Homemade Birthday

Ethan turns 7 on July 3rd. So I made him this Space boy cloth action figure and I am still working on the Robot that goes with him. Rob thinks its pretty neat but has a feeling that Ethan is going to be a bit disappointed. He may be right. It seems that the last two birthday celebrators made out rather well gift wise. I feel bad but there is really nothing more I can do. His is lucky that I had this material already on hand.

Lets just say things have been tight around here for the past 6 weeks. Rob did a bathroom remodel for someone we knew in June. They are and have been for the past 2 weeks ignoring/running from and dodging us completely. They owe us $6,000 dollars and we haven't seen one penny. Its looking rather dim that we will be paid for this job and will have to place a lien against the home, problem is we are broke. I haven't paid the bills for June and yes its almost July. My friend paid our electric/water bill earlier this month so it would not be turned. off.

Its been really hard going through this. We have never dealt with someone who would not pay. It was a set up from the beginning and we realize now he never intended to pay us. We do have a contract to back us up but the truth of the matter is it will cost a few hundred dollars to file the judgments and then time, both of which we just don't have. Thank the Lord we planted a garden this year because that has been keeping us fed as well as eggs from the chickens. We have tried to take meals from 3 down to 2 a day, eating breakfast at 9:30 and eating Linner or Dunch (whatever you want to call it) at around 3:30. This works for the most part, its amazing what kids will eat when they are hungry ;-)

Any way, not here to cry on your shoulder just wanted to tell you that if I suddenly disappear from Internet land for a while its because my phone has been shut off. Life sometimes throws hardball's and we are on the receiving end this time. All I know is He is in control. If you feel led to pray for us and for this to be resolved rather quickly, please do.

Garden

I can not wait to bite into these babies! We will have about 4 ready in a week to pull off and eat. The rest are in various sizes/stages of growth and will provide us with Cantaloupe through out the summer.

Todays harvest. I planted way to many sweet peppers this spring, they are coming out of my ears. I will dry half of them and freeze the rest. There is a beetle critter getting to my tomatoes, so I pulled a few to see how well they will ripen on the vine in my window seal. The green beans should be ready to pick in about a week as well. I am ready for something new to harvest!

Everything

Lord I'm tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I'm so alone
And Lord the dark Is creeping in
Creeping up To swallow me
I think I'll stop
Rest here a while

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give, thats my everything.

And didn't You see me cry'n?
And didn't You hear me call Your name?
Wasn't it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You'd remember Where you sat it down

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now, I know its not much
And this is all that I can give, thats my everything!

I didn't notice You were standing here
I didn't know that That was You holding me
I didn't notice You were cry'n too
I didn't know that That was You washing my feet

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
And this is all that I can say right now, I know its not much
And this is all that I can give, thats my everything!

....thats my everything!

David Crowder Band "All I can Say"

This song is so very special to me. I'll never forget the time my Sweet Savior spoke to me so clearly. I have always believed in God, but due to my childhood/teenage years I was mostly just angry with Him. I was baptised when I was 23 and began my journey with Him.

I had alot of issues to deal with though, my mother leaving me as an infant, abuse, molestation, a step mother who loathed me as a young girl, so much loneliness. One day as my two children where sleeping and I was all alone on the couch reading scripture, I became so overwhelmed with emotion, so much grief and sadness. I asked Him flat out "why me, why did you allow all of that to happen to me?"

I will never forget His response. It was a clear, hot summer day. As I sat there I heard rain begin to poor down as hard as it could poor, and He said to me, as clear as day, " Everytime you cried, I was crying with you!" Then as quickly as it came the rain stopped. I forgave Him that day and everyone that had ever hurt me, it was all washed away.

I learned so much about Him in those few moments, His sweetness, His Love...so pure.

Pregnancy Stats

I said I would keep a running log of my prenatal care record, so here is the first official entry.

• Date: June 25,2008
• Weeks gestation: 15.5
• Weight : 180, ya I know this is not good, I am working on it not raising much higher.
• Pulse: 90....my resting pulse has always been really high, does any one else have that?
• BP: 122/68....great BP though, I have never had a BP issue, Praise the Lord!
• FHR (fetal heart rate): 166 a nice strong heart beat.
• Fundal Height: 16cm, measuring right on schedule, so we can pretty safely rule out twins!

There you have it, so far everything is wonderful. I usually dont start checking my urine until I am about 25 weeks. The nausea is pretty much all but gone. Still super exhausted though and need my hour long nap around 1:00. I have started riding my stationary bike 30 minutes a day to build up my cardio.

