list goes on.

*************************************************************************
Children: What does The WORD OF THE LORD say?


Psa 127:3 Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psa 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Psa 127:5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

At this time I am going to begin moderating the comments. There is no reason why you precious ladies should have to read the snarls of those less fortunate. ;-(

History being made ;-(

So apparently yesterday, for the first time sence the founding of our country someone was sworn into office while placing his hand on the Karan (sp) and not the Holy Bible.

This makes me very sad...Lord please forgive us and dont turn your face from us!

Toothbrush Holders

I was intrigued by an idea I read about on the MOMYS digest. The idea was to make a toothbrush holder out of a towel. This would be inexpensive and could be washed when needed.

After a couple of tries this is what I came up with. I LOVE IT! It holds 11 brushes, but could hold more with a little ingenuity. It can be made in any color to match your bathroom. I am trying to come up with a way to label each section so that each child will know exactly what brush is theirs. It can be fancied up if desired with ribbon, lace, buttons or iron ons.

I am willing to make these for anyone who wants one. The cost for a basic (no frills) will be $7.00 (including shipping) If you order two I will only charge $6.00 a piece. You choose the color towel, and I will do my best to locate it. I will put them up on my store as well if you decide you might like one later on down the road. Otherwise email me at audreystucker@yahoo.com if your interested.

Catching Up

Yesterday was much better than the previous days of the week. I was able to do quite a bit of laundry and pick up the house a bit. I still felt horrible, but just pushed through it. The princess was a little more cooperative although still extremely fussy, shes much more needy when she doesnt feel good.

Today I am going to finish the laundry and put it all away. I need to finish painting the laundry room, but I think I will put that off until this weekend. I need to get started on the school work scheduling. That will be tomorrow, I think. I am going to take it easy today if at all possible, because I feel as though I am on the tail end of this cold.

I pulled the bassinet out the other day and this is what I found in it a few minutes after it was in my room LOL Silly Girl!

Have a great Day!

I am simply here to vent before I fall apart. If there was ever a challenging week this is it. I have been dealing with sick children, who are all mostly better now. I on the other hand am just getting to the worst of it. Stuffiness, headache, cant breath, cant sleep. I have gotten maybe 4 hours of sleep each night for the past week. I am exhausted! All of the catching up on things like laundry and the like were in vain, as they are all now backed up again.

My youngest little angel has decided that this is the week that she will either throw up or take off her diaper in her bed every night and during all naps, so that the whole bedding and herself needs a complete washing. She has aslo decided that this week she would pull the 25 lb bag of flour out of the cabinet and get it everywhere, twice! Then she would play as much as possible in the toilets, because the "older brothers" cant seem to shut the doors after each use. I had to buy new toothbrushes last night because all the boys brushes ended up in the toilet. She also thought that today she would get into the jar of vasoline I had sitting on the table next to the couch (for my aching and raw nose) and proceed to spread it all over herself and the couch.

Rob has had to take my car for the last week and probably for a few weeks more as he has a flat tire and you cant seem to buy new tires unless its during business hours. So that left me at the grocery store last night until 11:00pm The boys are restless. I havent gotten any of their school work prepared for the start of next week, I feel so behind! I am tired! I am emotionally drained!
I have a baby coming in two weeks and I am not close to being ready.

Please pray that this cold will leave me soon! If you've read through this far I'm sorry, and thanks for sticking around...I just had to vent somewhere.

Happy New Year Everyone!

May your year be filled with

joy

peace

love

patience

understanding

compassion

blessings

kindness

wisdom

&

Above all else the Holy Spirit

We had a fun evening. The boys wanted to stay up until midnight, so we made a party of it. Complete with pop-corn and sodas and movies. They all fell out one by one. Jordan and I made it to midnight then went to bed. Devon was awake even longer with his dad watching movies. There was no mistaking midnight as all the fireworks and gun shots (gasp) rang out around our house.

