Random musings on a warm friday afternoon

Why I have been so quiet lately...

1.) its warm, and the kids like mommy to go outside with them every now and again.
2.)its warm and mommy feels like cleaning...a little
3.)its warm and the van needed detailing because we are going to the zoo tomorrow and who wants to ride in a messy van?
4.)I am still on my "friend' so I feel like crud....
5.)I can't think of much to say anyway.

So, with all due respect, give a gal a break already!! Just kidding. I know my only 2 readers will understand why there have been few and far between posts. I honestly have no idea how people who get paid to do this, do it. Do they make stuff up?? Are their lives more interesting than mine? That must be it.

A little funny about the picture. Braydon was outside in his undies, and facing the other way...The boys told me to take a pic of him, and when he turned around and saw me, he tried to cover himself. Ha! Funny stuff, my house.

Do you want to see me when I was a little girl. I was cute!!! I look just like Conner. See?

Don't you just love how my mom had to put an arrow above me, so she could remember where I was years later??? My own mother was afraid she wouldn't recognize me? Scary stuff.

Scrapbooks.....

Hello, Wednesday. I have to acknowledge you, because I have missed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. What is with me??? I cant think of anything earth shattering to write about. You know...like all that other earth shattering stuff I have written about. Snicker!!

Well, I started my "friend" and once again, I was disappointed. Like surprise!!! You're not pregnant. Gee, you think?? Will I ever get past this???

On to other news...I am starting AGAIN on my children's scrapbooks. I take a million pictures a day it seems, and I am making each child their own personalized scrapbook or scrapbooks as it seems to be with the oldest two. I get pictures, stickers, rubber stamps and markers/glitter pens/etc to make it completely their own book. Some photos are hard to figure out whose book I am going to put it in, because there are multiple children in them. I thought this whole scrapbook was a GREAT idea, except one day it hit me. They are going to want to take them when they leave home......and that is all the pictures I have of that child. They CAN'T take them!!! I wont be able to look back at them, and what if they lose them??? What a quandry!! So, I guess they can look through them when they come over to visit, but they dont get them until I die. Is this fair??? :)

Wish me continued happiness with these things. I am so far behind, but I am not starting from zero, so I am doing better than some people I know. Its just a never ending job, and when you're behind, it's easy to burn out.

30 hour famine...and God's purpose

I kind of hit a writing block lately. I have been so busy reading everyone else's comments and such, that I can't seem to form my own entries. It sure helps to have controversy... :) Robyn.

Anywho, I do have something to write about today. My oldest 2 children are experiencing hunger. They are taking part in a 30 hour fast for world vision. It is hard to be hungry. In this day and age, with $1.00 burgers everywhere, it seems so far fetched to realize that there are in fact hungry people~ in this country even! I really feel ashamed that I would watch those television shows about the hungry children in Africa or wherever, and snack on some potato chips without even thinking about it. We are such a materialistic society, and not many people really stop to think how others really have it. They were created by God just the same as we are, they are loved by God just the same as we are...So, why do we have it so much better than they do? It hardly makes sense.

My husband and oldest once went on a mission trip to Honduras, and they saw firsthand what true poverty was like. A man driving a cart FULL of fruit was trying to sell some just to get a little spending money for his family. Our pastor bought the ENTIRE cart for 60.00. This was enough money for this guy for a couple of months probably. The church group spent the next hour handing out the food to the villagers. That tiny blessing from them made a huge impact on those people.

We as a christian people need to make more of these "little" blessings happen. It's good that our children can get a little glimpse of what its like to be one of these people. Granted, it's a little cheesy because they get juice and water, and a heated building, and friends around, but its the little exposures that can make a big thought happen. I know my oldest wants to be a missionary. He is very secure in his faith, and his mission trips have helped mold that desire. We can be comfy in our own homes, or we can step out and truly experience life beyond our own front doors.

This is why I respect both you, Robyn and you, Joann. Both of you have reached beyond your comfort zones and did things that were hard. Getting rid of very sentimental things and living simply HAS to be hard. Getting rid of the lifestyle you were used to, and living to please your husband and God had to be difficult. Also, adopting 2 children just when you thought you were done with that part of life was HARD. Making a difference to those two babies will be worth it, but making that step was probably not an easy one. Sure, you both are doing it for people you love, so it was "sort of" easy, but really....it wasn't. The world needs more people like you guys.

I hope God uses my children for good things...I hope they answer that call. I hope He uses me and my husband for a matter of fact. We will not grow in Christ, unless we answer that call. The call to go above and beyond for a greater purpose.

Writing sheets...so cool!

Isn't this the neatest thing ever? My husband figured out how to make these printer sheets, with lines showing directions, and it all prints out with lines and words at one time. You can even print them without the directional lines, once they figure them out. Many different kinds of fonts, and even cursive. It is totally individualized for each child and they love it. We are going to use them for penpal sheets too. This way they can tell me what they want to say, and I can type it up for them...and then they write it out. Go HUBBY!!!

Organizing stuff

This is what I have accomplished today. Hall closet/pantry. Look at photos...pat me on the back. I don't feel good. Must have finally caught what husband has.

Fear....Don't read unless your a psychologist. (ha)

Today, we are going to talk about finishing....Work, house, books, crafts, etc. What do I have against finishing? Is it a fear of being done?? I am sure there is so psycosis going on.

I never complete anything and its driving me mad!! Its almost as if I live to have something always available to do. Like, as if I were done, I may have nothing else to live for. Hmmm?

