howdy folks!

sorry friends...I have been super busy. 3 basketball games over 3 days (2 out of town), lego practice (we are going to amarillo in 1 week!!!!!!! for the next level of competition), getting house ready for the stupid med rep guy who was bringing Rachels equipment, only to discover all he needed to do was bring it in the house and leave. And he made everything reek of cigarette smoke!!!! that made me boil. I shouldnt have to wash down $10,000.00 worth of equipment before it is used, should I? Oh, and then yesterday was my birthday! The whole world celebrated with me, except I didn't get any presents from them...sheesh. I did get a bird stuffed animal, a bird drawing from adam, and a bird drawing from braydon. I am not sure why they seem to think I needed birds, but I will take them and love them just the same.... :) And now, i just found out that the enormous stack of boxes we painstakingly got the other day for clutter removal has been rained on overnight...it was NOT supposed to rain. Our old stroller was outside too. A computer monitor from a customer that tony took out of the car--wet! ugh!

A break from the alphabet....

Nathan just turned 3! I didn't intend to miss putting it on my blog. We celebrated with a tiny cake and an Oswald book!!! Happy birthday kiddo.

Little Miss Rachel getting a bath--given by her biggest brother. We are training him to even do the little things, so he is prepared to be a daddy should that day come. (((Shudder!!))) :0)

Oh, and isn't this little boy so strange? He sucks on the side of his lips, and I have NO idea why!! The squint was simply what he does when you tell him to smile!! Har dee har! Oh, and don't leave without noticing the blankie!! I have never had a blankie baby....or one that sucked his lip...or one that was left handed...or one that refused to potty train....or one that is so super independant that he makes me want to pull my hairs out. I have however had 7 other children besides him that make my heart melt. And make me wanna snuggle closely....and just hold them close until they wiggle to get out....

Mother L

Love, loss, laughter, busted lips....I have experienced them all.

*Love-I am so full of love for my family that I would do anything for anyone of them. I sometimes wonder if I love them too much. I am too lenient sometimes, for fear of making them upset, and I probably let them get away with more than they should.

*Loss-I have lost both my real parents, and my step dad. I have had a miscarriage. I have lost whatever semblance of a close relationship with my 2 much older siblings there may have ever been. I have lost trust in most of humantity. I have lost my way spiritually, in that I have no clue where I want to go to church. I know I want to go, but where to go?

*Laughter-we laugh here OFTEN!!! I am always making up these silly lyrics to go with mainstream songs, and the kids just get the biggest kick out of it. We tell jokes, and we love to play the tickle game. Someone is always laughing here...it is a great sound.

*Busted Lips-Well, my goodness! It wouldn't be a home full of boys without it, would it? My 17 year old comes home tonight after basketball practice with one....my baby just got one....my 7 year old is still healing from one. It looks like we prize fight here! Oh, the blood....ick!

Mother K

Keep it simple, stupid! In my entire existance, I have preferred the simple things. Don't buy me rings or jewelry, make me a card. Don't bring home flowers, wash the dishes. Be simple. We don't have lots of high tech things in our homes, our house is decorated simply, and we value the simple things in life.

I am also the queen of improvisation. That is a simple thing....If your tub drain is plugged with something, and you can't fix it for some reason, push the stopper, take shower, and use a shop vac to suck out the water and dump it down the toilet (or if your really adventurous, use it to water your plants or something). Don't get all worked up over things. Life is too SHORT !!!! Spending every waking moment stressing about something is useless. It doesn't make it any better and you just get ulcers and stressed kids or spouses. Seriously....keep it simple!

Mother J

I pondered just what to write for this letter, and couldn't come up with anything....Seriously. I thought, Joy, Just do it (clean house), Jesus, and a couple others...but nothing got my juices flowing. Until now...............

I have had an epiphany! All my readers names begin with J, except Robyn, but her husbands name is JAY!!!! How freakin cool is that??? Joann, Julie, Jane, and Mrs. Jay. SWEET! I totally deserve the creative award for that one, don't I? I am sooo smart.

