My baby girl turns 5!

How does it happen!? Just 5 years ago, I was home alone with the 4 kids. Dan had a business trip. I begged him not to go. I said, I have a feeling our baby is coming soon. He said, "How could you know?? You aren't carrying it??" Well, I knew! I was right. I had a bag packed for each kid and a diaper bag ready. He left for his conference in another state. Then I got a call that the birthmom was heading to the hospital! It was late, she was in early labor. I had a two hour drive and four kids ages 7,5,3 and 13 mos! I couldn't sleep, so I got all our stuff ready. I buckled in the new infant seat. I called the hubster. He said he had to finish the trip, but he would rent a car(he was driving the group in a company car) and head back as fast as possible. We would meet in the middle at the hospital and we would both have a few hrs on the road. The baby was born in the early early morning. I couldn't STAND staying home knowing she was finally born! They said, "she has tons of dark hair and dark skin and big brown eyes! I loaded all the sleeping kids in their carseats and still in pjs. We drove without stopping! When I finally got to hold her, I was so in awe! She was just beautiful. Round cheeks, rosebud lips... and the nurses had put a tiny white bow in her hair. She was our smallest baby.
She was such a sweet little one. Calm, easy, and hardly ever cried! I had to wake her to feed her! We named her Moriah Isabelle Faith Moore. She soaked up the loving and snuggles and was a mama's girl from the start. She lived in the sling for her first 6 months! She loved when I would turn on Norah Jones and dance around the kitchen while we loaded the dishwasher at night. She loved my singing! Her first giggle was when she was only a few weeks old(no I am serious!!). When I was giving her a bath and washed under her little double chin, she giggled out loud!(yes she is still super tickly under her chin!(chins?)
Moriah is a beautiful little girl, inside and out. She loves with her whole heart and is cautious about everything. She is really shy. But she loves to sing, and dance and can giggle so hard it makes you laugh out loud. She loves kitties and puppies and anything small. Her favorite color is yellow, and she is my sunshine! Happy Birthday to Mama's sweet five year old girl!!

New hope

I have been emailing the baby's birth mom. We have built a strange but yes God built relationship. Finally after a week of building that trust, she sent me a picture and update of him. Then this morning.... the best news(no not that she wants to give him back, though that would be great) She said she has been asking a nurse about becoming a Christian. She says, seeing this baby, knowing he is depending on her, and his innocence has her seeking the VERY BEST life she can give him. So, I was able to tell her, that God had told me she needed to see HIS love up close and personal, and that He had sent His only son, and that He loves her so much, He would have done it, even if she were the only one. I told her I would love to share with her about how to become a Christian, and how having God help you make choices is such a great way to live-- not that your choices will be easier, but that you know what is right. I also told her how awesome it is to lead your child to the Lord. I told her that three of ours have become Christians and been baptized. I told her how awesome that feels.
So, that is my good news! It has been a week since the baby left our home. And God has done so much in one week! He has healed our family, He has shown us a purpose and a plan and He has turned a life that was without direction and hope into one who sees hope, love and the possibility of faith. I am excited to see how it turns out. Meanwhile, I asked our social worker about what we can do about another adoption, that I want to plan, save and pray and be prepared. She says she has a few birthmoms right now who just are not decided yet. So, if we want a newborn, that WE would be her first choice for placement!!!! So we have favor. She says fees, we can work out because we have a history with them! She has also the possibility of a young sibling group. So we are asking God to send us exactly what our family needs. And those who need us. But in the meantime, pray for this birthmom. She is so close to calling out to God and I might get to help with that! It is an awesome thing to see Him made strong in our weakness, and to see His plan even when it seems to make no sense to us. And I just know that if we desire a child so badly He won't leave us empty-armed either.

no other choice

Today I have had to make yet another hard decision. Well, it seemed almost made FOR me, but I still had to take action on it. I had to email our international agency and tell them to please put the girls back on the waiting lists. We are unable to continue. We had only asked for photos and the usual medical update type of information, and in a year and a half, their country has not given this. They then made so many demands and requests for information on our homestudy, that it took a YEAR! Then, we see they want us to sign over power of attorney to the lawyer there. His words last week about stabbed me in the heart. "the girls are available for adoption, and we are ready to begin this process." But they wanted us to show we were serious(um, by sending money I suppose?) While WE wanted them to prove the girls exist and So both failed adoptions in a single week. This has me feeling pretty down to say the least. I still am waiting to see how God fills the void and blesses obedience. I hope to see some good really soon.