I know sometimes I keep my house messy so I will have an excuse to keep people away. Is that stupid? I don't want just anyone around me. So, that provides an opportune excuse to use. I dont LIKE it...I am changing it, but that is why it's there. I am a loner, remember?

But, what prevents me from ever completing my children's scrapbooks? Is it because I am too far behind? Is it because if I ever finish, it will acknowledge that they have grown up faster than I wanted them too?

I have this awful fear....of dying, of my children dying, of my husband dying. I have always had this fear. I remember the verses. I just don't apply them like I should.

but whoever listens to me will dwell secureand will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
—Proverbs 1:33

fear not, for I am with you;be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you,I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:13
For I, the Lord your God,hold your right hand;it is I who say to you, “Fear not,I am the one who helps you.”
—Isaiah 41:10,13

I think my fears keep me from completing things, and from trying new things. When my husband and oldest went to Honduras for a mission trip, I was paralyzed with fear. I just KNEW their plane would crash, or that their bus would go off a mountain. I was a wreck and when he failed to call me and inform me that he was okay, I got mad. That is how I handle my fear. With anger. So, in order to handle my fear, I was mad at him the entire time he was gone.

Same thing happened when he went to Mexico. I can't handle the thought of being left alone, and that freaks me out.

When we go somewhere, we have to all go in the same vehicle. There can be no splitting up amongst other friends who are going. One, to avoid the music or conversation choices of the other vehicle, but mostly, because of my irrational fear of them crashing and killing my child.

How did this post go from completion to fear??? Man, I am disconnected today. Well, no. I guess my completion was fear too, right? Why do I have so much fear??

Eating on the floor.....sounds like torture, doesn't it??

Due to our table being covered with dishes, and me being the procrastinator that I am, the kids ate their dinner on the floor. Now, I know how that makes me sound, but honestly?? They loved it. I am sure I could serve a weeks worth of meals on the floor and they would be just happy. Why are kids so strange?? At least my 16 year old sees the silliness of it all...they aren't all lost. :)

forcing babies to clean the fridge

He was helpin' "Ashey" do it. He got mad when we took the "ater" away from him to he couldn't dunk his rag in it anymore. But, in good Nathan fashion, after about 15 minutes, he got over it. Lookie how clean my fridge is....now I just need to shop. UGH. Robyn, you're not that far away...come shop for me. Please-I hate shopping!

Forcing boys to wash dishes....

Boys a'washing the dishes. They had big fun yesterday. One son, Aaron even said that "he could do this forever!" Go ahead son, more power to you! They all had their little drying towels, and they each took turns. We had alot to wash, and they in turn had alot to dry. But we finished, and they were still smiling when they were finished. Project=success!!

Dishes dishes dishes........HELP ME!!!

This is what I just put in storage:

1 knife
9 big spoons

13 small spoons

15 forks

13 bowls

2 small plates

2 tiny plates

18 large plates

7 glasses

This is what I kept:

12 bowls

14 glasses

10 small plates

10 big plates

6 knifes

10 forks

10 small spoons

5 big spoons

Wow!! I nearly took away double what we had, and we still probably have too much.

In case you want the math this adds up to:

28 large plates

25 bowls

21 glasses

14 small plates

25 forks

7 knives

14 big spoons

23 small spoons

We spent the entire day washing all the dishes, cleaning the table, cleaning out the fridge, and sweeping the floors. It was bad...we had so many dishes and pots and pans that we could just lose them and not miss them. We found random dishes everywhere. Please note...our house isnt smelly or dirty, but we do like to eat in our bedroom and the living room. We aren't good picker uppers. This will change, and only because it wont be possible now to do that. We wont have enough. This is what we are left with.

Sunday blahs

Hello, Sunday. Why are you such a hard day to live through? I don't much like the idea of going to church anymore, except my older children do, so I feel guilty. It's not like they hang out with their friends and chit chat during the service. They truly listen to the sermon. Why they want to go must be a reason known only to God. I would love a smaller group setting, or even a home church. Where people truly cared about each other, and it wasn't such a superficial experience.

Why must you drag on soooooo long, and then dramatically be over in the blink of an eye? I always get a headache on your day, Sunday. We are going to church at night to do Financial Peace, so that part is fun, but the rest of your day is just BLAH!

I need to make you more interesting. Maybe I don't much like you because you always signify my husband's last day off. You're the last piece of cake. The end of the good stuff.

I need to wake up with a better attitude. I know this. I just wish I was happier with the choices that my husband wants to make, vs the choice I want to make. He likes going to church. He likes lounging around and doing nothing on your day, Sunday. He like(d) watching absolutely everything on television, and feeling like he needed to sleep all day long. I should be okay with this. Really, I know that....

But Sunday....I have to blame something.

Random bits of the Friday that went on and on and on and on....

Couple of highlights from the longest day in my entire life....

My daughter asked if we had channel changers or mutiple stations on our radios when I was a kid!!! This was an absolutely serious question. The reason she asked it was because I knew all the words to all the songs that were playing on the 90's station. She thinks I am OLD!! I am 34.

My son found a $100.00 bill on the ground on his paper route today. What do we do here? Put an ad in the paper and see if someone claims it? How could someone claim it? Do we keep it and thank God for the blessing? I am at a loss and I want to teach my children the right thing. There was no identification on the bill, and it was just on the sidewalk next to the road.

I basically just threw my 2 year old out the door with Austin to go to wal mart. I have reached my Nathan limit for the day. Does this make me a bad mommy???? Bedtime CANNOT be too close for me right now.