Anyway, about my readers. You 4 are the elite! Seriously, I do NOT give our my blog for anything. God must have put it on my heart to give it to you 4 for some special reason, because I just do not give it out....

Robyn was my first reader, and she is awesome. Except, I usually forget to email her, and I FINALLY did, and now she owes me!!! But she probably doesn't even notice. :( Seriously, she is an awesome mommy to 3 girls, a homesteader wanna be (soon!!), and a girl after my own heart. We have alot in common, even though at first glance you wouldn't believe it. She is little miss neat, and can get rid of stuff in an instant. No holding onto it for her!!! She constantly makes me laugh with her quips and humor. She is currently wanting to adopt a sibling group of boys, and God willing, she will get her wish.

Joann was reader number 2. We have alot in common too, and the more we talk, the more we find out. She used to live here in Oklahoma even. She has the most beautiful 2 grandbabies (that she adopted as her own), and one of them is disabled like Rachel. They are very similar in disabilities, and about the same age. We compare stuff all the time, and are very encouraging to each other too. She is such a cool person, and I am glad I met her!! She lives in California, and will be the first one I try to meet in person when God willing, we get to go to the microcephaly conference next year.

Jane was reader number 3. I met her via the disabled groups, which I think Joann is on also. She lives in New Zealand, and that in itself is soo cool.....Who do YOU know that lives in NEW ZEALAND? I want to visit her!!! She doesn't come here often, but I know she does some. She has the cutest little boy that is currently overcoming disabilities himself. He is walking, and talking and all sorts of things. He has made it very far, and I am sure it is due to his mommy and daddy's help. She is pregnant with baby #2~ a girl!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for her, and she is only going to make the family much better...more kids, more love, ya know?

And lastly, I recently "met" Julie. She also lives in California, and is a homeschool mom of 5. She just started the homeschool journey, and seems to be doing very well! Her kids are just the cutest, and I love reading about their adventures. She knows life with a special needs child, and can relate to me in that respect. She also wants to adopt, and is currently "pregnant", waiting on a child or children from Ethiopia. I like to think that we have the same writing style, except she might not think that. She writes much longer posts and more often than me. Grin!

Isn't it strange how everyone has something in common? Two california girls, 3 disabled/special needs parents, 2 adopting, 1 who has adopted, 3 who homeschool, 1 who wants to, 2 on a journey to get rid of everything, and the list could go on......

I love each one of my readers, and can only hope that I will continue to get to know each one of you more and more though my blog and yours. We are all doing this blog thing for encouragement, and memory preserving, and to meet friends. I think we are going about it just fine. Thank you all for coming here and encouraging me.... (((hugs)))))

wow! and the other guy won?

Mother I

Idiots...they are my pet peeve. I have written here before about my stuggles with people who don't want to pay my husband for work he had performed. I can't think of anything I like less than to fight for what is mine. They will tell me, "Oh the check is on the way, sorry about the confusion" and it not be. I will have to write or call AGAIN to get told the same bull AGAIN, and people wonder why I trust no one. I HATE being lied to! Seriously.

Just recently, I went through another idiot session with a book club I am the homeschool liason for. I had a bunch of money to give them, and they didn't want to take it. For 9 days, I went through baloney. I finally had to become a very assertive individual...and demand that they fix the problem as well as ship my stuff express mail, on their dime. They did it... I shouldn't have to do this, but it works.

I don't take crap from anyone, and while it is a good quality to have, it leaves me unable to trust most people. I am forever saying "Yeah, sure" when talking about someone's word. Not necessarily to their faces, but to myself or my husband. I am a great judge of character, and usually am right. It is a sad state of affairs though, when you can't trust people...

