God's little blessings matter so much

Ok..so God truly cares about the little things. You know this, don't you? People think God is far too busy to care about the tiny, mundane stuff that only matters to us, but that is FALSE!! Know how I know this? Look what we have been sleeping on.



Now, look at what we were blessed with today from freecycle. It will feel SOOOO good to finally sleep on an intact sheet and not have that awful egg crate feeling in our backs and feet.

Thank you LORD!!! We appreciate it, so very much. You truly do care about every little thing in our lives.

Rachel part 2...please read the post before this one, first.

These are just a couple of other pics of her birthday, or shortly after (for the 2nd pic)



I should mention that during my pregnancy, we had ultrasounds several times, due to different things each time. Once, they said her belly was bigger than her head, which would indicate the microcephaly was due to her development, not birth...BUT they said it resolved itself. Then I had to get more because of the enormous amount of amniotic fluid I had. They wanted to make sure she was fine, and it wasnt stressing her out any. Each time, they said everything was fine. So.......



What signifies her disability? Her head has only grown 2 inches in circumfrence since birth. SHe weighs 14 pounds and 15 oz. She isnt able to eat solid foods, unless you want to keep stuffing it back in again and again and again, and hope some of it just slides down her little throat. Her feet turn in like clubfeet, but they arent clubbed. She looks like she is praying with her feet, all the time. She stands on the sides of her feet if you hold her in a standing position. She can't sit unless you are holding her...she has no side control. Funny thing though...she has always lifted her little body up by the abdominal muscles and held herself in that position, much to everyone's delight. So, there is muscle, but not the muscle that keeps you sitting up. She just started rolling both directions, and has that down to a tee. She cant crawl, but does get on her knees to rock back and forth.



She is just now in the last month become interested in toys. She enjoys them, but if they fall, she doesnt really look for them. She is content to sit in a swing or a bouncy chair, or in her crib all day....we have to take her out and stimulate her continuously, or she would just stay there and not fuss. Sounds like an easy thing, but it is sad really. Her left eye crosses, but she is gaining some control over it...it only crosses now when she is tired, or preferring to shut down.



She coos, but doesnt make any sounds that have discernable consonants or vowels. She laughs, and makes me laugh until tears run down my face...its that cute!!



She has tiny ear openings, and they thought for awhile that she might be deaf...turns out that she had junk in them from birth blocking them. She finally passed hearing screenings, and all, but developed many infections. Had tube surgery at 5 1/2 months. They thought she had CVI which is where you really cant see, but the neuro opthomologist doesnt think so... neither do we.



She is jeckel and hyde. I have called her that from day one. One minute she is completely stiff and you cant move her legs or arms, then the next, she is as loose as a goose. One minute she is looking AT you, and interacting, the next she is off in her own little zone. One minute she is rocking back and forth and then next, she is just laying there, not acting like anything is going on. Just when they think they have her pinned down to a certain something, she does something else. Its almost funny. The docs even laugh about how she doesnt want to fit any mold.



She is just Rachel and I love her with all my heart and soul. I hold her and cry at least once a day, because I am so glad she is here with me, and that she is mine. They told me I miscarried her early on, and I didn't. They told me all sorts of things, and she is still here. She may not walk, she may not talk, but I know she loves me, and her daddy and her siblings, and she is going to do what she wants to do. And smile all the while. She is usually the first happy person I see in the mornings, and the last happy person I see at night. I am blessed that God gave her to me. Truly.

My precious babies birth story (Rachel)

A little bit on Rachel for those who don't know. She was born at 38 weeks gestation, due to too much amniotic fluid. I was HUGE!! They thought I would rupture if we let it go any further, so induction commenced. Labor started out fairly uneventful, and we were making progress. The doc decided to break my bag of waters, and that was a fun task. Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink it seemed. He was yelling for towels, and I could stop the flow with a kegal, but the minute I would let it go, more would gush out. They decided that the uterus was clamping down on her and was causing her distress, so we did an amnio infusion to put water back in. That was also fun (not). Then her heartrate started to decel and they forced me on my side...where it was most uncomfortable. I was trying to do this naturally.... Once her heartrate stayed okay for awhile, then I was allowed on my back. Only to have her decel again. I was back on my side, they did an internal monitor on her head, everything was fine, except I couldnt bear the pain. Epidural ordered, and was installed, only to have her crown before it even took effect.