Called doctors office at 3:00 for results from the MRI and the radiologist report printed out for me, and no call back. I really need a new doctor office. Joann....We are in opposite shoes here. :)

Pictures from the MRI...

She was so happy to be there. She smiled at everyone who looked her way...The fact that she hadn't eaten anything since 8 pm the night before didn't seem to faze her. After the I.V. She did not even cry. We prayed before it was done that God would give us favor and let it get installed the first time. Last time it took 8 tries. Shudder... They called a picu nurse in to do it, per our wishes, and it was quick and easy.
Within seconds of installing the sedative. She went out like a light. Last time, it wasn't this easy. This time, her eyes rolled back and she was gone. She did wake up during the dye injection part of the MRI though. We had to stop. She processes narcotics like her momma.
Hope we find out the results soon!!!

Scrapping with Ashley....

My daughter Ashley -14 is taking a photography class in 4-H. These were from a section of the class called "posing a still life." She is loving it!! I am glad we have these kind of opportunities for our children.

She has always loved scrapbooking and taking pictures that it was just natural to want to learn more about it. I have fond memories sitting next to her, cropping pictures, and sharing stickers. She even once wanted all my tiny preview pictures that you get in shutterfly envelopes. Mini pictures of the entire roll. She cut them all up and made a page of tiny tiny photos. I was meticulous, but she loved it.

She has several scrapbooks right now, and I am sure she isn't done. It's our thing. Just another way we can connect with each other, and hang out. I am all for that. I never got to do that with my mother. It's sad.

My oldest and my youngest

She is so happy....so is Austin. Not sure about Adam though. MRI results are still not in. Doctor initially looked and said it looked like her brain was growing, but she couldn't tell much, so we are waiting for the neurologist. I don't wait well....

Inadequate Friday....

I am a weird sort of person. I have and love a large family. However, I feel so inadequate sometimes. I don't much like to cook, but I have to....I don't much like to clean, but I do it every now and again...I am not a girly girl, but my oldest daughter is...

So, what do I make of myself? I go to this monthly dinner hosted by different women from my church with my daughter. Most of these women make their own homemade something or other. They dress it up nicely and have people gush over how good it is. Me....I open up a box, heat it up, and take it along. It is eaten, but I am sure people just know somehow that its not homemade.

I don't have a decorating bone in my body. I have a TON of palm tree stuff in my closet just WAITING to lavish my room to palm tree goodness, but I have no idea where to put it all to make it look good.

I don't have pics on my wall. Again, its a design thing. When I try, it looks all mismatched and makes a bunch of unnecessary holes.

I dont like to sew, and in fact, I broke our sewing machine. Ha...I was only trying to make a partition curtain for my daughters room divider from the kitchen.

I don't wear make-up or jewelry, and in fact the only thing I will wear is my simple gold wedding band that matches my husbands. I can see it, but I can't feel it and that is perfect for me.

I dont wear fingernail polish, fix my hair, enjoy baking, like to shop for stuff (unless we're at a thrift store) or any of this. Am I really supposed to be a man?

All I want to do is be a friend to a couple of people, and play with my kids. Did God forget to give me the talents that most other women have? I know God did not mess up, so why am I so different? I am already different because I have a large family, I don't work outside the home, and I homeschool. Isn't that enough?

Before you all tell me to just try it, you'll like it......I have tried. I fail everytime.

Dumb people part 2

I suppose I shouldn't be name calling, but I am in a mood...and darn it, right now I am just upset.

Dummy #2:a company my husband has done contract labor for.

He was contacted back in October to do a job at a Dollar Store. It could only be before they opened or after they closed. Both times are REALLY inconvinent, but hey...it's money. He did the job..people happy. Next day they called again and said they wanted him to do another job. This was same scenerio. Job done...people happy. They assured him that all he needed to do was fax in the completed job sheet signed by the managers, and the check would come within 60 days. Ugh, but okay.

He did this... Fast forward to December. Hey, we want you to do another job, but this one is out of town!! Will this be okay for you? It's only at before opening time. Well, not really, but when am I going to be paid for those other 2 jobs? We will check into that....

Then they call back and say, would you please do the job? You can do it at night. We liked the job you did already, and if you need night, we can make you happy. Oh, and the other two jobs needed invoices sent in, but if you can agree to do this job, I will take care of it for you...No invoice needed.

We agreed to do it, sent mail to man who said we would be paid for all 3 jobs within a week asking for an email that stated this, did the job, checked email next day for confirmation. It wasnt there....surprise surprise. Sent another mail asking that he give us his word in writing. (I am a skeptical kind of gal....I have feelings about these things) He sent it, and we waited happily at the mail box for a check.

No check....2 weeks later is here, and I call accounting. Where is my husbands check (I am the secretary of our home business...I can do this) Was told that....we need invoices. I told them NO THEY DID NOT, and that I was ASSURED that we would be paid in the next check run. Well, why did he tell you that???? He isn't in accounting?? I tell her, I don't know why he thought he could say that, but he did. And suggested they talk to him about it directly. They tell me that we should have sent invoices in the beginning.

They switched systems at the beginning of the year. The old invoices only said to fax in sheet, which we did. The new sheets said invoice....but since we had talked to the guy, he told us not to bother with any of it, remember? He would take care of it. Much arguing insued, because I am just upset about this, and the doctor, and my daughter, that I could not let it go. They sent me this 5 million word page that was sent in very very very tiny print where it told us to invoice...back then. So, in essence, they were right, but it should have been a little more communicated, and able to read. Seriously...I had to zoom the page about 6 times to read it.