This cold bug finally hit me yesterday and I have been trying to rest, which is irritating because I really had alot to get done this weekend. Eve felt so bad yesterday that she just laid in my lap on the couch dosing off and on. I hate them being sick, but I enjoy the cuddling! I'm not feeling much better today either, so I will just continue to rest. ;-/

Runny Nose Central

I am surrounded by coughing, and runny noses. Literally from every angle! I guess I wasn't vigil enough at the onslaught of the sickness, because really my kids aren't usually sick for more than 12 hours. I just let their bodies kick in and fight the sickness and it always is gone in less than a day. So much so that I didn't even have Tylenol in the house when the fevers came.

What is this stuff? My poor Eli (3) started this whole mess, and he is still sick 3 days later. My youngest three seem to have it the worse and the older three are just coughing and sneezing a bunch. I'm guessing its just a simple cold bug. I am still fine! I was thinking yesterday these guys better get past this before Ava gets here!

So I am being scrupulous at making them drink their Vitamin C water and resting. I don't have any CLO but plan on getting some more as soon as I can make it to the store. I may even order it online today. The funny thing is I didn't even mention it to the boys, when I sat them all down at the table to drink their Vit C water and my oldest said "this is really bitter, but at least its not that fish oil stuff" LOL , can you tell they cant stand that stuff! I have to admit it gives me horrible indigestion as well. But the benefits out way the yuckie-ness.

Please keep us in your prayers the next few days!

A Great Surprise

I had some unexpected guests last night....My good friend Ann and her Husband Kevin and their son came by to say hello! I have not seen them in over a year, sense they moved from here to Georgia. Needless to say I was more than excited to see them. They had been in San Antonio visiting relatives and were on their way to Texarkana.

It is so nice to see folks that you miss dearly! I am sure that Ann would not mind me asking you guys to pray for her and her family. They desire another child greatly and have been waiting patiently for over 4 years now for The Lord to bless them. May His blessing flow into their lives!

The Home Stretch

I just saw that my baby ticker is on its last square! Only 31 days to go! I have never gone past my due date infact I am usually a few days before. I have been feeling this one moving into position ;-) the last few days. My Braxton Hicks have been very strong this past week. I would be really surprised if I make it another 3 weeks. We have tickets to the Mav's game on the 27th and I am due the 28th. My friend and I were kidding around that this one should come in true Stucker fashion "at the Mav's game" but I really would rather not LOL! Needless to say we are Mavericks Fans all the way. I did have the idea of painting a basketball on my belly for the game....ROTFL...I'm only kidding! I'm pretty sure I wont be making it and instead will be cuddling my new baby girl.

It is finally hitting me that I am about to have another baby here real soon. Isnt it funny (or maybe its just me) but after number 4, being pregnant isnt really a big event, its just part of the job. A good part none the less! So I am feeling its time to pull some things together. This month will be a bit busy as we try and finish up some things. I need to get the boys school year scheduled, we school year round with the first of the year being our "new" year, instead of August. I want to get the kids in a position to follow out their daily schedules even if I am not available to help them. It seems that when I stop they stop. I want to get the house ship shape from top to bottom ;-) I need to finish painting the laundry room. It looks 200% better than it did when we started, I'll post before and after pictures when we are done. Ah, what else...I know there is more.

The boys seem to coming down with colds, which means they will be taking it easy today. Not me though I need to get busy. Everyone have a blessed day!

Grand Opening!

Finally Finished and open for business!!

Please visit my new, hand made, custom, apparel store.

Sewing the Seams of Love!
http://www.sewingtheseamsoflove.com/

There are many styles of clothing to choose from and many fabrics available. I have tried to keep the pricing as low as possible and THE SHIPPING IS FREE!!

You will find a few ready made dresses, I am adding more as time allows. The beauty of custom ordering is that you get exactly what you want. So visit the styles & fabrics pages and choose your favorites!

Please "pass" me along to your friends and family! For all those who refer me to a purchasing customer you will receive a dollar off of your next order, up to 3 dollars!

If you are a member of the "MOMYS Group" you will receive 5% off of every order you place!