She was born very~very fast and had a cord wrapped around her neck 2 times, which seems like a big deal, but I have always had cord babies...always. Never a problem. She was not breathing, and so they kept having to mess with her, ie shaking her a little and giving her oxygen through a little tube close to her face. She would pink up but once they stopped, she would turn blue again. This went on for what seemed like eternity, but my husband said it wasn't very long. They took her to the nursery and put her under a little tent, and we were allowed to see her sometime after that.

She was bruised on her face and actually had a bruise on her labia which was odd. The pediatrician said that was very common in fast births and that it had nothing to do with lack of oxygen or anything like that. She insists that if she had hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) that she would have not perked up as quickly and would have likely been intubated.

She was a poor eater very early on, because all she wanted to do was sleep. That, combined with the bruising gave her jaundice. She was in the hospital 4 days from that, discharged, and promptly became jaundiced again...in for another 3 days. Right after that, I developed a blood clot in my leg due to laying around in the bed while she was in the hospital. That was 4 days of sure agony. Then after about 1 month, we were back in again because she developed pneumonia and was diagnosed failure to thrive. She hadnt gained any weight, and while she nursed, it just wasnt much. She still preferred to sleep. I would wake her, and try to force her to eat, but it was only on her terms that she cooperated. They convinced me that my milk wasnt fat enough for her to grow on, and then I got to bottle feed her.

She still didnt grow. She still wanted to sleep most of the time. We increased her calories by giving her more formula than you were supposed to put in a bottle....we changed formulas...we gave her rice. Nothing....still wouldnt grow. Then we got to go to doctor after doctor to find out what was going on.

Her head measured 13 inches at birth, and stayed that way. Her fontanelle closed before 6 months old, but they did an MRI and it told us that her sutures were still open. So, it became a wait and see.

One doc thinks that because of my diabetes, it messed up her brain development and that was why we had to much amniotic fluid...she wasnt smart enough to swallow it and process it, basically. I have had diabetes with the last 5 children...never a problem, but he said it was random.

Pediatrician and OT still thinks that if it was from birth, she would show white matter in her brain from dead cells, and that she would have been worse off. Neuro thinks the same. Why can't I believe this?

My hand is tired, so I will leave you with some pics. The first pic was right after birth, the second pic was probably a couple of hours or so later. The third pic was in the hospital during jaundice treatment and the last pic was how she looked for about 2 more weeks, bruised in her eyelids. Beautiful, but still hard for me to see now.

Quiverful after a disability....warning..much rambling

This is a little bit more serious of a post that my cleaning struggles. I have felt the need to put this down in writing for sometime, but something stops me.... I am just going to do it, and if it rambles or sounds bad, I don't care. I've just got to do it.

My husband and I are quiverful. We have felt this calling for a long time now. Each pregnancy stinks a little bit more each time...a little more pain, a little more fatigue, a little more tainted with "I cant do this again". But still we kept on. Never doing anything to stop God's blessings. Each time I would give birth, all those negatives were gone. They became a faded memory in the past, and were only brought up when I got pregnant again. People thought we were crazy for wanting so many children.

When we miscarried, the only thing I wanted to do was try again. I never felt the desire to stop and not do that again. We were blessed with Nathan 3 months after the miscarriage. Then we got pregnant with Rachel 3 months after Nathan was born. Whew!! I don't know if any of my fears are related to the quickness of all that or not. I do know alot of the fear is due to Rachels disability. I had always maintained that the world is a better place with "special needs" kids. I always felt awkward around them, but that was my own problem. No one deserved life more than another, so that included everyone, normal or not. I read one blog against the Duggars choices, and one lady said..."she wouldn't have so many if she had a disabled child. She would have had to stop then." Like that was a death sentence or something. I disagreed with that statement, and thought that it was pretty absurd of her to say that. Then I had Rachel........

I don't know if I caused her to be like she is, or if the birth caused her problems, or what. I don't know if I am okay with the possibility that it was me, and thus I would cause the next baby to be like that. I love her with every fiber of my being, and had I known about her problems before birth, I would have still had her and called myself blessed. So why do I have the fear??? Can't I let myself look into her eyes and long for another one, be it normal or not?

I don't know if she will ever walk, or talk, or truly develop into anything other than an infant. I pray daily that she will, but I am fine if she wont. However, do I have it in me to get past that and open myself into having more? I know in my heart that God will not give me more than I can handle, but if it was my fault that she is disabled, is it fair to allow it again? I know that my fault only could consist of the knowledge that I had diabetes, and allowed myself to get fat. I made the wrong food choices...I didn't eat healthy, but the diabetes was under control. Also,the birth itself could have caused it, and do I trust myself to give birth again??? Unless she was made this way by God, and in which case, I could live with that and stop blaming myself. BUT I WILL NEVER KNOW, AND IT'S KILLING ME!!