the kid in the middle

This is an oldie... but a favorite. The baby is my little baby brother, Joe. The pretty lady would be my mom, the sweet sunshiney girl in the middle would be, oh! That would be ME! Then the oh so funny, rabbit ear making big brother is Paul. My older brother. I was the kid in the middle. The only girl child left at home.What are some things a girl learns when sandwiched betweeen a couple of determined guys like these?? She learns to always watch her back, guard her stuff and stay out of their way when they are trying something stupid.
My older brother taught me that there are some things in life you should NEVER try. Like smoking in the hay barn, riding your bike off the garage, and trying to pack three kids on a two kid sled.(in case you don't know what will happen-- the smallest kid on front WILL fall off and then the sled WILL glide over her and she MAY break a few teeth!) My little brother taught me to change diapers, fold cloth ones, and to love something smaller than myself.
They taught me to laugh, love and live. They were rough, rowdy and crazy, but they are also such loving amazing people. They are the absolute MOST amazing brothers! Yay for brothers and ode to the issue of being the kid in the middle.

Showing God's love

This morning early, Dan took the kids out for Elijah's baseball practice. I was left home in quiet peaceful bliss.(ok aside from the fact the house looks like mom went on a week long holiday) I was praying, Lord, I need to SEE some good. I need to know what good so far has come from Jackson being returned to his birthmom. I need to see it desperately. I KNOW your perspective is higher and better and eternity based, and mine is right here right now and filled with my own selfish hurts. So SHOW me. please?
Because, from my perspective, I see my baby went to an unstable woman. I see an unstable woman was given a huge new responsibility, and of course MY family is missing our baby.
He said, "she needed love. She needed to SEE MY love, she needed to be able to GIVE something love. And She needed to see the heart of the Lord out loud, up close and personal. She needed to see that I sacrificed MY only son for HER, and I would have done it even if she were the only one."
How can I say it wasn't for a good reason? I mean how do you talk to God and say, but you KNOW, I um, gave up a baby boy.... yeah, you just can't.

I now feel like a birth mom. I want pictures and updates. I feel like I placed a child. To any who think birthmoms jobs are easy, you are wrong. It is a painful decision. It was painful not to fight this or beg for legal action on my behalf. It was so hard to hear Him say, "build trust, show love, give back."


I have always wanted to be an advocate for adoption. To guide and lead young women to be able to make the choice to keep or to place. Now I can see clearer both sides. I have taken the Job way of dealing with this loss. When you have nothing else you CAN do, you fall on the ground and worship. You let God into the places that are filled with pain. You see that what HE says is true, regardless of the way things look or feel. He WILL restore-- my heart, my hope, my home. I will lie under the mushroom cloud of exploding emotions and just worship, wait and see. All the while listening for His voice.And waiting to see what I know he will do-- Big time Bless my obedience. HE never fails to do that.

a new day and crazy love

My sweet bloggy friend Linny has been an inspiration to me in so many ways!
her blog is here : www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com
(sorry I can't get my make it a link button to work!)
This is an amazing family with such meek and humble hearts and a desire to help orphans like I have never seen before. She is having a Crazy love party. She is talking about giving above and beyond the tithe.

For Linny's blog party, those with needs are supposed to enter a post of their need. I am a far better giver than receiver so this is humbling and hard.
Dan and I have been married for 14 years. We have three bio kids and have two who have been blessed to our family through the gift of adoption. We recently(in case you are new here) adopted a third newborn. Within three days, his birthmom requested him back. It has been a challenge. A heartbreaking one!! The odd thing was, we were in the middle of an international adoption of two girls, 8 and 13. When the baby boy was born and needed a family immediately.
We have always gone to our interdenominational church "Victory life". It is an awesome body of believers that has several locations. (A huge and loving family of Godly people)
When we first got married, it was only a year before we found out we were expecting our first boy! Dan made not very much money, and it seemed our tithe was so much of the paycheck. But we had been taught, "you cannot afford NOT to tithe, do it and see God move" Be faithful with the little and he will make you rulers over much. Dan has been blessed with raises and promotions and Godly favor. He makes great money for our area, but due to circumstances (medical issues and such) we have no extra money really. It all has a place. We have been saving for the girls adoption, but just used a huge portion of that for bringing home a little one we did not get to keep. So now we are staring at nearly empty accts and wondering what do we do, and how do we do it. And that is just the money part! My emotions are shot. These two girls still are waiting for us, but their lawyer has just now said, "let's begin" We have been at this for 1 1/2 yrs!! I have no idea what to do. When God brought them up to me, I was so determined and so ready! When I said, what about the costs? HE said "freely you have given, and freely it shall be returned to you, pressed down, shaken together. . . . " We have had blessings(a great and cheap 12 passenger van! Clothes for girls! etc) But we are feeling so depressed we have about lost heart. I keep hearing "don't be weary in well-doing." But when we gave little Jackson back to his birthmom, we felt it was right, it was the meek, humble and selfless thing to do. But I also felt like, but Lord, what now?? We have always tithed, always given above and beyond to every need we could! Now I just feel as though MY heart has been pulled right out of my chest. We are looking to God for answers, direction, comfort and money. But we just have no idea what HE will do. I keep singing the Barlow girl song, "I believe in the sun even when it's not shining, I believe in love, even when I don't feel it, I believe in God, even when He is silent" So we are in wait and see mode. Listening and watching for His guidance and blessings and peace to show us where to go. If we receive any gifts of money they will go into that adoption acct. We are still hoping to get our girls home. We would like to hope That the little guys birthmom might change her mind, but not sure if it is selfishness or what on that one.
Our email address is
hezra_at_home@yahoo.com
so funny she has called this crazy love. I have been asked most often in our adoption journeys. "Are you out of your MIND?" hmm. Maybe so. Crazy loving is not such a bad thing when it gives a parent-less child a home though. Have a day filled with some crazy, chaotic, sweet loving!