Thanks So much!
Blessings
Audrey Stucker

The Word Became flesh

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:9-14

FreeFoto.com

Christmas

This is a wonderful article, that is factual yet loving and non judgmental. I say that if I had to put how I feel about Christmas into words this is exactly what I would say!

http://www.jcstudie s.com/assets/ pdf/COMChristmas Message.pdf

Barnacles!

This morning my wonderful 9.5 son came down at about 7:00 while I was making bisquits and gravy. He asked if I wanted to play the Sponge Bob Square Pants Monopoly game he received a few days ago from his grandpa. I agreed and figured it would be good one on one quality time, as well as a bit of counting practice for him. When we stopped playing (does one ever really finish an entire game of monopoly?) I thought maybe it was 9ish or so....nope, 10:15!! I cant believe I played that game for three hours this morning.

On another not, do any of you other mothers of boys have to "re-visit" the correct way to use a toilet? Ughh! You would think its like riding a bike, once you know you know. Well apparently not around here. For the past month it has been a thorn in my side. So, it is me and five boys (yes they are ALL potty trained now, way to go Elijah!) standing around the toilet. I explain to them the mechanics of the lid "this is up, and this way is down" "This is the floor, we dont tinkle here" "This is the wall, yep try and stear clear of that as well"

Then I explain to them the pure, unadulterated joy that they would bestow upon me, if I did not have to wipe off the seat, just a few of the more than 15 times I visit the restroom in a day. I then of course threaten them with promises of the great outdoors. Cold, middle of the night trips to the back yard to releave themselves, if the wet seat bandit does not change his(their) ways!
They all agree to do better in the future, or I suspect at least until it warms up outside ;-) LOL

Sweet Sleep

I did not get around to taking a nap yesterday. Instead I had this crazy notion to clean the upstairs rooms. This included the boys rooms and that took two hours of us all working on it. I have this weird habit of getting the most work done when I am exhausted and plan to rest. Then when I am well rested and have a list of stuff to accomplish I dont get it all done. I never claimed to be normal. LOL

So by the time I hit the bed last night I was beyond exhausted. I slept like a rock! I woke at 3:00 to visit the restroom and realized I had not turned, nor moved at all from where I started out. Which is a huge change from turning every 20 minutes all night long. ;-) Then I went back to sleep and slept until 8:00 this morning. Luckily all the kids slept in as well, which isnt the norm around here either.

So I'm feeling a bit better today. I still have laundry to catch up on sense I washed 6 sets of sheets and comforters yesterday. The boys and I are reading Charlottes web this week, So we need to read a few chapters of that. We are taking a break from "regular" school work until the first of the year. Where we will kick it back into high gear.

Then I have some sewing to do. I want to sew some new comforters for the boys using their designated colors. I cant decide if I want to make then out of Fleece or Cotton. My problem with fleece is that everything sticks to it. My oldest son will not give up his very first comforter from when he was two. It is a fraction of its former self, but he loves it. Silly boy.

Store is moving along

Please stop by and check it out. There has been a fabrics page added as well as a styles selection page. I still have a bit more to do, but it is almost complete! Tell me what you think, what you might add, change, throw out LOL

I still have to expain in detail on the home page how the site works and the ordering procedures, as it is not a merchant site and orders will need to be sent in to me then filled. I wish I could afford a click and purchase site, but thats a bit pricey right now.

Thanks for any input!

Well, Shreveport was nice as always. Seeing my dad and grandma and uncles and cousins is always enjoyable. We usually only see them once a year and its so wild to watch our children grow up year by year. As I was walking up my uncle Ricky says "You look the same every year" LOL, he's of course talking about me being pregnant. I rubbed his belly and told him he did to.


My dad lavished the children with presents. Which I know he enjoyed doing. I received the neatest gift this year. My Memaw (my dads mom) put together a family history of her side of the family The Daniels and Smiths. I learned something I never knew. Something no one ever mentioned which I find worthy of praise and admiration. My Great Great Grandma had 20 children. Who knew? She was married at the age of 16 and 14 months later at 17 had her first child, Noah Frank. She then just about every year after that had another child. Her 11th child died at birth. Then in the year 1924 she had 4 children, 2 sets of twins!! The first set #'s 13,14 died at birth and the second set #'s 15, 16 were fine. Guess what #'s 19 & 20 were twins as well. 3 sets of twins, 20 children and she only lost 3 at birth. What a neat thing to learn about! She lived to be 66 years old until she and her husband were killed in the 1950 tornado that came through Caster LA. along with their 19th child.