Yesterday, she was approved for disability through the state. They usually deny you the first time, but her disabilities are apparently profound enough that she sailed right through the process. That makes me cry....Its so hard to imagine her life past here and now. Could I take care of her and all that entails, and still be a good mommy to more children??

Our entire life was crazy for this past year since she came. It took this long to finally get some semblance of normalcy back. We were all so messed up....And yet, she continued to thrive and make progress...and made us smile, and cherish each other a little more. I know God wants us to have her....she is needed by our family for so many reasons. I could be saying this about the next baby....and I would mean it then. So, why cant I get past this awful fear?

Family pic on Thursday

My babies!!! Trying to set up a pic like this was harder than one could imagine. My back hurts now from being on the floor. I am not as young as I used to be.....OUCH!!

8 reasons my home wont stay clean

These are the reasons my house will never stay clean. But that's okay, because I would rather have those reasons, than a clean house any day!!!

The big living room cleaning of 2008

Okay...so we're among friends here. This is a before and after of an ick degree. This is my living room. A huge room by living room standards. We don't spend much time in here, which is why it could be this way and not need cleaning. I will preface the pics by saying, I took them after I started cleaning. So, it probably looks worse than it was, due to the fact that I was sorting and going through. I am nowhere near done, but at least it's habitable now...so the kids can stop coming into my room to play. :) These two above are the "after some sorting, but before any real cleaning going on. The boxes are for stuff to leave my house in. I do have lots of excess, remember??? Okay. And if you're wondering about the liquor boxes, well....I am sorry but we live next to a liquor store, and those boxes are the bomb for holding lots of weight. Next photos are of the midway process. I was steam cleaning the carpets at the same time I was cleaning. I am nothing if not a multi-tasker. Also, there is another view of my living room. Yes, we have 2 large couches, 1 loveseat, 1 chaise lounge and a rocker recliner. Why do you ask??? We have lots of booties that need to sit. Then the last two pics are the "finished" product. I say finished, but its not. I am just too pooped to go on tonight. We have therapy tomorrow for Rachel, so I have to call it an evening. And let the carpets dry. My problem with being a perfectionist is that once I start, unless I force myself to stop, it will go on forever.....and I will be dusting the knick-knacks, and each rock over my fireplace. I have much better things to do with my time....
Namely love on these two cuties...Rachel has decided she doesn't want to go to bed, so she is hanging out with Daddy. He is pooped too, but its due to jogging with Austin this morning, driving Ashley to the big city for an orthodontist appointment, and working the rest of the day. No, he didn't help me clean....In case you wondered. :)

Daddy's work shirts. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

We made this one a year ago.....

We just made this one tonight...
I do believe Rachel has grown a little bit.

Star Wars art....

This is a cool star wars post. The boys all love everything star wars, so when we bought the glow in the dark doodle pro, what do you think they drew?



This was from Braydon...
This was from Braydon also...
This was from Adam
This was from Aaron.

Coat closet finally figured out!! Go me!!

I am SLOW I tell ya. I asked my husband to go to Lowes and buy a shower curtain. We installed in under the original one, and wala! Instant access for the little people. They were forever throwing their coats on the floor because they couldnt reach the hangers...so this will effectively teach them to be diligent about putting things away.

Diet update and laundry...now with pics!!

It is so frustrating, this weight loss thing. When I wasn't drinking pop, I was hungry all the time. Even when I would take my diet pill. When I was drinking pop, I had no desire to eat. So, in essence...I would gain with water only as a beverage, and lose with pop as a beverage. Doesn't make sense, does it? I haven't had fast food though, but I cant seem to shake this desire for DP. I hate that. I still weigh 244...but it may be doing bad things to my blood sugar. Its the lesser of two evils though. Weight gain from hunger, or high blood sugar??? Ack!!


Finally finished all the sorting and getting rid of the excess clothes. Take a look at the clothes in the boxes sitting in my laundry room waiting to go!! I am so pooped. It took a full 7 days to wash, sort, try on, get rid of, hang up and be done with it. I have NEVER been done with it. I would be just getting rid of summer stuff, by the time summer rolled around again. I don't know what is with me, but my brain CANNOT sort this organizing thing out. It sucks. I am a perfectionist when I put my mind to it, but because of that, I just don't want to do it. Its mentally draining. I will have the cleanest one square foot of something, but the big picture is never done. Well, that is all changing with what I am doing. Getting rid of all the excess is going to help, because when you don't have it, it cant be messy, can it?