googling grief

So, I google everything. Cause I am a nerd like that. And because I need to know stuff fast. I wanted to see how to help the kids move along those steps of grief as fluidly as possible. AND according to the 7 stages of grief... I don't know where the heck I am still. I thought maybe I was doing well because I can look at his crib without sobbing, I can see a picture of him and feel only slightly mushy and faint. I smelled the kids shampoo that I had used on him without falling in a heap. But then I have the slight hope she will change her mind again. So that probably means I am still not accepting it, so THAT means I am not trucking through the stupid stages of grief. Whatever. Stupid stages anyway, right?I do know that I have fully accepted the horrible feelings. I have let them wash over me like tidal waves and felt myself falling over and over. I do know I have tried to get us into a semi normal routine, even though what I WANT to do is hide under the covers. The hubster has gone back to work. I have immersed myself in kid-care and the house and laundry.


Yesterday we spent the whole day with dear friends. She is like a sister to me. We both have 5 kids, they have one who came by adoption as well, so we have that in common too. But we have been friends for 15 years. We have been at each others birth and we met them at the airport when they brought Sara home from South America. They asked us to stay the night that night! We are very close. Our kids dearest friends are their corresponding Reids. We hung out and the kids ran over the many acres in the cold windy sunshiney day. There were 10 puppies and 10 kids! Les gave me hugs, hot coffee and a box of kleenex. Then when the hubster got there.(mine) he brought kites and all the kids went to fly them. I will add pics when I get coffee flowing and can remember where the cord and batteries are. I have to say, it was very nice to get out of the house. It was SO good to have friends to go see. It was so good to see the kids so happy. The freedom of flying a kite was kind of nice too. So throw away the seven stages of grief thing, we know what has happened. We are dealing with it, but we also know we need to still see fun and life and friends. So we can't be too bad off.

living truth

True grace is letting God be strong when we are weak. True faith is trusting Him when we don't understand the reasons. I sure God's hand holds us, but it is so hard to tell that to my head. My heart FEELS His presence, but my head cries out for "fairness" and my own selfish way. True life is feeling the roller coaster of the ups and downs, the waves of pain then the swirls of joy. But right now, I would just like to rest for a moment in His utmost peace. That one He talks about that passes all understanding. I know it, I have felt it before, and even today, I have had moments of it.

Lord grant us your Peace.Help us feel your presence and may your Comforter keep us. May my children not feel that the pain of love makes it an unbearable act. Help them to see the truth of You even in their pain.

sad news

We could desperately use your prayers. our baby's birthmom changed her mind. The social worker just left with him. She did this in the 72 hr time frame and it is legal. We are grieving, but the hard part is knowing I would have done the same thing. My kids are grieving really hard here. That is a really big part of MY frustration and anger. It is such a shocker, she had not given us nor the social worker any signs of changing her mind. She was stoic and fully determined. Outwardly anyway. But we are entrusting Jackson into God's care. We do know we gave him all the possible love and affection and prayers posible for the little guy in his first few days. We know he is in HIS hands. And so are our hearts. But please pray. I have so much to box up and take apart. I have crying kids. I am a sobbing mess. Even the hubster is really broken. But I also know God works ALL things together for our good. He can make good of any thing at all. Thanks for all your prayers that I know you will send up on our behalf.

Jackson and family

HERE HE IS!!!


Elijah thinks he is so tiny.


Isaiah and Jackson.


Moriah loves that "my new baby has hair just yike MINE!"


Riley sure is loving his new brother.


Jackson!!


(Olivia is in love)

Jackson is HOME!

We are home! I am trying to figure out how downloading the pics from my phone goes. lol But for now, this is the picture Dan took of our first meeting. We had a lovely 3 second photo session and then Jackson threw up on me.Hee hee. He is a little laundry maker. He is peeing on everything no matter how well guarded I think we are, he spits up after you finally think the burp session is over. We are learning. I have all his clothes in the dryer now. He slept 5 hrs his first night and 4 hrs last night. He is a really sweet baby and puts up with the noise and chaos here so that is awesome. More later. I really need to find some coffee... maybe I will be more eloquent then. maybe not.