They asked for our w-9 in january....no one told us to invoice then. Why not? Guy assures us we dont need to? What happened there? And.....and.....the amounts they present on the invoices do not match what they assured us they would pay.

So in summary, my husband did a 2.5 hour job late at night, that he normally would have been paid 130.00 for 95.00......another 2.5 hour job at night same rate, that he will be paid 115.00 for and an out of town job that cost gas, time to travel AND 2.5 hours, that he would have been paid 150.00 for 95.00 (that they agreed to pay 115.00 seems to slip everyone's mind)

I do not like this at all, sam I am. Now we get to see if the 3rd job will be approved, make sure the other jobs are not just dismissed in the first place due to it being 4 months ago, and wait until the next check run on the 22nd.

WHY do I need this now?

Dumb people part 1

I am beyond frustrated!!!!! I have dealt with every single dummy this side of Texas since yesterday.

First dummy: took my daughter into doctors office at 4:30. Filled out form stating NEEDS XRAY~possible broken finger. Pretty self explanatory right? Okay...so 5:30 rolls around and we saunter up to the counter and say...how much longer do you think? They say "well you have 3 people in front of you...so not too much longer" Okay....so 6:10 shows up. Ashley? Can you come to the triage desk? She hops right up, goes over there...they look at her black finger and say......Wait for it......."sorry but the xray tech just left 10 minutes ago!!!!!!!

What???? You knew that we needed an xray!! At the very least, you could have sent us for said xray and then made us wait our little turn. Oh, but "that's our policy....to see every patient in the order they are recieved, but your more than welcome to go to the hospital and get that xray.." Like we had time to sit another 2 hours there. They even patted the girl talking to us on the back, like she did such a good job keeping her cool with my husband.

Then this morning we call to complain about said service. We're told that "I am so sorry you had to deal with this.,...this is NOT the way it was supposed to have been done....What can we do to make it up to you??? " We say, if you can get her in NOW, we will come and xray her finger and be happy. He says "let me call you right back about that". Fast forward to 2:45. DID YOU CATCH THAT TIME??? Is that right back to you?? I don't think so.

Well, darn it all, but Ashley wasnt able to sit around holding her breath waiting for your little call, so she was gone then. We told the nice man on the phone that we could take her in at 4:00...No, wait...we told his answering machine that we could do that. Call us back and make sure it's okay...Has he called? Wait for it.......NO!!!!!

I have yet another rant coming soon. You will love it just as much as I do. I am about to go bald! I am not handling this well. ARGH!!


UPDATED TO ADD:: Got there at 4:15...got xray...go in to see doctor...saw doctor at 5:30 and we aren't sure if it's broken or not? Radiologist will look tomorrow and call us with his results. Meanwhile, she is sure sorry that we got that runaround. It was NOT supposed to happen, and finger is currently bandaged up in dark purple. Argh is right!

UPDATED TO ADD AGAIN: It IS broken. We did recieve an apology from the doctor who saw her, and one from the supervisor on the floor...I am still angry that she was treated that way in the first place.

Just for you Robyn...the uhaul story

Okay, so the comment about sticking all the stuff in a rubbermaid container brought this little memory to mind. I know you will get a kick out of it, so laugh all you want. I am tough!

I loved~ loved~ loved the show "clean sweep". It swept me off my feet from the get go. I watched every show with rapt attention, and it warmed my heart a little to know that there were in fact other people like me out there. I thought the premise of the show was fabulous. Get everything together and put it all in one spot, and sort, and purge, and kick!!! Oh, sorry. Got the aerobic vibe there. Anyway, I wanted to do this clean sweep approach. Only it was winter...and cold. No garage as we lived in a 4 bedroom trailer. It was filled to the hilt with kids, and beds, and stuff.

So, I had the BRIGHT idea to rent a uhaul. Stick it in the driveway for the weekend and fill it to the brim with all our junk and then sort, and purge and kick. And put away in a designated place. We dutifully filled box upon box with stuff. Got the uhaul. I am sure the entire neighborhood was saying "yes!!! The crazy family with all those kids are finally moving!!!" Little did they know.

Paid for the uhaul for 2 days. When we got it, we hadn't "finished" packing all the boxes, but no problem. We had the uhaul for 2 days. Finished filling boxes. Finished loading uhaul, or so we thought. Was so exhausted by the sheer effort of this ordeal, that we couldn't move the next day. We didn't want to waste the day though, so I just kept on packing MORE boxes. My husband thought we should start the sorting end of our plan, but I was exhilarated by the empty house. Wheeeee!!! There is so much space and room to ballet kick.

Needless to say, by the time it came to sort and purge and kick (tee hee), it was time to get the uhaul back. Can you believe that???!!!??? We wasted the entire 2 days loading boxes and loading a stupid uhaul. So, then we had to hurry up and UNLOAD the uhaul before we got charged another day. We were broke, so this wasn't an option.

So now, we had a house full of boxes and a neighborhood who was sad that we were staying!!! They just couldn't figure out why the uhaul was there if we didn't go anywhere! So sorry to have been decietful. It wasn't a very child friendly kind of place.

I never did get to sort and purge and kick because I was too sore, and overwhelmed, and needing to get things out of the boxes that we just had to use, so we just had to unpack everything and look at each other, and realize that we just wasted 100.00 and 2 days of our lives that we couldn't get back!!