This is a huge stack of boxes filled with the clothes. Sorry about the side view, but its the point that counts. There were so many boxes that I had to take two pics.

This is the bottom of the boxes and the huge bags full. I have actually added MORE boxes, but I didn't want to take another picture.

This is just the jeans!! For a couple of people!! There were too many, so each child now has 6 pairs of jeans, 6 shorts, 5 long sleeved shirts, 6 short sleeved shirts, 5 pair of underwear. I should clarify that this pertains to the younger 4 (not counting Rachel.) My oldest 3 are very attached to their clothing, and while they did pare down, just not to that degree. They will be held accountable if it gets out of hand again. Also, hubby and I have more than that, but will keep up on the laundry and get rid of stuff should we bring new stuff in. Not likely though...I hate shopping for clothes.

I can already feel the relief on the laundry front, and now the books. there is just as many boxes of excess duplicate or otherwise books...but they are in the garage. The more clutter gone, the more my brain feels less foggy. I don't know if it was because i grew up poor that i feel the need to hoard so much stuff....but whatever the reason, I have reached the breaking point. No more, I say!!



Getting my life in order is just what I need. To be able to deal with 8 children effectively...to be able to deal with Rachel's disability. To be an effective wife. To be an effective Christian. When one if afraid to open the door to strangers or even people they know, its a big problem. I cant do it anymore.



Is this what getting old will do to a person, or is it just finally getting fed up enough? Whatever it is, I like it. I just wish it would have happened sooner. The Lord is stretching me, that's for sure!

Here's the cute lil thing I promised in part one...

Isn't she adorable??? Sitting in the middle of mommies book pile. Just sucking away at her pacifier, praying she isn't messy when she grows up. I just know it...

I am a book addict part 2

This is in Rachel's room. These are just the kids books alone. We call it the library...wonder why??? View one.....

View two...along with the excercycle. We use this occasionally, sometimes while reading. :)
View three. Along with Rachel's crib. Good thing she doesn't stand up and mess with them. We will deal with that as soon as she can stand.

This is the part I hate about my organizational habits that have rubbed off on my children. They love to read, but they dont love to put away. They are usually very good at not stepping on them, but they should be put away, dont ya think???

Hi, my name is Holly and I am a book addict

I have always loved to read, collect paper, and notebooks, etc my entire life!! If my magazines came in the mail bent up, I would cry. I have a book that I got in 1988 that still looks brand new. I love books and I love to take care of them. So, this has been a sore spot in my parenting life, because while I love them, I dont want my kiddos to mess them up. I have somewhat gotten over that, because I truly want my children to read. Take a look at the photos of my addiction.

The above is my homeschooling books. Some of these are double rowed. You know what is bad? I have 10 1st grade book curriculums, and I only have 4 potential 1st graders. I guess we need to get busy making more??

This is our personal collection of grown up books. I almost said adult books, but we don't have anything to do with those at all, and don't want to appear like we do, either.

This is some of the books on my bed while I was sorting them. Stay tuned for the next post. It has something really really cute on it.

Thursday ramblings...dentist and laundry

Why do I love Dr. Pepper so much? Why can't it taste like crap? If it did, then I wouldn't want it. Sheesh.... Okay, today is a new day and I haven't succumbed to the temptation. It is so hard to give it up, but then when I do for weeks, just one brings me back. I am glad it's not drugs I am addicted to.

On to other things....Today I take my 6 year old to the dentist for a baby root canal. Sounds painful, but my 9 year old has had 3. Its kind of nice to take someone else to a doctor for a change. Rachel went yesterday for her 1 year (2 months late) and she is weighing in at 14 lbs 15 oz. Head is 15 cm. That means, it has grown 2 inches since birth. You would think that is tiny, but compared to the rest of her body, she is completely proportionate. And beautiful...if I do say so myself.

I finished the laundry!!!!! I washed so many loads that I went through a huge box of Gain. I got rid of about 20 boxes full of clothing. Now I just need to have a garage sale or consign them all. Clothing is just one of the many things we have too much of. When we have this sale, I am gonna be rich!!!! I wont buy more stuff with it, you can be sure of that.

Last night, we went to Wal Mart and bought diapers! Tons of diapers. I bought some coupons on Ebay and plan to use them all by march, when they expire. So, we bought 5 bags yesterday. I don't know where I will put them all, but when you got two in diapers, you need to stock up. It is only the right thing to do...LOL.