Baby number six!

oh um ,yeah so I did gasp a little. Cause six sounds like a big number . Lol i am in the hospital. The baby had to have his hearing screening. In the middle of the night?? He is a truly beautiful baby. Yeah I fall for the short,dark and handsome type. He is calm and alert. I can't post pics yet--some stupid law! Whatever! But I am thinking when we check out I will be posting from the hubsters I phone. The papers are signed. We are hoping they will do his procedures early!!! Then we can go home. And his name... Jackson Paul... Have I mentioned he is adorable?

baby boy arrived

Our lil' fella has arrived. While we were snug in our beds, at 5:15 am. He is 6 lbs 1 oz. Birth mom still says come. We are now looking at traveling. Trying to figure out the how to get there part. It is only a few hrs drive normally, but the roads are all slick.(MAY I JUST SCREAM!!! IT IS SPRING!!!! I have A BABY to pick up!!!!!)

waiting.....

Well, our case worker has said we wait until tomorrow. They are waiting to see if she will really have it. No progress so far. SO we are packed and ready. AND, My sweet niece and her family will come here and stay with the kids. So we can go alone! Just us!! We will be able to focus and sign papers and snuggle the baby alone for a bit before bringing him home to our loud, crazy family. lol POor lil' guy, hope he is a sound sleeper. I have two little kids who are whining, "but I wanted a baby brudder today!!!" Moriah asked, "can we make it a GIRL baby??" lol, um, nope sorry.
OK while we wait, I am taking name suggestions from anyone. Even your KIDS can get in on it. seriously we are desperate. We are having fun with it here.
I think his middle name will be Paul after my oldest brother. So something that goes well with that would be great.

My younger brother has suggested Shooter, Wayne, and Roscoe.Then nicely suggested Graham as a real option.
The kids are all begging for Jacob or Jake.
The hubster loves Isaac(but we already have an Isaiah!!)and Jacob
I like Judah(Jude?), Matthew(means gift of the Lord), Emmett, Bennett(means blessed little one!)Jack,Wyatt,
My mom has suggested Whit
alrighty.... share your options and we will let you know what we think he looks like when we see him. I am hoping and praying roads clear up a bit tomorrow! Thanks for all your prayers and kind words. They really have helped!

eeeek!!!

OK Um, BIRTHMOM IN LABOR!!!!!!! We have a few hrs drive and it is really horrible weather. Snow and ice. Pray for us? I have five backpacks to pack, plus me and hubby need bags. Our crib was not put together yet... lol my nest was not quite feathered. But I guess loving arms and excited siblings and a home are the important things. lol I will keep you posted!!!!!!

going to bat

OK I am just throwing this out there into cyberspace. I have to vent and have no other safe spot to do it other than my blog. I am crying now and have been off and on for the last 24 hrs. I have had to inform people of our new baby news, and understandably they are surprised. I get that. I am surprised. I would expect nothing LESS. What I am shattered by, though, is the quick judgments and harsh words and critical things that have been hurled at me IN surprise. It is so hard to deal with those who love you the most sometimes. When you all of a sudden think differently than they thought you did. I am just going to throw this out there-- WE love kids! We know there are kids who need homes. We KNOW we can't save them all. We KNOW it cost money to raise children. WE KNOW we are not perfect, rich or always stable and consistent. I do NOT see children from outside my genepool as "a gamble", a "blank check" or somehow less than me. And neither does God.
BUT that said.... We are aware of our imperfections. Please for heaven's sake do NOT point them out to us now.
I am so broken right now because the hardest thing for me ever is to feel misunderstood. I feel like people just think I go off and do crazy things without ever thinking them through. I DO!! I analyze things to death.
I don't expect everyone to adopt children. I know not everyone is called to that. And I don't judge others for NOT doing that. I would appreciate the same respect. It breaks my heart that I see a need that God has placed practically IN my lap, and gird up for filling that need, then get slapped around and questioned by people whom I trust with my heart. (um, no not the hubster by the way. lol he is fully in agreement with me on this)
I feel so frustrated that people say "there are so many people waiting for new baby's you shouldn't take him, let someone else." There IS NO ONE ELSE standing up to do it! This is HOW kids get families, someone stands up with papers in hand and says, I will do it!
I feel like we are in a game of life and there are moments when we all have to step up to the plate. So, here we are doing that. With our imperfect selves, our imperfect bank accounts, our less than organized home.... etc etc etc. But we step up and say, WE will go to bat for this one. Why is it so hard for them to understand that? I have no idea.

gratefulness

Today we have had so much going on as you can imagine. But I am amazed! I have had people calling and texting me all day about things they have for us to use! We have been promised a crib, changing table, some clothes,a sling, play pen. . . I am so grateful for such an outpouring of generosity!! I will probably spend most of tomorrow, getting the baby things and setting up crib and all. I bought just a bumper pad and crib sheet and car seat base tonight that we needed. I am anxious. WE are all nervous! The kids keep making name suggestions. Really funny by the way what a 4 yr old girl can decide for a new baby brother! I am having a very humbling day. But oh so thankful.