It was good exercise, though. :)

The king on his throne

This is the young man who is driving me nuts! He gets it, but then he doesn't get it. I could be okay with it if he decided to call it quits, but he wants to keep trying. It's just the constant "potty potty potty" he says over and over, and the accidents, and the pee a little, leave and pee a little and leave...rinse repeat! ARGH! Did I mention the accidents?

He is going to a babysitter tomorrow with his potty chair. I wonder how that will go?? Save me......

Oh and this photo was NOT a set up. He truly wanted his "blankie" on the potty with him.

quiverful musings.

I am ovulating....It's weird that I can tell now. I used to not be able to. My monthly was no where near the word regular. One could be absolutely surprised that we were able to conceive so easily each time. I struggle each and every month with this "knowing" and not allowing myself to trust God with whatever happens. I assume that it is Him, letting me know and watching to see what I will do with this knowledge. I am sorry, Lord. It is just so hard for me right now. I cry when I think that everything Nathan does will be the last time I see it. I don't want to be finished with diapers, and baby food, and baby laughter and slobbery kisses. I don't want to be done, yet I am doing nothing to keep it around. Its bad enough that I can't see Rachel doing the same things that they have all done, to know that she is different, but then to actively defy what my heart is calling out to.

Where is the weight loss, Lord? Maybe I am not trying hard enough.. I get that. However I need You to help motivate me. I cannot do it on my own. Its just that I can't imagine myself pregnant at this weight. Its not healthy and it hurts me. Heartburn and pelvic separation, combined with swelling and back problems. I need all the help I can get to make it through all of that. Less weight would help...

Where is my trust, Lord? Why can't I see the end of this? Will I forever waffle? I cry every month when my period comes, like I am surprised. But then when the part of the month that is here now, is upon me...I do nothing. I am glad my body is working, and I am healthy in that area, but help me get past this. Please.....

Why blog?

Why am I writing on this blog? What do I hope to acheive?

Well, firstly...I am not getting any younger and neither are any of my 8 kiddos. I take pictures like crazy, but I have never journaled. That makes me sad because unless I wrote down something cute in my calendars, I have forgotten lots of things. My memory isn't good enough for the day to day cuteness of children. Conversations, I remember...calling the dog God, I don't. We do not have a dog, but you get the gist.

I want to preserve these memories, but why make it public? Or at least kind of public? Well, I am glad I did, because I have met a couple of very great people while doing this, and I have recieved some great advice and encouragement. This isn't like me to reach out to people, so finding out I can do it has been nice. I am usually someone who can do things on my own thank you very much...but as a mother and woman in Christ, you can't do it alone! We need encouragement, and someone to make us laugh at ourselves. To help us become better mommies or wives.

So, that is my reasons. I may or may not open this blog for everyone. There is that whole stalker thing and anonymity (is that the word?) and the fact that I use real names. Could a stalker find me and beat me with a wet noodle because I have 8 children AND a messy house? That would make me kind of afraid. Would I be gracious to the troll who questioned me, rather than suppported me? Who knows. However, I am glad I let the few who are here in. You really do help me. Thank you!!

Oh, and just for posterity sake, Nathan just pooped in the potty!!! On his own!!! Without me making him. WOOHOO!! Celebrate with me, ladies. LOL!

why why why???

This is that dreaded bar. This is how it looks most of the time. I clean it, and then within 2 days it's back. Why is this so hard for me??? How come some people can "get" it and some can't. What do they have that I don't? Do they not have stuff? I honestly have some OCD tendancies, and I have some things completely organized...but the majority of my life looks like this. How come I can figure some things out? Am I hopeless???

the baby in the bubble

Ashley got some balloons from the dance, and Rachel just went NUTS over it. I would hold the end, and she made all kinds of noise and spit all over it. I thought this was cute!!!

Disclaimer...I didn't let her play unsupervised, so she was in no danger. Like she could have played unsupervised anyway, because the minute it fell, the game would have been over anyway...but still. I know how some mommies are.

The boys room part 2

I have been in the boys room today. It is so hard to be in there. They have alot of neat things, but they never play with ANY of it. Only legos. Except when I mentioned selling it all, they about had a coronary. I have this huge problem with wanting everything in a set. We have multiple things from the little people collection. Multiple sets for the rescue heros. Lots of batman action figures. Multiple sets of playmobil. Each size and shape of legos. Toddler, baby, big, smaller, and the tiny. Why can't we be satisfied with a couple from each thing? It's hard because I have so many boys the same age range. They all need something to play with. So, I am stuck. I need to just store it all in their awesome closets, and then take it out every so often to play with it....but that takes organzation, and stick to it ness. I don't have that yet. I will persevere and not give up. I am too motivated to quit.

We have gotten rid of ALOT before I started this blog business. That's alot of what is in my garage. What we have left needs to be cleaned quickly. The 2 year old makes that hard. But anyway....Robyn, here is more. Where is mine???

Daddy Daughter Dance

Last night, they successfully completed the 3rd annual dance. When it started, it was open to girls 9-13. Ashley was 12. Then the next year it said for girls 9-12. Ashley was 13. We called, and they said "not a problem, bring her...we should extend the age anyway. Don't know why we have a limit." My husband said "I am sure there would be lots of girls who would want to go, and if you extended the age limit, it could help." They agreed. Fast forward to this year. It said for girls age 9-12. They are hopeless. Even though she is 14, she went and had a blast!

They danced the night away from 8:30 to 10:00. He bought her a rose. They ate chocolate cake. Whee! I am glad they enjoy this, and I hope next year, the people get a clue. The idea is to help daddies bond with their daughters. They already have a 3-12 age range. They would make more money...I will keep you posted next year.