Hi, Joann. I am glad you like this rambling blog. You need one! They are great...just type your feelings, and retain it for posterity. Let me know where yours is, and we can read each other.

tuesdays failings...

2 pops today!!! Many many loads of laundry done. Nuff said...

Sunday morning blahs

Boy, I really fell of the wagon this last couple of days. Kitchen-horrible//paperwork-not done//pop-2 yesterday//fast food-wendys chicken sandwich and caeser salad. MAN!! Failed big time. BUT.....I am back on track and ready to start over. Its not hard once you set it in place. Wish me luck...

Heartburn, and other agonizing thoughts.

Went to the eye doctor yesterday for Rachel, and she has made alot of progress apparently. She looked at more cards this time, and doesn't appear to be crossing her left eye as much. I think the first time, she was tired, so it may not have been an accurate test, but who knows. She does appear more alert though, so that would help her focusing ability.

Yesterday, no ear ringing. WOOHOO!! I thought it was done. Until this morning.....its like a little faithful pet, just there in case I decide to pet it. UGH! I am not enjoying the thought in the least. Jaw hurt all day yesterday, but feels better today. I would almost prefer the jaw pain over the ringing.

Last night stunk!! Hubby and I went out to eat and enjoyed a baked potato with bacon and cheese. Drank water with lemon. Got broccoli cheddar soup to pour on potato. Not a bad meal at all one would think. Went to bed at 11. At 11:30 it felt like heartburn coming on. OH NO! Sure enough, 12:30 full blown heartburn attack that made me cry, it was that bad. At 1:00 I decided to go sit in the recliner, because I couldn't lay down at all. Stayed there until 3:00. Couldn't get to sleep due to the heater off and on noise. Crawled back in bed, still hurting but not as badly. Fell asleep shortly after 3:30. Woke up at 7:30. Wouldn't you love to be me?? I have never had an attack that badly, and it makes me mad, because we ate early enough, I didn't drink soda. I didn't gorge. So why does this happen. Nothing over the counter works at all....so I am forced to endure the agony.

Weight is 242.6....Hubby was 206

Kitchen messy but manageable. No pop...No fast food.

Paperwork a day behind.

Family happy...God bless em.

Ear ringing, and sick child...FUN!

Okay, so....I missed yesterday. It feels strangely disconcerting. I was doing multiple posts everyday and then to miss a day is odd. Oh well...I am here now anyway.

Still no pop or fast food, BUT for some reason this morning I weighed 245.7. HUH?? What is that about? I did drink a TON of water yesterday, so maybe I am retaining. I do think I am ovulating, but does one retain water when they ovulate? I usually weigh less when I am on my monthly, so maybe I do it backwards. Anyway, TMI....but no one reads this anyway.

My right ear is killing me with all this ringing. It is intermittent, but constant. Meaning I can move my jaw and it will go away for 2 seconds, but then starts again immediately. It isn't making me dizzy and it doesn't hurt, but dang, the annoyance!!!! I have tried drops, popping my ear, smacking it in frustration...Nothing takes care of it. The drops filled my ear, like when you submerge it in water, but it still rang. Weird!! Just as I was typing this, I moved my jaw yet again for a little relief from the loud buzz and my jaw bone popped very loudly. My daughter sitting next to me heard it. Now its making a crackling sound, but the ear is still ringing. Too bad it didn't help that. ARGH!!

On to other things. Last night, at 4-H, Aaron decided to throw up outside the church. That was fun. Poor guy. He woke up at 4:30 feeling sick to his stomach, and then proceeded to throw up every time he walked around, but when he would lay he was fine. So, I didn't think he was sick per se, just nauseated or dizzy. I let him go to 4-H because he was fine from 3:00 on, so it may have just been the ride to the church. He was okay for the rest of the evening. Hope no one else decides to do this.

We go tomorrow to the big city to take Rachel to her eye doctor. She is crossing her left eye, and they think its due to the brain disability, so she sees a pediatric, neurological eye doctor. I still cant believe that a regular optician told me that she wasn't crossing at all, that it was just due to large nasal skin folds. Hmmph...I was right!

I keep wondering if I should make this blog somewhat public. I like the idea, and it scares me to death all in one. I am a very private person mostly, unless you are a very close friend of mine. I don't seek out relationships, and am much like a hermit. My social children don't understand that for the life of them. I have lots of wonderful things to share, and I have learned lots from other blogs, but I just don't know. I don't want scrutiny of my writing style, or my lifestyle for that matter. SO it will stay somewhat private for now. If you stumble here by accident, and like what you see, tell me. Otherwise, please move on. I am fragile. LOL.