Whirlwind!(baby?!)

OH MY GOSH!! I have news!!! I been praying lately about a subject but not sharing(that is why I have been so quiet!! I knew if I got started here I would be begging for prayers and letting the cat out of the bag!) Our home assessment agency asked us a few weeks ago, if we were interested in a newborn baby boy! (in state) We were unsure, HA! I had just said, whew! we have finally gotten every kid potty trained and starting school and we hsve NO BABIES! We were saying, wow, this is kind of nice. lol
So it was the LAST thing on our minds. I mean how often to people in the adoption world get offered a brand new baby? We have already been blessed with two! We never dreamed another would come. So, we said, we could be open to it. Then the b mom decided on another family. We let it go. Then I got an email yesterday from our case worker asking if she could please share our information with the b mom. We prayed and I talked to a few people, and we said yes. She immediately sent back a reply that the b mom says "start the plans." We had a small glitch about home schooling. She wanted the baby to be in private school. I carefully sent back a respectful email that we would not be changing our home schooling. Then we waited until this morning to hear the reply. WE are ON!!! The baby boy is due the 23rd!! THIS TUESDAY!! We havent had a baby in this house for nearly 5 years! I have to gather crib/carseat and everything in the next 24-36 hrs! lol I am flustered, but in a flurry of excitement. I need prayers!! please? and um, maybe baby name ideas?? We have Paul(my brother) as a middle name possibility... I will update you when we have more news!

Husband hunt???

My sweet baboo, who is 8, saw the World's richest men list. I was amazed that the 3rd richest man in the WORLD lives in a home he bought for 31,000 in 1958! I think that is incredible. Well, while I am talking about that, she says oh, there is a whole list of the rich men and their homes! Well, yes, they are not all so frugal. She said, ooooh we can find a rich husband! There is one that lives in FRANCE!! I have always wanted to go to FRANCE!!! I said what?? she says, well, we can marry a rich man and live in a mansion! (probably thinking, fill it up with brothers and sisters and fund any adoption we could find!) Well, small problemo there Sweet thing. YOU are too young, and I am too married. lol So, I wouldn't pack for France any time soon.(poor Daddy huh?) Then I notice it shows his age. The young bachelor in question?? Our prime husband candidate?? He is a mere 70. lol Yes I need to counsel my daughter on the things to look for in a hubby. Where have I gone wrong?

Homeschooling in a nutshell(give or take a few words)

(Olivia memorizing her poem)


(Riley-- he was working so hard)
This week, I was talking with some ladies while waiting for my daughter's dance class to finish up. They asked about home schooling. It sparked a thought that maybe other people want ideas or encouragement about it. I had another mom say, "I like the idea of it, but I just don't think I could do it!
Well, If my crew and I can manage it, I figure anyone could. Of course we could do better in some things. We will be summer schooling to catch up certain subjects. So, we are not perfect, we don't have any genius kids or adults among us. We do get the job done and we (for the most part) enjoy it.
Some may wonder, what do I NEED.
list of basics:
kids
a parent or guardian
library and card
computer and internet access (would be best if at home, but some libraries offer this)
access to printer and copier

With those things you could build your own schooling materials! The internet has so much information and curriculum it is overwhelming. The obvious things to teach are the basics first, reading, writing and math.

*Reading: we used Alphabet Island Phonics for the first three kids and it was wonderful. The 4th kid went through the first book and got NONE of it, but then didnt want to do the same one. I am trying out My Fathers World Kindergarten now for the two younger kids together. But I miss Alphabet Island! I knew how to teach that one. These are both multi sensory learning kits. My Father's world is a Christian focus. www.eagleswingsed.com is where you get Alphabet Island
www.mfwbooks.com is where you get the My Father's world kindergarten.

* writing: There are two types of writing. Handwriting, where one learns the actual formation of the letters and numbers. The BEST is Handwriting without tears! www.hwtears.com The other type of writing is creative writing, or writing for expression. For this, we need to be reading great literature and exposing our kids to lots of different subjects and communicating with them a LOT. I dont even begin this until age ten! I focus on the handwriting and reading to them first.