The details of our family have been hard to come by. My moms family, I will never know anything about and the Adams (my dads dad) side seems to be hard to come by as well. There is just something about learning your heritage.


***************************************
I visited the midwife last Friday, everything looks great. I am measuring 35 weeks and we think the little stinker might be breech. Which makes sense because the last week I haven't felt real well. No big deal though, delivering breech is not all that different than a head first delivery. Although I do hope she turns! Sleeping is becoming harder these days. I got up this morning and felt like I was ready to go to bed LOL. Here is a picture of me at 34 weeks (this morning) ignore the hair, I hadn't put it up yet. ;-)

Well, I'm off to get started with the day. I need to get some things done so that I might be able to lay down with Eve later for a much needed nap!

So close!

Only 44 (give or take) days to go! My dad was right when he said the older you get the quicker time goes by. I never believed him, because as a child, a day seems like an eternity. LOL Now though, it seems that years run into years and months into months, and before you know it so much time has passed by.

As has been this pregnancy, very quick! I have not pulled anything out yet or even begun getting things ready for her. Although its all at my fingertips and could pulled together in a few hours. I am still wanting to purchase the birthing tub and deliver in water this time, but part of me thinks it might be just to much work. I labor for only about 3 hours and may not be able to get it up and ready in time. Then there is the cold factor...if it were summer I would be convinced, but its winter and cold and I dont like being cold. ;-)

My good friend is brining me Indian food today. I LOVE Indian food! If you have not tried it you should. I have been craving it lately, so she is bringing it as a late B-day present. I cant wait!

I will be heading to Shreveport Saturday for our Adams Annual Christmas Gathering at my grandmas house. This is the one time a year that I get to see everyone. My dad will be there this year. Now that he has moved to Mississippi from CO he is closer and we can visit more. ;-) I havent seen him in about 10 months, so that will be nice.

I have alot to do today, its deep clean Friday! I need to finish the laundry, give haircuts and much more. So I guess I need to get moving. The kids are way ahead of me with their zones, now I just need to get mine done LOL

Have a Blessed Weekend!

Clearing the muddy waters

A comment was posted:
Anonymous said...
ok, please prove to me that Jesus was born on Christmas, bc sweetie I can prove to you that he wasn't

My reply:
Audrey said...
I never said he was born on Christmas, infact I said that he was born in Late September around the 28th, 29th during the feast of tabernacles. The article said only that someone had heard that perhaps Jesus was concieved on Dec 25th. That was something I had not heard before, hence thought it fitting to pass along. If you do the math and also believe that He was born around Sept. 28th, then the conception date could very well have been Dec 25th. (did we read the same post :-?)

My intention has been to stear clear of any "side" that I take on this blog as we all will do what we see fit during this season. My take on Christmas and other holidays are not the norm of most Western Christian believers, and I do not want to be a stumbling block to anyone who may not see things the way I do. If anyone does want to know what I believe then ask me privately and I will tell you. Otherwise may everyone enjoy their holiday season as they see fit, for it is not my place to judge.

My girls!

I don't usually post pictures like this, but thought it was just too cute and knew you moms would see the beauty in it. Eve has a belly button fascination. She is always rubbing her belly button, she cant go to sleep without it. LOL

So needless to say she likes to examine other belly buttons as well. She was sitting in my lap on the couch, we were having our afternoon girl time. She decided she wanted to check out my belly button and talk to her sister Ava. I had Jordan bring me the camera and snapped this photo.

Prairie Dress

This is the dress that is under the Penafore. Very flowing. This dress is one that you can spin around in a circle and make a big "poof", definately a dress suitable for any princess! It is a bit big on my petite little girl. I took the dress from a size 2 down to about a size 18 months and she still has plenty of room to grow, not to mention that I can let the bottom out a good three inches as she gets taller, (if she ever gets taller LOL)

So what do you think? I love it, and will be placing it in the store as a custom order only, as it takes much time and material to complete.