Sunday afternoon musings...

I like this pound of weight loss a day thing. I have heard, however, that it's not healthy to lose more than 2 pounds a week. I am not really sure why it's coming off so fast, unless I really was ingesting alot of calories in pop and Wendy's. I was eating 1 or 2 chicken sandwiches every night, and sometimes we got fast food breakfast.

I am not exercising yet, unless you count the massive housecleaning stuff, which is tiring. I am not sedentary, so I guess I am just burnin' the calories.

Weight this morning was 243.0 the first time, and 242.4 the second time, but I will believe the first one. Hubby was 209.0.

Went to church and will go again tonight. We are taking a class on finances, so it should be interesting. We haven't had very good church attendance this last year, so we shall see how this year goes.

Saturday progress report #1

Kitchen-falling apart slowly...must get back on that.

Paperwork-kept up on...proud of myself. This was a big one.

Weight-244. Lost 2 pounds since I started. Most excellent.

Sugar-none except the very occasional bite of chocolate or bread

Junk food-nothing except a half a chicken sandwich from Wendy's tonight with a salad for dinner

I feel good about my progress.

The huge shoe fest of 2007

Okay, I promised to put this out there....so here it is. Shoes for a family of 10. Not even all of them. The line went so long, I had to take a second photo. This is only representative of matching pairs. Yes, we have some of only one shoe....
The buckets after we pared down to 3 pairs for each kid, with the exeption of the older people. We actually got 4 pairs. Casual, dress, slip ons, and work.
Wow....never been this organized before. Still is after 6 days too!! Even the 2 year old puts his shoes back in the "cubbie" when he is done. You cant see it on the pics, but we even have tiny little baby shoes, and they are on top. Not that she really wears them, but we have 'em.

Weight loss

Oh, the pressure. I just joined a community weight loss thing. No winners or anything like that, but its the accountability that will benefit me. Our state is too fat...like alot of states I am sure. It would be nice if they had some kind of winner from each county, but alas, that would be too difficult.

I have done perfectly on my sugar/junk addiction. I am not even craving it. It's weird. I had such a sweet tooth. I am just glad I am so motivated.

Hubby isn't that overweight, but he is somewhat. He is on the same diet as I am, and has also lost one pound since the 1st. WooHoo!! I have always been big. Even when I went on a radical exercise low calorie diet, I only got down to 182. Much better than now, but still large I suppose. He was big when we married, then got really little during our radical plan (like 155) and everyone thought he had cancer or something, then got to around 205-210 and has stayed there for several years.

It seems like we have so much to do, but it doesn't feel that overwhelming. Kept the paperwork in order...kept the kitchen up...kept the kids fed and happy. Go me!!!!

Homeschooling

Just got the kids into their school work. Homeschooling a lot of kids is difficult in that I have lots of 1 copy of curriculum's, and I have multiple children doing some of the same work. I don't want to spend all day copying it (and some you cant copy anyway) and they all like to write directly on the workbooks. Ugh! So, do I force them to write answers on paper, or do I purchase a copy for every child? That could be expensive. I have bought lots of lifepacs on ebay and they are what we are using right now. The oldest child is allowed to write in the books, because it keeps him focused more, but I am in a quandary for the rest.

They are enjoying snack time right now, so fudge bars and homework all around.

Homeschooling has been so rewarding for me, but it also has been the most difficult thing I have ever encountered. What if they aren't learning enough for the real world?? I am not the strictest of homeschoolers....I tend to focus on the reading, writing, and arithmetic parts of school, and let them lead the rest. I know I never use chemistry or geometry in my daily life...so why did I need it? If they show an interest when I introduce them to it, we go for it. But if not, we move on. Maybe they need it when they are a little older, and I just need to let them mature a bit.

My 16 year old loves history now...so he is voraciously reading and working on history. But when he was 10, he hated history. That's what I mean.

My daughter struggled for years with a reading disability that I am sure would have made traditional school horrible for her. We persevered and she reads fine now. We just have to catch up. That's the joys of homeschooling. You can work with the individual child until they get it. I love that. Too many parents give up when they think that the child is having problems, but that's just what they don't need to do. Children learn at their own pace, and if given time, will flourish just fine.

Good morning, Friday

Well, we woke up this morning and both of us lost a pound! Progress is needed to keep going, you know? So yeah for us!! It would really stink to give up all our vices and see nothing in return.