*Math. ahhh, math..... lol Not my strong point. We tried so many different styles I should get paid to reviews them all. Right now we are loving Teaching Textbooks for big kids. For the littles, I am using simple workbooks from wal-m*art and counting bears, toy money from Meliss* and Doug, and a clock set from Rod and Staff.

*For the other subjects, we love sonlight books and My Fathers world books.I am sort of blending those two!

* For Spelling, we are using All About Spelling, and www.spellingcity.com (AWESOME website!! -- enter their words, and it teaches them, they play games with their words, then it tests them! (if you have headphones for your computer this is great.)

*For readers, I LOVE the McGuffey readers! They are great stories, easy and age appropriate bits of reading. They uphold values and morals we want our kids to know. Lessons our country was originally founded on. Sweet, quaint but real learning.

*For Language, Primary Language lessons, then Intermediate language lessons. Both can be bought from My Father's World.

Art-- Artistic pursuits or Drawing with Children.

* history-- timeline from sonlight!! You enter all important dates you run across on this! It really helps you to see at a glance what things were happening and how the overall picture of history came about.

It doesn't have to cost a fortune to school them. You don't HAVE to get entire packages and sets of things. There are free books online! www.hillbillyhousewife.com has an entire section you should look at for free sites and printables! The main idea is to be with your kids, share the joys of learning, while teaching them how to gather and absorb information. Give them LOTS of experiences and "pegs" to put their information on! Exposure to great books is so key. It really is!! Reading aloud as a family is an awesome thing for building family memories, relationships and developing their minds.
We allow the kids to have an outside subject or activity. One is a baseball nut. Two love drama/theater. Two love Dance. We try to keep this stuff limited. I got in over my head this year trying to get caught up in "socializing" our kids and I am simply running around crazy some days. Know when too much has happened and don't do it again. :-) lesson learned from my own lil' school of hard knocks.

My favorite mom books on the subject:
The Charlotte Mason Companion
The way they learn
For the Children's sake
Dumbing us Down
Honey for a Child's heart
I love to talk about homeschooling! I love talking about BOOKS!!! I love being with my kids and seeing them learn. Home educating can be an awesome thing. (yes daunting too, and overwhelming) This is my first year homeschooling all five. So it is an interesting one so far. :-) I hope though, that we can learn and grow and see even more improvement.
Charlotte Mason said atmosphere is 1/3 of education.(what is our home atmosphere??? lol well, we are working on that)
She said that discipline is 1/3 (habits and training are what she meant mostly, I believe)
then that must mean she meant that only 1/3 was actually the books and teaching!(and even that she broke down-- living books (great literature), school books, art supplies, the outdoors,listening and narrating, music, memorizing, playing, arithmetic... etc.

silly signs

Okay, we are weird. We know it, but our family thinks it is really funny when signs are out and/or spelled wrong. This was their favorite. Tacky, yes, I know. But my tacky kids and I laughed pretty hard nonetheless. And what is life for if you can't laugh your way through a drive- through every now and then.

Club food

We have now become a part of a club. The S@ms club. The "buy your food in Gi-normous sizes because you have more than two kids" club. We buy peanut butter in what appears to be a a 1 gallon can, and gatorade, and lemonade and nesquick. ALL in the same size cans. If I can figure out how to wash, and decorate those cans.... well, that will be another craft project blog. Anyway, we bought paper towels in a sz that looked like we could throw a fitted sheet and comforter over it as a guest bed! I am not exaggerating here. And of course triplet ketchups and jelly. Orange juice in big 4 can pack. The possibilities of huge food there is endless. But the biggie(yes, pun intended)... Kr@ft MAC n CHEESE. So the next morning, this is what Moriah wanted for breakfast.

I would say, this is the cheeziest please mommy EVER. (again, full of puns today. But yeah, she is cute.( And don't worry I only made her hold that incredibly heavy box for a few seconds. No children were actually harmed in the shooting of this photo and we ARE doling out the heavily processed macaroni over the course of a month and not, say a single week. Just thought you might need to know that.)

Birthday bash!

My Isaiah turned six! We had cousin Audrey sleep over, then our plan was a birthday at the cinema! We had not done one, but we had attended one. So this was a new thing for our crew. We only invited my niece Nikki and her kids(she is more like a sister than a niece-- we are only several years apart)her two are the same ages as our youngest two. They are dear friends AND cousins. So in all it would be 8 kids, and 4 adults. Going to see "Alvin and the chipmunks--the Squeakuel"(sp?)
Nik called me that morning(this would be the morning Audrey and Moriah were in my bed but that we got to sleep late) She said," um, can we ride with you? Our van has issues" Now, we have a 12 passenger van. Then we have the mini van. I had hopd to take the smaller version of big family vehicle. But what can you say? We took the gi-normous big old party wagon.(oops THAT pic is on the hubster's phone!)
It was loud, crazy and fun. But did I mention loud?? It was Audrey's first movie.Nova could not figure out why her seat kept going up. Isaiah wanted to go home to see his big gift(a bike surprise). I wanted to NOT offend the others who came to see that movie. But we had a good time. And My Little Bear, is just not quite so little anymore. Six years ago, we brought him home. I had 4 kids ages 6, 4, 2 and a newborn. My first adoption had left me far more emotional than I ever thought possible. I had fallen in love with the first child who came to me without having been born of me. It was miraculous and wonderful and eye opening. I am so grateful God saw fit to make me this kid's mom. He is an amazing fireball of activity. He is bright-eyed(and the only blue eyed!!) and always in motion. He does everything with intensity and spirit. He lives so fully in every moment. He forces you to see that moment too. 6 years have gone by in a whirly swirly tornado of fun.