*********************************************************************
Tiany, to answer your question, yes my boys tend to tease each other quite a bit. As they get older it even increases because they begin to add in practical jokes and pranks. I was just talking to Rob last night saying that the oldest two really are becoming emotional about things. When they are younger they cry for a few minutes and then its done. When they start hitting puberty (oh, I cant believe I am saying that) their emotions seem to be hightened and the teasing seems to be effecting them more, as if they take it more to heart than when they were little (so keep that in mind, now would be the time to make changes if you think you need to)

Do I think it is normal for boys to tease? To a degree! Rob and I tease each other all the time, but we know its done in jest. We NEVER do it to hurt one another, but unfortunately with kids its an easy "getting back at you" tacktic, when they are mad at each other. So having said all that we have rules about teasing and ruff housing, because around here thats a huge part of being a boy as well.

Heres what we do, with teasing one another it is unexceptable when someones feelings could be hurt, or do get hurt. Then it is stopped and followed by an appology (I am seeing though that the older ones when their feelings have been hurt, tend to hold on to the anger a bit longer, and an appology does not always resolve the hurt)

No teasing in the form of harmful name calling, this one is tricky because its fun to call each other silly names, I do it with the kids all the time (example: silly pickle, goof ball, ect) they know I'm kidding, but there again they may use it to get back at each other when upset.

With ruff housing, no punching, kicking or biting ect, just simple wrestling, and if it gets heated it is stopped.

As I read over what I have written, I think to myself surly it would just be easier and make more sense to stop all the teasing and ruff housing all together, and perhaps that is the case in some homes. In ours though I think there are life lessons (social lessons) to be learned within the safety of our own home and family.............................

.....................I wish you could have been a fly on the wall for the past 15 minutes, I decided to call my oldest two (9.5, 11) down to ask them about teasing and brotherdom and their take on it all. I wish I had a way to tape it and put it on here for you but lets just say they were very candid. It boils down to that its fun when its fun and is vengful when it is useful. I asked them if it would be possible to stop it all together in a family, my oldest said "ya, if you are an only child" LOL, the conversation ended with them wrestling on the couch and Devon pushing Jordans head into the couch saying "smell Franky" (Franky is an odiferous dog and thats the couch he sleeps on ;-)

I laughed as I saw them loving each other in their boyish physical way. Totaly enjoying each other as they wrestled around. You know I have to say that if they are being raised in a home with loving parents who teach them right from wrong and love them, they will be fine. Keep it safe and address it when its out of hand. They will be great young men!

And when you just have heard enough send them out to do something physical, jump on the trampoline, run relay races ect. Hope that helps some.

Boys are so awesome!!!

Santa/ Saint Nich

I thought I would share one more post from the HOW message board. Once again I make no claims as to the accurateness of her statement, but it also is one I have not heard before in regards to the true identity or even existance of Saint Nich. She does not name the book she took the quote from, but if any are interested I could ask her for the title.

"An interesting quote from a book that I picked up in G'Burg regarding santa and trees:"The Catholic Saint Nicholas also had a confusing past. He was a compilation of two separate saints (one from Myra in Asia Minor and the other from Pinora), both of whom were as the Church nowadays admits-northing more than christianized water deites-possibly related to the Greco-roman god Poseidon/neptune. ) In the 1970's Vatican Council II formally stated that no Roman catholic bishop by the name of Nicholas had ever existed, and that the legends attributed to this saint had no christian origin and probably came from pagan traditions.. ......By adsorbing such pagan feasts and traditions, the Christian church could subtly bring in its own theology: in this case, establishing the good st nich, bringer oflove and gifts, while grudgingly allowing the presence of the olde religion's herne/pan, but only as a slave to st nich. Thus, in parts of Europe, the church turned herne into st nich's captive , chained dark helper; none other than satan, the dark one, symbolic of all evil.....This book is very detailed and well documented. What I am amazed at (or probably shouldnt' be) is that as much documentation as we have available about this winter holiday, the christian community adamantly clings to and defends this tradition, changing the story as they see fit, to make it seem that the messiah is somehow connected.. End post"

Just more food for thought, or to toss away if you wish ;-)

Goings on around here have been peaceful and quite. Our gas stove arrived yesterday, although the high yesterday was 68 LOL and today will be 70's. So needless to say it hasnt been used yet, but will be well broken in by the end of winter...I'm sure!