Still gonna put pics of the before and after of the shoes and possibly kitchen when we upload them from the camera. We are borrowing the coolest DSLR camera from one of the hubby's customers. It's worth over 1000.00. I want it soo bad!! He may sell it to us, and then buy the newest version for himself, but isn't sure yet. I am taking tons of photos while I have it.

Now that the kitchen is decluttered and shiny, I feel the need to cook all the time. Trouble is, I don't have any idea what I want to cook. I have a ton of those Taste of Home annuals. I love them....but it's the whole writing it down and shopping for them that makes it blah for me. I know, that's stupid, but when your unorganized and impulsive, you want it to be easy. Plus, every time I cook something new, it's guaranteed to flop for at least 2 or 3 of the pickier children. They don't like change much.

Onward and upwards......Must get on the living room now. I have maintained the kitchen long enough that it seems manageable now. With the 16 year old doing the dishes, and the 14 year old sweeping.....its only a matter of clearing the bars and counters and keeping up with the computer area. We have a big kitchen.......with lots of hotspots. I am doing it though!!! Thank God.

You can kind of see hubby in the back of baby girl

He didn't much like the other photos of him, so we settled on this one. Plus you get to see the cute baby again.

my oldest...the one who made me a mommy

Austin...helping serve at our church dessert theater. So professional looking.

The next two beautiful children

Ashley and Nathan....She is his favorite person in the house.

the middle boys

Counterclockwise with the biggest kid...Adam, Aaron, Braydon, and Conner

My little girl

This is my little baby girl. She is one year old here. Isn't she adorable?

me....

Here is a pic of me, should anyone care. I happen to like this picture. I rarely take good photos.

15 things I love about having so many children

1.Seeing them all playing together and having fun

2.Discovering legos again and again. Those things can build a ton!

3.There is never any time to groan about nothing to do.

4.Having a little tiny hand on one cheek, and a pair of toothy gums kissing my other cheek.

5.When your having a bad day, they can make you laugh and forget about it all.

6.When one can drive and do errands for me.

7.Playing hi ho cheerio keeps you young at heart.

8.Smelling the fruity hair fresh from a bath.

9. Going to the park and being able to have an excuse to swing or hang upside down on the monkey bars.

10.There is never any amount of quietness. I hate quiet.

11.When we go to the ice cream store, I can get samples from at least 6 childrens cones.

12.Buying in bulk really is cheaper.

13.Always having a reason to pull out those tiny newborn clothes.

14.Watching each one grow up and do amazing things never gets old.

15.Knowing that at any given time, I can grab any child and snuggle.

yet another post about stuff

Man, I sure hope my enthusiasm continues for this thing. If so, I will have lots to read through in a few years. I hope blogger doesnt crash and lose stuff...that would stink.

Another goal for this year....to keep track of our finances. My husband is self employed and I am the non paid secretary. This is the 5th year, and I never have everything under control at tax time. I procrastinate and cram at the last minute, getting it done, but with tons of stress and worry. I now have a goal to keep it all under control, and write down expenses and income the same day. No more writing it on a paper to reconcile later.

As day number 3 comes to a close, I am proud to say that kitchen and shoes still look good, no pop or fast food junk, and all business related items are accounted for. Only 353 days left....sheesh.

Off to purge the little boys room of toys that they dont play with. I did this already, but there is still more. I think they reproduce overnight. Wish me luck...

star wars fever

In this house...with 6 boys...there is bound to be some common themes. The theme of the month has been star wars. Adam is drawing everything imaginable, and singing the yoda song as well as the saga continues song. He is now dressed like obi wan...complete with cape and homemade light saber. All the other boys needed their own light sabers, so I had to pull them out of my christmas wrapping papers. The older ones have seen all the movies except #3, because its a bit much I think. The younger ones have seen 1 and 2. We now have legos, figures, chubbies, stickers, and books all over the place. Star Wars still rules after all these years. Who would have thought it would last this long?

prayer for a blog friend

I just want to pray for Kris and her unborn baby. Even though the circumstances are not ideal, she is a good mom, and can make the best of it. I have faith in her. Her son Aiden is just a cutie pie, and obviously is well taken care of and loved...so I am certain she can do it again.

ambitious goals

I am nothing if not ambitious. I tend to make alot of goals, and if I stick to it, I achieve them. So, in following that trend, not only will my house become nicer, and less cluttered, I am on a weight loss journey. It started in July (the 26th as a matter of fact) of last year. I weighed 265 on a good day, and 269 on a bad one. I went to my doctor, because no matter what I seemed to do, it just crept up. He prescribed phentermine, and while I was hesitant to take them, I finally did. I lost over 20 pounds by September. The 26th I weighed 246. Then it stopped.