Indigestion abounds with this little one. I had a salad last night for dinner and afterwards had horrible indigestion, from salad....go figure. I still feel like I have to force my self to do anything, I just have no desire to get up and do anything....kinda like I am living in a fog. So everything that gets done is because I forced myself to do it. I hope it lifts soon!

Giveaway!

Kelly at Hearts for Family is hosting a wonderful Vision Forum giveaway. You can read all about it here. Go on over and take a look at the fabulous prize!

Encouragment?

I often come across posts on the blogs I frequent that talk about their children and how they welcome them as the Father gives them. These folks are just excited about what The Lord does in their lives and love sharing it with others. Yet it never fails that someone gets defensive and throws out accusations of said blogger pushing this way of life down other peoples throats. Although that never really is the case.

Lets say you are a Dr of some sort and you LOVE your profession. You often talk to others about how wonderful your life is, all the exciting things you did that day...and how you feel its one of the best jobs in the world.

Many would probably agree with you and commend you for your dedication and hard work.

I'm not sure anyone would say " well thats great for you, but I just dont see why you have to force it down peoples throats, I could never do that. Its each individuals choice as to what they become".......you get my point?

Why cant people just be happy for you? Why do they think its always about them? I may feel it is the best way for my family and enjoy sharing those thoughts with others, but that in no way means I am saying you must follow in my footsteps or you are wrong.

Another Birthday

Its birthday Season around here. Two weeks ago Eve turned 3. Yesterday it was Jordans turn to become another year older (11 to be exact) and two weeks from now we will have another to celebrate.

During these two months it becomes all to clear to me how quickly time goes by. I wish I could say I have used all these years wisely, but I have missed the mark on many occasions.

Every day is a new day, a new beginning. Another chance to sit and read to them, to have silly conversations, to talk about the wonders of our Creator and His Creation. Every day is a gift!

I have the best job in the world. There is no other occupation more rewarding than being a mother. Its not just a dish washer, laundry folder, floor sweeping job. Its a boo boo kissing, heart shaping, big squishy hugs job. Talk about employee benefits.......eternal benefits!

Casualties

If I have learned anything through gardening, its that there are going to be casualties and more than you would prefer. So far I have lost my row of peas due to the heat (planting them too late). I lost my black eyed peas and black beans because of bugs. You learn though as you go along.

I learned that I need to plant the beans after my other plants have become established, because at that point you will have a nice family of Lady Bugs to eat those pesky bean eating bugs. So I will plant them next week and see if they do any better.


I have learned that gardens will not be safe if you have animals or children, even if you have it fenced off. I planted four rows of corn yesterday, yes late but corn is a fast maturing crop and if you live in an area with a long growing season you can pull it off. I go out this evening to "tuck in" my garden and read it a bed time story, OK kidding about the bedtime story......and I find that feet have visited the freshly planted corn.

If my tracking skills serve me correctly this little animal must be freshly 3 with pig tails and a deep love for freshly mound dirt. Luckily I still have enough seeds to replant them and she is now very aware that she is to stay off of the corn rows, all four of them.

Another tip that I have observed these past few days is that a pristinely weeded and clean garden may not be the best scenario for establishing a healthy bug environment. Those good bugs like lady bugs and spiders need pollen from flowers (i.e. some weeds) they also need the cover from surrounding grass, weeds, plants to lay eggs and hide out from the heat.

What I have been doing is allowing the grass to grow in the walkways of my rows, this has helped alot. Our lady bugs are flourishing and working hard for us. I have lots of little spiders that catch flies and gnats. I have really enjoyed watching the echo system of this garden.

Around the garden

Acorn Squash

Yellow Squash
Grape Vine
Onions
Bell Peppers
Zuccinni
Tomatoes
Todays Harvest
Cantalope
Okra
Cabbage

We have had some rain over the past two days and the weeds have taken off, but so have the plants. I Love walking out there every morning to see what The Lord has for us. Today it was squash and zuccinni.

Conversations with Eve

As we sit in the garden watching the lightening bugs dance around our heads......

Eve "mom, wheres the moon....wheres the cheese?"

Mom "I dont know maybe its still sleeping"

Eve "Its mommy needs to wake it up"

.....running off to catch fire flies.......

Eve "mom, I found it, theres the moon! I'll share it with you, do you want some cheese?"

T-Shirt Link

Some have asked for the "birth control is for sissies" T-shirt link, so here it is!

Happy Birthday!

Today you are 3. Happy Birthday my dear. I couldn't begin to even relay the things you have brought into our home. Theres the obvious pink ruffles and bows, but you have brought so much more! I love your sweet kisses on my cheek and the way you cuddle with me on the couch during nap time. I love how you want to help me with dishes. Oh, how you watch my every move.