The garage mess.......

See what I am working with here? This is my garage. Its intended purpose is for my husbands job. He is a computer repair man. However, does any of this look conducive to working? Nope!! I will say that there are approximately 20 computers in various states of working, as well as a ton TON of parts...and some monitors. But the majority is boxes and boxes of stuff waiting to be sold. I will not give it away. It goes against my frugal nature. Plus, we are doing financial peace right now, and it will help build the emergency fund. Trust me...there is alot of money in this garage. A leak would make me cry...big time! Its almost garage sale season, so we dont have much more time to wait. I hope to organize it sometime though. It would be conducive to walking then.

Yes, he needs a shave, but 20 reasons why I love him.

Why do I love this man? Well, for starters, he makes cute babies. Seriously...

I should make a numbered list because that is what I like to do.

1. He puts up with me

2.He calls me beautiful (He is clearly blind)

3.He works hard and has never complained about supporting this large family

4.He takes our daughter to the daddy daughter valentines dance every year

5.His eyes...I love 'em and only one of our children got them. I am sad about that.

6.He can retreive a deleted video off my camera because he's smart like that

7.If I say his clothes look silly, he will change them.

8.He snuggles our babies, and changes their diapers, without complaining.

9.He jogs 3 times a week just to spend time with our oldest son...and sometimes the next 2 children will go just to hang out.

10.He loves to people watch with me. We can sit on a bench in wal-mart and just have a ball watching everyone who walks by. We should do that on our next date...Just kidding.

11.He remembers "our song" and can sing it at will

12.He knows everything about me, and still loves me anyway

13.He carries in the groceries, and lifts heavy boxes :)

14.He calls me frequently throughout the day just to hear my voice (or the kids screaming, not sure which)

15.He makes food for me, and serves it to me with a smile.

16.He is a godly man, who likes to read the bible and share his faith with others

17.He gives a good foot massage

18.He doesn't complain about the messy house

19.He likes to play board games (even though the kids beat him every time!)

20.He thinks that HE is the lucky one....little does he know.

Lil' Miss Rachel.....

This little girl has been making some serious progress the last couple of days. She is so happy, even more so than usual. She is actively playing with toys, and it's not just on a fleeting basis. She is getting INTO them, and wants to play immediately. She laughs, and full body moves with joy now. She is clasping her hands together, and not holding them tightly in a fist hardly at all now.

We have another MRI scheduled on Wednesday, and she will be sedated for it. I am nervous, because they couldn't find a vein last time and poked her like 7 times trying. They finally succeeded at the point I was about to force them to give up. She is a little bigger now, but not much. Pray that they get the vein on the first time, and that everything is either still the same or able to improve. I worry that her brain is trying to grow and her bones aren't letting it...and if that happens, it will mean a surgery. That, my friends, is scary business. I also don't want her to ever suffer from seizures. I have seen them with my neice, and they are frightening. And they do damage. She is making such progress now, that I don't want anything to hinder it.

Potty training and daddy bonding....and television update

Well, sheesh. I am alone on a Friday night, and instead of cleaning or something, I am here. Hmmm.. Maybe that is why my house still isn't done? Ya think? I have much better things to be doing than cleaning. LOL

My husband and 3 oldest children are bonding at the local bowling alley. They bonded this morning over jogging and basketball. I justify this because he works alot and they need to see him. Or maybe I just don't jog or bowl well. In any case, they like it, and he likes it...so that's all that matters.

I started potty training Nathan today. He was so darn happy with the whole thing. He sat on the potty, and got a candy...and then got off. He lovingly stroked the potty. He wanted back on the potty. Finally he broke himself away from it. He hadn't done anything worthwhile in it so I was glad for him to find something else to do. However a couple hours later, I gave it another whirl. He sat, and giggled, and sat and giggled some more. I gave him tons of water. And some of my pop. Finally, the gates cleared and the heaven sang!!!!! He peed!!!! Hopped up, and peered into the potty. Said eww...water. No amount of talking could convince him that was pee pee. Much praise ensued, and another candy given. We put on the coveted Diego pull up, and what does he do?? Pees again, this time in the pull up. Argh! How did he have that much left after he just filled the potty chair? Boys I tell ya.

This is early for me. I usually don't even start to try until a couple months before 3 year old. He turned 2 the end of October. He is ready though. He tells us to GO AWAY when he needs to poop. He knows whats going on. I spend enough money on diapers, so I could use this. Thank you God for motivation. :)

We have gone over a week with no T.V. It's not been as bad as I thought. The first couple of days was hard, until I made a rule of no gamecube for 2 weeks. They are actually counting it down. I plan on letting them play on that day, and then putting it back up for another 2 weeks. They don't even ask for the computer. Its so nice. They are getting along much better now. Of course it helps that it's been nice enough to play outside. That is always a biggie...they need an outlet.

Nostalgia

I spent the day today going through all my important papers. There were lots of those. From adoption certificates and associated court documents, to drawings my children have made, to receipts and birth certificates. Among all these were cards and letters my husband wrote to me early in our marriage. We spent much of our time fighting in those precious early years, and so those letters were apologies from him. Most of them had been crumpled up. You see, I spent so much time being angry. At him, at past boyfriends, at my father...no one was very nice to me from the male human race. I couldn't or wouldn't believe any of these apologies and as soon as he would write them, I would be quick to blow it off as a lie, and crumple it up. But something always made me smooth it out, and save it.