First sleep-over

My Sweet Niece Audrey came over for her first sleep-over with us. It was for Isaiah's birthday party. We wanted to take her along but her parents needed to be out of town. So Mi Mi kept Baby Henry and we took her. It was a hoot. MY big guys have dubbed her "the informer" one said, " I am going to kick butt on THIS game" she says(always at top volume by the way) "WE DON'T SAY THAT WORD AT MY SCHOOL-- IT IS A BAD WORD" (um, so that means Daddy says it still, right?? lol) and then, " RILEY SAID HATE AND THAT IS A BAD WORD" ( he hates when the game stops like that) and this was all in the car on the way home. The boys promptly hid out in their room playing legos and transformers and probably saying "hate" and "butt" profusely. At one point she heard "stupid" and "shut up" through the door.(which actually ARE bad words here) so she sort of helped me out. Not gonna lie, it was handy.
We ate a bedtime snack and I put the girls in a bubble bath. Three girls in the tub. Yes it was adorable.
Then pajama time. And reading time. And praying time. And kissing time. Then apparently it is singing time. As I kissed her, she started singing "Just a few more weary days and then...." Then Moriah started singing "it's gonna be a good good night"... aren't they sweet?



As you know, we had the bedroom bylaws going here. Well they have a bedroom issue at Audrey's house too. A new baby means mom and dad are sleepy and Audrey climbs right in their bed. Are you seeing where this is going? put one kid who likes getting in mommy's bed, with another kid who likes getting in HER mommy's bed... what do you have??? TWO kids who patter around at night.(and remember one has volume issues-- and we ain't talking hair here!!) So, at 5 am, I hear "AUNT HEZRA I CANNOT FIND MY SOFT BLANKIE!!!" I was lazy, because I had already been up with them once on a potty party.So I say, "look under the bed, I'll bet it fell." I hear thumps as they run away, then thumps as they return. "NOPE, IT WASN'T UNDER THE BED!" "ok, can you talk softer please? Try looking around in the covers." They, thump away. They thump back both yelling "WE FOUND IT!" I knew this would not go well, we would be up for the day at 5 am. So I said, how about you two lie here on my side? so I moved over, they cuddled in, and we got three more hrs of sleep. Which I needed because that was the day of the actual party. Which required xanax and Midol. But I am pretty sure the kids had fun. To be continued for Birthday Bash.

falling down on the job

Riley has been unloading the dishwasher for a while now. He is FINALLY doing it well, without complaints and as a routine (and bless his heart about 3 times a day.) This week, we had a casualty. I heard an awful crash. I heard him say, "oh no!" So, I did what any good mom does. I screamed, "everyone ok?" he said "yes, but stay there" heh heh. Not only did I come, but I brought the camera. Because he was saying, "well, mom, I have never lost a dish yet, it is the first one down"(what is he? a DR??) So I took pics of the fallen and the boy. Then I assured him it was ok. It was after all a cheap one. Now, if it had been the pink depression glass. . .

Blurry Bedroom Bylaws

The nights have begun to run together. My days are a bit of a blur. One night in the middle somehwere, my little girl climbed over my head to get in my bed. Then cried when I said, "come on, back to your bed." Not only did she cry, she held the headboard and screamed. So, I took her back to bed, and sat by her. She was asleep pretty fast in spit of her anger.
Then last night, she fell asleep in her bed, AFTER I read, and after I left!! She was asleep in her own bed without ME!!!! Woohooo! Then when she woke up, it was about 3. She didn't even ask to get in my bed!! She just pulled her blaket and pillow to my floor and lay beside the bed. Then after realizing her bed was cozier, she asked if I would come to her room please. (please??) So, since it is a well-known fact the hubster can sleep in any conditions, I sent him. He got up early though and came to our room, so she once again fell asleep and woke up all by herself. And happy. YAY!!!!!