Mother H

H is for home. I love to be home. I am such a homebody, and it is very different than when I was a kid. I lived out in the country and home was a prison. We nver went anywhere, and never saw anyone, outside of school. Summers were hard, let me tell you. So, when i moved out, I was always on the go. Here there and everywhere.... I was never home! Now that I have grown up, I prefer being home. I don't like to leave. Maybe it has something to do with the sheer number of things I have to do before I can leave or the sheer number of people who want to leave with me, but maybe it is easier to stay home. LOL! We do go to thrift stores about one time a week, and to the grocery store the same. I take one child to vocal music lessons one time a week, and actually that is about it. I could stay home the rest of the time. It got pretty crazy here for awhile, living in our van almost, but the minute I can squash that, I do! If Tony can run the errand, or take the kid somewhere, I most always have him do it. He is also the one to get the daily pops...I just don't like to leave...period.

Home is also the place I want my kids to always come back to. True, it is messy and full of people, but that makes it more cozy....Who am I kidding? The mess has got to go. I am always working on that one. But the people...there is always someone to play with, talk to, tickle, hug, or argue with here.

I don't particularly care for THIS home, except if I could fix everything that was wrong with it, I might be more inclined to want to stay. Plumbing is a huge problem, and I don't want to get milked by a plumber, so I just leave it unfixed....The neighborhood is mostly college kids, which hasn't been a big problem lately, so maybe it will stay that way. Otherwise, we have no problems calling the police.

Home is where the heart (and the mess) is.......

Mother G

Well, what better letter post about G than about God? I have to rely on Him so very much, for so many things. Especially now, with this election shock. God is firmly in control, and He has allowed what the people want, but surely He cannot be happy with the way his world is going. I have known for a very long time about the ways of society. It's been in a decline since they took God out of the school system. Teen pregnancy went up, crimes went up, moral concious went down, etc, etc. When you take Him out of the plan, the plan will stink, plain and simple. So, yeah, the world doesn't want a conservative in office. That is plain to see. Interesting to note, that when we held anti-abortion signs up, we were targeted by screamers who were none the shamed to "uphold the values of the woman". Even in Republican state Oklahoma!!!

When we allow our children to dress and act like prostitues, when we drool over the latest nasty horror film, when we have more compassion for animals than humans, when we hand over birth control rather than teach abstinance (and I am NOT referring to the schools....it is the parents first!!) and all those other moral declines we are allowing, our world will fail. Nothing seems sacred anymore, and it is such an odd place to be one of the lone men out. I am firmly firmly firmly against abortion...but some conservatives would be okay with it. At least, they will call themselves conservatives, but they aren't if they think that way, are they? I am so firmly against it, that even in the event that I am faced with either an abortion or my life, I will chose my life. Because really??? What do doctors know for certain?? NOTHING!! I have read too many testimonies of women who did exactly the opposite of the doctors recommendations, and have faired just fine, thank you very much. So, more than likely, the health scare will pass, or will be fine enough to give birth and give that baby a chance. Even in the unlikely event that it will truly be an either-or, I will chose the or. True, I have a lot to live for, but I will give my life for my children.....all my children! Most don't feel this way.

When people are okay with homosexuals-that is another moral decline. God states He is firmly against this, and they choose to claim He isn't talking about it. Really?? It is not natural one bit! So the minute people became okay with this, they just set themselves up for more failure. I am not even talking about this subject from an outsider viewpoint either. My sister is gay!!! Except she wasn't for many, many years or before she had 3 children. She "turned" gay after being treated badly by men. So, it wasnt in her nature...

God will let what happens, happen. He is in control, but just like He doesn't stop the rapist from raping, He won't stop a dictator from dictating. That has to come from us, the human beings He created. We have to truly one day open our collective eyes and see what we have let this world fade into....stop the horror movies, and the love of self. Stop being okay and complacent with everything just because it's easier to do so. Stop letting Hollywood stereotypes set the standards for us. Just stop it all....and focus on God!

edited to add: right after I posted this, I read this quote on another blog. It sums my post up perfectly. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”

also, here is this. "I believe that God will only allow a leader in power that He chooses. Sometimes God puts a leader in that will be our chastisement." as in...be careful what you wish for...you just might get it. And reap the "rewards" of that choice.