We paid such a huge price for our choices in the past. I want to save my children from that sort of agony. We tell them all the time to look wisely for a mate, and don't just give your heart to whomever wants it for that time. My husband's bad relationships combined with mine just made for a couple of very unsure, low self esteem people. I was and still am very domineering. I don't like it at all, but can't seem to make myself stop. I am working on it...Created to be His helpmeet has helped some. He is very passive and was attracted to me because of my domineering side. His mother was the same way. I think males are usually attracted to someone like their mothers.

Neither one of us knew how to communicate, and I used my hurt and anger to manipulate him, and it really didn't do either of us any good. I wish I could take it all back now, and start over. I am glad we made it this far. I truly love him, and I know that I want to be married to him for the rest of my life. Why couldn't our journey to here have been a little easier?

Maybe someday soon he will feel like writing letters again. I promise, I won't crumple them up.

Top Tip Tuesday

Since I havent made my blog public, I have just been sitting on this tip. I will post it now, and call it top tips tuesday. Does that sound corny? If so, don't tell me. I am laughing at my sheer brilliance. I might actually try to continue this every week, and who knows....some tips might be useful for my couple of readers, and it may help me remember what worked should I forget later on down the road. Heck, I forgot what I ate yesterday....I need to write these things down.

Without further ado. How does a mom with 8 children go to a restaurant without losing her mind???

Restaurant eating for large family

Okay, so I have 6 children under the age of 10. 5 if you don't wish to count the baby. Ordering food at a restaurant could pose a little stress to some, don't you think? So...rather than keep the poor waitress or waiter standing around while they slowly make up their minds or change their order, I pull out a handy piece of paper and pen. Then I go around the table starting with either the oldest or the youngest. I like to shake it up a bit sometimes. LOL. They make up their minds, I write it down. No changing your order. I then write down what the hubby and I want as well as the older two. Then, when we are done, we let the waitress/waiter know, and then we just read down the list. Quick and painless...very helpful to the worker. Also, when the food comes, you can consult the list to determine whose food is whose. Works for me!!

The dreaded bar....

Whats bad about this photo? Its clean. Compared to normal anyway. Not compared to anyone else's clean standards, though. But this is clean in my home. Am I bad,or what? It whips around the kitchen all in its 1950's splendor. There are cabinets under it, that I love, but it's just huge. My 2 year old whacks his head on it daily, because he hangs out under it, but then forgets. Boom! He never learns. I don't know why.
There is also a desk area at the beginning of the bar. Adam is at the beginning of the desk in the first pic. There are 3 large drawers and then lots of leg space. There are 3 large cabinets on top. It separates the dining room from the kitchen with a see thru area. I know that is clear as mud, but I don't have any other photos of it clean, and I certainly am NOT posting any photos of it now....its bad. Needless to say, it's huge and a major hotspot. Practical, but not for packrat messy types like me.

100 things about me

Let's see. This could be hard...but here goes.

1.I had my first child at 17

2.I was a senior in high school

3.No, the father and I werent together anymore

4.Graduated high school anyway

5.Moved away from home right when I graduated

6.To get married

7.To a guy I used to date

8.Caught him cheating, and I left

9.To another town

10.Where I met another guy

11.My daughter was born soon after

12.Fianlly divorced...Wasn't married anymore...wasn't going to get married anymore

13.Split up with daughter's father

14.Got with someone else...

15.Yes, I have issues with men...blame it on my step father

16.Split with him

17.Moved to new town with old boyfriend

18.We were just friends

19.Seriously

20.He paid half rent, I paid rest. He had his own room...I had mine.

21.Decided that I still loved him

22.He decided the same

23.We didnt want to be "friends with benefits" so...

24.We got married

25.He was married before too

26.She cheated on him also

27.What's with those unfaithful people?

28.Got married March 8, 1997

29.Both children were in the wedding

30.They were cute!!!

31.Had 3rd child 9 months after wedding

32.Wow...

33.Worked until I had complications from pregnancy

34.Never worked a job outside of the home since

35.It stunk to have your kids call someone else mom

36.And miss out on the firsts

37.Got pregnant again with child #4

38.He was a failure to thrive baby, so I couldnt nurse him

39.Thus, I got pregnant again with child #5 when he was 5 months old

40.None of these were accidents

41.We believe God is firmly in control of our family size

42.And He wont give us more than we can handle

43.He hasn't let me down yet

44.Decided I wanted to homeschool

45.Took kids out at christmas break and never looked back

46.Oldest was in 2nd grade and daughter was in kindergarten

47.Now they are 10th and 8th

48.So that's 8 years now

49.Still enjoying it

50.Wont put them back in school

51.Had baby #6 in 2003

52.4 children got the chicken pox at the same time when said baby was 7 months old

53.That wasnt fun...but we made it through

54.Miscarried my first child in Nov. 2004

55.That was horrible.

56.Wasn't anything wrong with the baby

57.Feb 2005 I was pregnant again

58.Bought new home in April of that year

59.The stress of a new home purchase, and newly pregnant wasn't fun either

60.Somehow we made it through that one

61.Wanted to find out what the baby was

62.Had 3 different ultrasounds by 3 different people

63.At 2 different hospitals even

64.Told us we were having a girl

65.I have the ultrasound pics to prove it

66.He came out a boy

67.SURPRISE!!