Due to the weather being so pleasent today we are going on an outing to the park!!! These boys need fresh air and so does mom! One thing about Texas, it doesnt get 'really' cold and stay that way, until late January and then it goes away at the beginning of March.

I am almost done with the Prairie Dress (I'm not sure what to name it yet, there might be a contest in the works;-) I have been working on. It is one of my favorite dresses so far. But a lot of work and material goes into this one. I will be finished with it this afternoon and will post a picture of it then. I wanted to have a few extra things added to the store this past weekend but my "website helper" didnt show up, hence nothing was updated.

I am out of time right now, but will be answering Sunflowers question about filling our childrens time so that they stay busy and out of trouble on the weekends, and other idle times.

The Birth of Christ

I read this today on the HOW (Heart of Wisdom) discussion board. It is very thought provoking. I am not saying that I agree with her oppinions entirely, but the dates and insight are interesting. I have thought due to scripture that Jesus was born in late Sept, during The Feast of tabernacles, but have never heard the claim of his conception being Dec. 25th.

I am still in much prayer and seeking wisdom over Christmas and Easter. As I have stated before I am an all or nothing kinda gal, who hates compromise. I do believe in absolute truth and I pray that The Father reveals His truth and His desires for my family in these areas.


Lisa Wrote:
Regarding the Christmas holiday, I found out that the conception date of Jesus is actually Dec. 25th and is very clearly documented in Scripture. When you read of the Course of Abia it becomes very evident that Christ was born Sept. 29th. Luke 1:5 shows that Zacharias was a full blood Levite and therefore so was Elizabeth (from the lineage of Aaron). Each course was served for one week and Zacharias served the eighth course, which happened June 13- June 19. He departed on June 20th and being an aged man, it took him 2 or 3days to get home to Elizabeth (the day following the end of the course of Abia was a Sabbath and so Zacharias could not leave Jerusalem before the 20th). Luke 1:6 says that both Zacharias and Elizabeth met the legal requirements to serve on the alter and burn the incense. Mary was a cousin to Elizabeth and therefore her mother had to have been a full blood Levite. Keep in mind that the genealogy listed in Math. ch. 1 is Joseph's and NOT Mary's.> In Luke 3: 23 (KJV) it states Jesus was the son of Joseph (as was supposed)--meaning by law. Christ came through Nathan (son of David) Luke 3:31. Christ was born Sept. 29th, 4 BC. This was also the 1st day of the Feast of Tabernacles and he was circumcised the 8th day. I just think Dec. 25th is a very special and beautiful date to remember in that the Word became flesh on this date, and 9 months later, Jesus tabernacled with humankind. As for the Christmas tree, I understand that some don't feel it is right. Personally, I see the evergreen as symbolic of eternal life and God even compares Himself to an evergreen tree in Hosea chapter 14 verse 8! The scripture most people use to say that Christmas trees are bad is the one in Jeremiah ch. 10 verse 5 where it is talking about idols. I have never worshiped a tree and believe Scripture to be true where it says these trees can neither do evil, nor good. I agree on the fact that materialism is too important to people> and replaces the true meaning of Christmas but I don't any longer feel that December 25th is just a date picked out by heathen nations and stuck into Christianity by man. Does anyone have the Companion Bible KJV ? It very clearly explains the fact that Christ was indeed conceived Dec. 25 when John the Baptist was 6 months in the womb and he lept for joy upon Mary's arrival at Elizabeth's home.

Edited later: The conception date could very well be Dec 25th, Mary would have had to have been about 10 days late in delivering baby Jesus, which is normal especially for first time moms.