"Whats your name?" you will ask me......"Audrey Joanna", I reply
"Whats my name?" you ask smiling...."Audrey Eve" I say. Then we giggle together.

I love you, sweet Eve, more than you will ever understand! Happy Birthday!

My Crazy Summer Sale!

I wanted to start the summer off with a crazy sale. For the next 10 days you can take 25% off of The Extend-A-Bibs (thats a 3$ savings) All Fancy Shmancy Bows and Ensey Tensey Clips as well as all bow holders. Use coupon code BLOG. Sale ends June 13th at midnight.

Extend-A-Bibs

Flutter Bye Bows

Fancy Shmancy Bows

Encey Tensey Hair Bows

Youve got to be.....

....kidding me!! Wheather you agree with the FLDS or not on there religious beliefs and practices, what we should all be able to agree on is that the way this went down was wrong on so many levels. So much so that the courts said "give the children back"

Now, I read this:

AUSTIN -- With the price tag of providing care for more than 400 children seized last month from a polygamist ranch in West Texas expected to reach the tens of millions of dollars, a legislative panel suggested Tuesday that the state explore garnisheeing the religious organization's assets to recoup the costs.

"That compound didn't grow out of fairy dust," Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, said after a Senate Finance Committee hearing in which he urged state health officials to determine whether members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or even the sect as a whole, should be held responsible for the cost of care. "Why should we be footing the bill when they've got assets?"

Really are they serious? It takes alot to shock me these days, but I must say I am shocked. You can read the rest of the article here.

How does your garden grow?

We had some great rains the past few days, but with rains come lots of weeds and grass. So my goal was to spend about an hour or so out this morning weeding. It was supposed to be super hot today, but my wonderful Father kept the sun at bay and the temperatures down, what a gift that was! So what are we growing?

1. a variety of tomatoes
2. bell peppers
3. acorn squash
4. yellow squash
5. zucchini
6. peas
7. green beans
8. red onions
9. yellow onions
10. okra
11. cabbage
12. cantaloupe
13. lettuce

I had black eyed peas and black beans growing but I had to pull them out because apparently they attract some pretty fears bugs. I will grow them later in a plot by themselves. We should have yellow squash abound in about 10 days. Let me tell ya gardening is hard work. I know I keep saying that, but its true. What I realized is we have become a people who stand or sit in most everything we do. Squatting and being bent over is a whole other set of muscles. I come in after an hour of working out there and I am so sore. I know Here's a few pics, its hard to get the whole garden in so its just portions.

I saw this tee shirt on a website that sells maternity shirts with sayings. I loved this one! Its kinda a running joke between my two oldest and myself. In an episode of SpongeBob they are visiting Sandy for the first time in her waterless bubble and while they are sitting in there trying to ignore the fact that they needed water, Spongebob says "we don't need water, waters for sissies" trust me it was funny. So when I saw this shirt it cracked me up.

My Girls

Playing with photos is alot of fun. I like to enhance eyes and age photos, these are two of my favorites!

Summer Fun

These were from a couple of years ago. They were playing in the field across the street. It was a beautiful day and perfect for flying a kite! I adore the expressions on their faces.

Its all uphill from here

You know that when you open the door to that nursery and see your little one diaperless and finger painting with her morning offerings that it really is all up hill from here. Now some might say "what a horrible start to the day" I prefer to swim for my life in a glass half full!

This day can only keep getting better, yes indeed!!!

Edited 30 minutes later:
So, hubby just called to let me know that he got a ticket this morning because our son who was going to work with him today was wearing the shoulder part of the seatbelt behind his back and for not having insurance (which we have, I just hadnt given him the new card yet, the old card was only about 10 days expired) So he assentially just got a ticket for not having insurnace that we have and for my son not wearing a seatbelt that he had on?

Its all uphill from here, right?

This & That

Devon was switching laundry from washer to dryer when I turned around from the sink and no longer saw Ava standing there...this is what I found. She is the biggest goofball around, always doing silly stuff. I weaned her last week because she was only nursing every couple of days and I was tired of being sore all the time. Well, I guess she is missing it because she started crawling up in my lap and sucking on her forearm. She is giving herself hickeys all up her arm.

We have squash and zuchinni peeking out! I love watching things grow!
This was a coy pond that you can burry in your yard and put fish in, my neighbor gave it to me when she moved. I turned it into a lettuce container garden. In a few weeks we should have lots of fresh lettuce at the table.

10 wks & 5 days

Boy time is flying by. I found this great website that has a sono of a baby at this stage. That little kiddo is a regular jumping bean....I love it!

"The brain will continue to grow at an amazing rate and nearly a quarter of a million new neurons are produced every minute! The embryonic heart is completely developed."

Miraculous? Why yes indeed!