And hopefully that is all I have to say about this......it would be to tedious to bring up fraud, especially since I have already used the F for fathers. :)

Mother F

F is for family, and father's both. I think I craved a large family due to my own disfunctional family growing up. My real father had nothing to do with me, and my step-father...well, let's just say he had some good points, but ruined it when I turned 13. He was the one who taught me how to work for myself, and to try new things. He was very intelligent (a member of mensa and a non practicing lawyer) and he encouraged me to do anything I set my mind on. He became my step father when I turned 8, and he died about 10 years or so ago. However, what he did from 13 until 17 ruined any feelings I had for him, and I moved away and didn't shed a tear when he died.

My husbands father was a good guy, but he liked to drink. That caused a lot of issues in their family, and I can't comprehend what that was like. Sure, my dad got drunk and all, but he did it in the comfort of his own home. He wasn't a social drunk, and Tony's father was. My dad was pretty mild mannered when he drank, but I don't think that Tony's dad was....anyway.

My son's real father was a real winner...He denied that Austin was his for a very long time, and put a huge wall in between us. Then one day he decides to meet Austin and apologize for all those missed years. It was weird to say the least.

My daughter's father was unemployable, couldn't read and wasn't a pleasant person to be around mostly. He hid drugs in my roof, and liked to drink. He ended up in prison for things I can't talk about here, and proceeded to pass away while in prison. I was happy about that, because he did not deserve to ever get out, and that was an option that was coming up close to that time.

Why did I pick these guys? I don't know, but I can't say that I wish I hadn't, because if I do that, where would that have put me? My children are the greatest gift to me, and if I hadn't had them, I would be such a different person now. I was seriously headed the wrong direction and they stopped that. So, I am greatful bad people gave me great kids....

Lastly, Tony. He is a good father. He has his moments, and carries some baggage from his own father that I wish he could put behind him, and change. For the most part though??? He is great. My kids are blessed to have such a loving dad. He is very involved in the day to day stuff, and will not miss an opportunity to be with the kids.

Also, he wanted this large family too...Whether we are done now, or have 10 more, he is on board with me either way. I thank God for this father and my family.

Mother E

Everything! This describes my house perfectly. In one way, we have so much stuff that I think we have everything that was ever made. Too many clothes, books, games, videos, computers, etc. It has been such a work in progress to even make a dent in it, and I am still struggling with what to keep and what to get rid of. In another way, everything is how I view the kids stuff. Everyone gets to play with everything, I mean. We have a communal toy area, and I am trying to encourage sharing and cooperation. On the one hand, you would think that this won't work, because they need ownership and the ability to be able to say no, you can't touch. I thought this way for a long time, but all it did was make the kids selfish. They never wanted to share a thing!!! So, I took all ownership away, and while it does have it's problems too, it is much better for them to know that they must figure out a way to get along. Everything....good and bad.

Mother D

"what is your name, cute little boy?" they would ask. He would reply "Conner", but what did they hear much to his complete and utter frustration??? Donald. Every single time. He would say "NO, Not that, Conner!!!" and they would say "Donald?" Why did he do this? Because he had a speech impediment that all his other brothers shared. They all sounded exactly the same. It was kind of odd.... I was looking back through videos that we had taped from about 1 year ago, and they sounded so different than they do now. I am very glad we finally got off our rumpus's and did something about it. They all were in speech therapy for about 6 months, but I actually seem to remember that Conner "donald" graduated early, because he got it quicker than they did. So, ha on that Donald people!

Mother C

C is for crying, which is what my daughter did last night after Obama won. She is very fearful, and sad about what our country is turning into. It was hard comforting her, while at the same time, being upset myself. But isn't that what mom's and dad's do? Shove our feelings aside, while we fix our kiddos? I remember one time when a child and I got hurt together. I don't remember the specifics at the moment, but we were both hurt pretty bad. I wanted to cry and lose it completely, but the only thing that kept me in focus was that my child needed me more. Parenting is such a self sacrificing job, and people who choose to have no children are missing out on such an awesome shaping tool for their character. They are apt to be selfish, and lonely. I remember before I had kids, I didn't want kids anywhere near me. Don't touch my car, don't drool on me, and just go away already. ME, ME, ME! However, God tells us that children are a blessing for a reason. To mold us while we mold them. To come outside our comfort zones, and reach deep inside ourselves to find love and compassion for someone who is not us. It's a good place to be...