68.No name and no clothes for the poor child

69.Loved him just the same

70.Don't believe your ultrasounds

71.It can happen to anyone

72.Got pregnant again when #7 was 3 months old

73.Wow, that was quick

74.God had a plan

75.Dr. thought we miscarried

76.We didn't

77.Told us that she was a girl

78.Didn't believe them

79.They were right

80.Induced a week before my 33rd birthday

81.Complications during delivery

82.Complications at birth

83.Developed jaundice and was in the hospital 4 days

84.Out for 1...back in again for 3 more

85.Developed blood clot in my leg from laying around in the hospital all that time

86.I got my own little hospital stay

87.All around christmas time

88.That wasnt fun

89.Back in hospital again in January

90.She had pneumonia

91.Don't like hospitals much

92.Discovered she had microcephaly at 3 months

93.Wasnt growing

94.Many tests....many doctors...much stress

95.Given a syndrome name...big deal

96.Live daily in praise that we get to have her

97.Kids love her... and they are even vital to her development

98.1 year has passed and we are settling down into some routines

99.Happy to be here

100.Looking forward to what the future brings.

More sibling love....

This was just a random thing. I patched Rachel every day, and the boys just wanted to have a patch just like sissy. They posed for some cute pictures, then played pirates. This family will truly stick together. I remember once, when one of the boys had to get their head shaved for some reason, every one of them wanted to be shaved too. So, nobody could make fun of the first child without saying something to all of them. It truly helped the first child feel loved.
Aaron is our kissy child. He is ALWAYS kissing or hugging Rachel. It used to be that he kissed and hugged everyone, when he was littler. Now, you cant get him to hug you...unless you are a sweet little baby girl. Then he has NO problem with it.
This was after Ashley knocked her kneecap out of whack. It was a pretty bad injury that resulted in a brace and crutches for quite some time. This pic was taken the day she got home from the hospital. The boys wanted so bad to make her feel better. So, they painted her fingernails, and toenails. They even blew on them to make it dry faster. She felt loved, let me tell ya!

There is oh so many more pictures I could post, with stories to go with them all. It just proves that a family can care about each other so much so that they do things out of the ordinary. They don't have to hate one another and want to be away from the family, like society says they should. It should be cool to love your brother and sister...and let the whole world know it. Enough with those "my sister is the brat", or the "take my brother, please" shirts!

Each child we add to this family just adds more love and joy for each child who is already here. Now, I know that they have squabbles, and sometimes just wish someone would leave them alone, but I guarantee that these kiddos will be best friends their entire life. They have invested too much into one another to let that go when they move away.

Love between big brother and little sister.....

This is why I have so many children. To see moments like this on a recurring basis. I know you can have moments of love with just 2 siblings, however, I see this occuring between multiple children of varying ages...often. You just don't get tired of this, by golly.

Nathan the mechanical man.....

My little fixer-man hard at work. Look at those wittle hands. He just saw daddy checking to see what kind of batteries that the swing took. Then he decided that he needed to check the batteries on his phone. It was so cute!! Forgive the icky nose. We have had alot of that around here. It is finally going away. Oh, and pardon the floors too. I mentioned that those werent done yet, remember? Ha!

Laundry, books, and child. I love two of those things.

Well, I didn't make the whole day off the computer. I did manage to accomplish some things though, so it wasn't a wasted day. I did 5 loads of laundry and that was all the laundry we had!!! Do you know how long it has been since I have actually done only 5 loads of laundry? I was notorious for waiting and waiting and then having 20 or more loads to wash. This was nothing short of a miracle. Everyone still had clothes clean, but I still washed what was dirty. And I finished it! All hung up and put away. On colored hangers even. Each of the younger boys have their own color, so they can easily find their items.

Also, I cleaned the kitchen except for the huge bar area and mopping the floors. Oh, and the oven needs cleaning. I need to post a pic of this bar of mine. It's huge and wraps around the kitchen. It is a huge hotspot too. I have had it cleared only 4 times since we moved here 3 years ago. It's nearly impossible not to put things on it. Someday I am just gonna saw it off. Seriously.

I really need to work on a certain 10 year old's attitude. He is such a high strung, intelligent individual. We butt heads alot, and that makes for a miserable time some days. He is a perfectionist, and that is hard when it comes to school work. He is bossy and likes to put himself in the same shoes as us adults. I love him immensely, but I really have to figure out how to get control of this attitude he has. Can't wait for the tomatoes book to get here. It probably doesn't tell me exactly what to do, which I want a book that does that, but hopefully it has some tips. It's not too late to train a child, I don't think. Is it?? As long as your breathing, you can be conformed, right? I am getting conformed myself, and I am 34 years old.

The snow is gone. Boo Hoo. It was fun while it lasted. The kids had a blast and didn't get too muddy. I was worried about that, because we don't have grass, and so, under the snow is mud. I had a pretty neat system going on. We have a large, new trash can on the porch, and I just had the kids put their socks, hats, scarves,coats etc in it while outside, and then just brought it inside to the dryer. Then I put the trash can back on the porch. Cool huh??

It's little things like the tip above, that I would never have thought of before. I make things so hard on myself just because I don't think first. Get out of the traditional box and things will start to make sense. Just like, I moved some books into the living room recently. You may wonder why? Others would say keep the kid stuff out of the living room. Well, this way when they are laying on the couch, I can just say go grab a book and start reading. They will, and all is good. If I tell them to go to the library room and grab a book, they won't want to, because it is too far away. Makes sense. It's kind of like those helpful hint books that tell you to have cleaning supplies in different rooms, because your more likely to clean if you don't have to go find the stuff first. Or have scissors in multiple rooms, because then you always know where they are. So long as you have a spot for them and they aren't just laying out in the open....