Such poetic words

I read this today here and thought I would share it:

As we explain the pains and discomforts that Karen is experiencing I hope that you are all putting these things into context in at least two ways. The first is that it is important to see these things in contrast to what Christ had to suffer. What he suffered he did so willingly as a righteous man., What we suffer we do so as guilty men who in our hearts beat our chests and ask “why?!” deceiving ourselves that we deserve better than what we’re getting.

Secondly, we must appreciate that this pain and suffering is part of the great story of history that God is breathing out over time. All of its comedy as well as its tragedy are perfectly placed. He is the master author and we are the characters that he loves. That he loves his people means that the tragedy is not capricious, mean or pointless. That we are characters means that we are his creation and we are not privy to know all the reasons why he has written our particular parts the way he has. We can be confident, however, that for those who love him, when we are finally able to look back at the whole story we’ll see that each part of the plot was necessary to make it truly beautiful.

Pray For Karen!!

BRRRRR

No posting for the next few days. Our stove is not to arrive until the 13th and a cold front has come through. It is 40 degrees and dropping in the library and my fingers are going numb.

Have a great weekend!

Success

Well.....Elijah went all day AND all night with no accidents. I presume the time was right. He began telling me later in the day that he needed to go potty and made it every single time!

I put pull-ups on him to go to bed and he still was able to make it through the night and went potty this morning. I am wondering if he is holding the "big business" though because he hasn't done that yet.

We are going to get groceries today and that will be the big test, can he make it through the errands without any accidents? I'm pretty sure he will do great.

On another note, today is Thursday and the day I told the owners of the land that we could complete the transaction for the property. Part of me is wondering if they will even show back up. But I am fine with it either way. They will be back someday, if not today.

I heard the neatest thing the other day! My SIL said that my MIL was telling her that she is going to give her doll collection to me for my "girls" ROTFL!!!

I never thought I would ever hear that I had a girl, but GIRLS! How exciting! Only a mom who has had many sons before having a daughter (or is still waiting) knows what I am talking about. For ten years I was a mom to boys! that was my calling, my job, my lot in life. And it was fabulous! I am so glad that I had 5 boys before I had my girls! But I am soooo glad that I have been given these girls. I could just eat Eve up! I cant wait to meet this next little one. I wonder what she will look like, I'm almost positive she will have brown eyes (4 of my 6 do) Will she have blond hair like Rob or Black hair like me? Will she have Robs long fingers or my short stubbies? LOL

I cant wait to meet her!! Not long now!

A Glorious Day!

The angels are singing praises in heaven today! I have only had to potty train one of my children, the oldest. He was a bit difficult, and with me being a new mom I was a bit pushy. Then as the rest of the boys came along they just watched the oldest and trained themselves at an acceptable age.

My fifth son is much like my 1st son in many many ways, one of them being difficult to potty train. They are both very bright children, so perhaps they just see the easyness in not using the potty. Eli will be 4 in April (WOW, that just hit me) so I have been asking him and have introduced him to the potty several times with NO cooperation or interest from him. So as not to push him I just have watched for signs of interest.

He made the move into pull-ups about a 3 months back. My hopes where that he would feel like a big boy and get used to underware in a sense. Well, the funny thing about that, is that he would just wait until they were full and change his own pull-up (I of course still handled the poopies) He changed himself in the morning and throughout the day. I know you are laughing outloud, its OK, I realize how rediculous that is!

So with needing to tighten the budget I figured it was time to potty train, ready or not. Today I put him in underware and told him that was it, no more Bugs Bunnies (pull-ups) I sat him on the potty and committed to taking him back every 45min. Well the first 4 times were nonproductive. Then he walks into the kitchen and I realize he needs to go potty, so we run upstairs and for the first time in his entire life HE TINKLES IN THE POTTY!!!!!

I'm sure he thought I had finally lost my marbles as I was dancing around the bathroom and singing his praises! I was sure that Eve would potty train before him, but I was wrong. Now I know what you are saying "sweet dear, he used the toilet once, you have a long road to travel" This I know, but at least there is light in the tunnel now!