Mother B

Today's letter brings to mind basketball. We are starting the season today, so that is somewhat appropriate, don't you think? The tournament was a pre-season tournament, so it did not count. LOL! My son is so excited. He really enjoys basketball...not so much watching it on t.v., but playing it. Two years ago, he was on the same team, and his coach nearly ruined his passion. He wouldn't let him play, and there really weren't very good reasons either. Some of them were legit, like he didn't know the plays they were going to use, but others were simply that he was too tall, or looked too old. How ridiculous is that??? If a team can't play another team because a member is too tall, what business do they have playing? He was also very mean, and vocal. I didn't like him at all. He was in charge of the junior varsity, so this year, Austin, being on varsity was not going to be a problem. He played quite a bit in the first 2 tournament games, and was doing very well! Except they decided to join the j.v. teams and the varsity teams due to the lack of players on j.v. Do you see where this is going??? The coach couldn't be there for day 3, so the bad coach was in charge. YIPPEE..... He did not play Austin one single second. I was furious, hubby was furious, other people were furious. He didn't even allow conversation as to why, because he disappeared after they lost. So, I hope that is not an indication of how this year will be going, because if so, this momma will be in someones face. Don't kill my son's passion for no good reason.....He tries hard and is truly motivated to play. He is up on his schoolwork, faithfully practices, and is doing all the right things. Basketball....yippee! Wish us luck tonight.

Edited to add: they won, and Austin played the last 4 minutes of the game and did awesome. It was a hard fight, and they weren't able to play others for most of the game, but the starters pulled ahead, so the rest of the team could trickle in and get some court time. Congratulations, Trinity!

Mother A

A is for all of my children's names, either first or middle. Why? I don't know! It is just something I started with my first two, and promptly decided that if the next one wasn't an A name, he or she would feel left out. And on and on it went. Until child number 5, it remained a first name, but then got too hard to say when frustrated...Au-ash-adam....So then we went to middle names, and kinda followed the alphabet for the first names. Except when I thought God told me that Nathan was going to be Rachel, thus forcing me to deviate further from that nonsense...Backtracking a bit, when I got pregnant with Nathan, God told me your next child will be Rachel. I thought He meant the child I was carrying, so Rachel "she" was. They even told me twice that "she" was a she based on ultrasound. Imagine our surprise when Rachel came out with boy parts!!! So, God meant my next child...literally. We have Austin, Ashley, Adam, Aaron, then Braydon Alexander, Conner Avery, Nathan Andrew, and Rachel Anne. Next boy will be Joshua Allan. No clue what a girl would be....so God, if you're reading this, you can give me another name again. I won't mind. Tee Hee....


(just a little clue about the title...I am going to be attempting a series of alphabet centered mom stuff...soon it will be mother B, and it will be about something that starts with a B...got it???)

halloween

Halloween? Why does everyone participate in it? We used to do it until about 7 years ago. Haven't done it since. Too gory and scary for me....I hate how society twists everything. It seems backwards to me to celebrate such a ghoulish holiday surrounded in death and spirits if you're a christian. It just absolutely seems strange to me when people claim it is just a harmless "holiday" in which your kids get candy. If you just want candy, go buy some! Tell me your feelings about this...I am truly stumped. My best friend and my other close friend in town, both very conservative christians, trick or treat. JoAnn, you did it too. Tell me why...And I know how it got started, so I am not looking to find out the history, but simply knowing what it has turned into, why would you do it?

I love you all anyway, so please don't be offended by this, but it's got to be something we truly investigate and think out and not just do because everyone else is doing it.