I started drinking my Dr. pepper again, and not exercising. However, by the grace of God, I maintained that, and here we are now....same weight. I am lucky that I didn't gain it all back. So, I have given up the fast food, and Dr. pepper addiction, and with the help of the phentermine, I will start to lose again. I have not had either of the aforementioned items since Dec 31st. It has been 3 days, and you know? Its not that bad. I expected to crave the pop badly, but only the first day was hard. I drink lots of water, and so I am not thirsty. WOW. Maybe this will be a success.

I need to lose the weight, because 1.) my health and longevity and 2.)we aren't done with our family yet. I cant imagine being this big and pregnant again. The heartburn was awful, and plus there was the gestational diabetes. It stayed controlled, but still there. Regarding the disabilities of my daughter, it could have been caused by the diabetes, so I don't want to chance it again. There is no way to ever know what really caused her issues, but if I can prevent possibilities, then I have done all I can, and let God take care of the rest.

a house with alot of people....

Our house is about 2000 sq. feet. It has 3 actual bedrooms, an office, and a small dining room~all of which are used as bedrooms....so in total~5. We have 4 younger boys in one, 1 daughter in one, 2 bigger boys in one, and the baby in the last. We also have all of our children's books in there. Trust me...we need a whole room for that one. Also, our exercise equipment, which consists of a exercise bike and a treadmill. And then our room. We have 2 tiny tiny bathrooms. Fairly large kitchen, really large living room, laundry room, and a garage.

We are embarking on a new, simple way of living. All my life I have been a messy pack rat type. I married the same. Usually you are attracted to your opposite.....not me. So, our entire marriage has been one big messy house, and I have been tired of it for far too long. For the last year, since birth of baby, I have made it a mission to fix this problem. Yes, we have 8 children, but we don't have to look like we do!!! Too much stuff is good for no one. It was everywhere. I hated it, but felt powerless to fix it. Until this past year. It has taken me this long to figure it out. Or maybe I just finally had enough.

I no longer love everything I have. That was a biggie. I also no longer shop for "bargains" at the thrift stores. I have a huge collection of boxes full of stuff waiting for a consignment sale, or a garage sale, or to just give away via freecycle. They are sitting in my garage, and I am not bringing a thing back in. Granted, my husband can't work in there until we clear it, but it's big progress!! Trust me.

I am proud to say that just by being ruthless, I have finally gotten a handle on my kitchen. When its clean, I like to cook. The kids like that as well. I am not saying they were never fed before, but it was quick and easy unhealthy stuff, rather than homemade good for you stuff. The table is cleared, and the floor is spotless. The counters are nearly finished, and all my extra stuff has been purged from all the storage places. My goal is to keep it this way, while figuring out the rest of the house.

Oh, and we did the shoes and coat closet. I should put a photo up of just how many shoes we had before the purge. I placed some in a bucket for later, when 2 year old needs them, but the rest are just gone..... And the coats...we had like 4 coats per person. You do the math!!

A new year will bring a new life to this family. I want to treasure people, not stuff!!!

More updates as I get the areas done. I may post photos of each room. Depends if I really want to let it all out there, you know?

Where has the time gone?

This blog is transposing from dadofmany to largefamilyofmany. All the other posts were from Dad, but he never kept up with the blog, as we all can see. So,I will attempt it myself, with maybe occasional posts from him.

Updates: #1 son is now 16~~#1 daughter is 14~~#2 son is 10~~#3 son is 7~~#4 son is 6~~#5 son is 4~~#6 son is 2~~and #2 daughter is 1.

In case your wondering why child number 7 is listed as a boy, well that is because he is one. They told us he was a girl several times, and we believed that nonsense. So much so that we got rid of all the boy stuff and never figured out a girl name. Then when he was born, there was much hullabaloo, and friends had to bring a boys outfit to the hospital to carry him home in. We figured out a name for him about 3 days later. It was fun.

Then we did finally have that little girl they promised the next time. She is the most amazing baby, and the one that has challenged us as a family. Not because she is strong willed or any of that, but because she is "special needs". She has faced alot of obstacles in her short little life, and I am sure they aren't done, but we need her in this family. She is just the tiniest thing, and everyone stands in line to hold her or kiss her. And she loves it!!

Anyway, just trying to start this blog back up. I pray that I will update it frequently so that I can record the many memories that come from a family of 10.