Our second habit to break this week is Seths thumb sucking. He is 7 now and his dady told him last night he was through, no more, thats it! So he has been waring a glove over his hand today and has to ware it for a few days straight, until he is free from the habit.

Progress!!

Its warm enough today.....

....to sit in here and blog a bit. It is very warm in the living, dinning and kitchen area of the house. We shut the doors to that side and the stoves keep it quite toasty. It is also warm in the kids rooms as they have small stoves in there, but the rest of the house is a cool 48 degrees. "Ya, right" you say, "surly you are exagerating" here is the thermometer I put in the hallway yesterday

Yep pretty cold, so hence the reason why I have not been blogging the past few days. All of that will change in a few days as our new stove arives on the UPS truck. I ordered it Sunday and am counting down till its arrival. It will go into the library (where my computer is) and also will heat up the sewing room and entryway as well as the upstairs (from heat rising) Each one of these stoves heats 1000 sq feet and we have three total, with 4000 sq feet to heat, so we are getting there slowly. Can you believe that the first winter we lived here we had NO stoves for heat and NO AC units for coolness in the summer. I look back now and think how did we do it?

This weekend I finished two Pinafores. I now need to get going on the dress that goes on the inside. They will be beige with long sleeves adorned with lace along the arms and bottom as well as round collars. I am so happy with how they turned out. I have decided that this will be one of the "special order" dresses in the store. They are great for cooler weather because they are essentially two seperate dresses. They have little tucks on the bodice and buttons that go down the front. I will post a much better picture when I have a completed set.

Lastly we had unexpected visitors yesterday. We have lived here going on 4 years. We bought this house because we loved the size, price and potential, as well as the fact that we had 4 empty lots that encircled our home which we were hoping to purchase. We have successfully bought the three behind us but the folks that owned the large lot right beside our home made it clear they did not intend on selling. So we fenced the areas we bought and were happy with that.

As a preface to the story we had offered as much as 2500 for the lot a few months back when we had the money, and never heard anything back. So yesterday they come to our door and asked if we were still wanting to buy the land. Umm YAAA! So we chat for a moment and I find out that the owner is in a nursing home and the gal who is to inherit it is in need of some fast money. I ask them what they want for it and they say $800.00 I try to hold back my amazement and stay calm. I said let me talk to my husband, call me back later.

Long story short, you bet we will buy it. Problem is Dec and Jan where going to be very tight months as I have to pay the midwife and take 5 kids into the dentist, which I know a few have cavities that need to be dealt with. So how are we going to pull this off. Rob and I dont deal in credit, it ruined us once and well, we learn from our mistakes. LOL

Does anyone have any tips on feeding a family of 8 for 50 a week? I figure this is the Lords doing and He will make it happen how He has it planned out. I am just excited to see what happens. In a weird sort of way, I enjoy "tight" months every once in a while. As it really helps you to focus on only the essentials, and your eyes are opened to how truly blessed you really are.

So please say a prayer for us that this transaction happens and that we have money left to eat these next two months. I know we will, The lord is always faithful!

Homeschool & Scriptures

Here is the post I wrote in August about what we use for our schooling.

I also feel like something has really been on my heart alot lately. I could explain it in my falty human words, but I figured we could just read it from the source.

“Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way” (Ps. 119:37)

“Rid me and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” (Ps. 144:11,12)

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Ps. 1:1-3)

“I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” (Rom. 16:19)

“I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.” (Ps. 119.101)

“Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.” (Deut. 7:26)

“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (I Thes. 5:22)

“Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.” (I Tim. 6:20,21)

“But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker.” (II Tim. 2:16,17)

“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.” (II Jn. 1:10,11)

“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” (Ps 101:3)

“One sinner destroyeth much good.” (Eccl. 9:18b)

“For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps. 11:2,3)

“They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them” (Ps. 106: 34-36)

“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.” (Luke 11:34-36)

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (I Cor. 15:33)

“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” (I Cor. 5:6,7)

“Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” (Gal. 5:7-9)

“Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Rom. 1:33)

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness” (Matt. 6:22,23)

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Gal. 6:7,8)