The lengths boys will go to NOT to do laundry

This would be my two oldest boys after I said, "which one of you has the most dirty clothes?" They knew whichever laundry basket was fuller(most full?? fullest?? Darn! grammar goes out of my head by 9 pm), would be the unlucky guy doing his laundry today. This was their plan: smash it down as much as possible. They got a moment of bloggy fame, but I won in the end. For all their cleverness... I am cleverer. (cleverest? Most clever --gah!well at least more than those two) I made them both go today. So HAH! Mom's score (again. not that I am keeping score, cause that would just be a wrong and petty thing for a mom to do.)

Night 1 of the new bedroom bylaws

This is what we want to have happen. (her in her own bed-- tu tu optional)

Okay, night one. Well, the little girl has a cold and sounds terrible. So she knows I feel pity on her. But I was strong! FIRM! I gave her cold meds before bed, I read the Secret Garden to the girls. She was happily snoring in her bed by 9:30. Mission accomplished. She fell asleep in her own bed(step 1).
Then the hubster and I watched a couple of episodes of our favorite sit com on NetFl*x.(by the way, you should check that out! Totally saving us $$ and we can watch some things instantly) Then the little girl comes back out about 11(hmmm early. Well "mess up her midnight habit"-- step 2 ACCOMPLISHED!) So I said, ok, sweet, go back to your bed, I will come there in a minute. She went. I went about 20 minutes later. She was sound asleep! So the hubster and I got to fall asleep WITHOUT HER!!!(step 3 accomplished!!) Then at some point in the night, I wake. Uncomfortable and hearing her cough, snore and snort next to me. I realize I have a foot in my ribs and before opening my eyes realize... SHE IS BACK! (ok so step 4 not accomplished-- the sneak attack still worked) So (not wanting her to pee on my unprotected mattress) I took her to potty, then to get more meds, then to HER BED.Where I lay next to her from 3 am to 8. I woke up in the stupid uncomfortable bottom bunk. Thinking a new mattress??? Maybe THAT would help?? So I got up before her and she woke up in her own bed by herself.(step 5-- accomplished!)
Report? I have a dry bed. The hubster had a few hrs of blissfully alone sleep in a super cozy(dare I say it? Heavenly king sized bed) I am sore, and weary-- I feel as though I were in a fight. But I feel it was a semi successful 1st night. A few of our issues went well. That, my friends, is the update! stay tuned for the next installment. This will be where she wants to know if I AM SERIOUS. And where my weariness will be tested. I might need a nap when the hubster gets home. Then I will be READY for battle... dum da dum dum... (this is what we usually see-- this is MY bed)

Letter to a child- "Bedroom Bylaws"

Dear little Moriah,
My sweet 4 yr old. My darling tiniest daughter. My "baby." May I begin with telling you I love you with every fiber of my being. I absolutely adore the God of the heavens who brought you to me. I love that you remind me to live, and laugh and dance and sing.
There is, however a problem in our relationship. You must STOP climbing into my bed every night. You have more predictable timing than a clock! Every night at midnight, like some strange Cinderella story, you are running down the hall. Then once there, you kick. You pull hair, you snore(as loud as Daddy, I might add), and you occasionally pee on me. I do not enjoy waking up wet, and feeling abused-- emotionally, physically and psychologically. I have lovingly and willingly provided you with attachment parenting. You lived in the sling attached to my body for your first 6 months. You crawled following my every move for weeks after that. Then you walked at 9 mos and followed me even faster. I have had you near me to bathe, you have followed me to the bathroom.... I have had few private moments. By three you were handing me my underclothes as I got dressed. NOW, we must learn a new, hard lesson. It is called "tough love" my sweet baboo. It does not mean mommy does not love you. Just that I need to be tougher than you. We now begin a teensy bit of DETACHMENT parenting. This will be where you and I no longer sleep in MY bed. So, here are the new Bedroom Bylaws. I understand you are scared of your windows, but we will cover, adorn and block the said windows until they are no longer visible from the inside. You may have a lamp on ALL night long. Even if your sister has to have a spa- like sleep mask.If you have a bad dream, I will lie next to you on YOUR bed. I will pray for you, hold your hand and kiss you. I will not let you in my bed! All naps will heretofore be on your bed, nI hope this has been clear and loving enough. I am now going to order a new bedpad from Overst*ck, because there was a small hole in mine I was unaware of, and your last lake Erie managed to make it through. I also must go spray my mattress and let it air. When we make the bed together (because I know you love that!) please refrain from saying "our" bed? It really will make e feel like you understood this whole new set of rules. Thank you, love you so much, Mama

Please pray

A family with the last name of Smith lost their ten yr old son, Kolton, in a car accident last week. His funeral was yesterday. Please keep them in your prayers. He was on Elijah's baseball team, so it has been our kid's first brush with death of a young person. I baked bread for the family meal, and must have cried a hundred tears in the process. I wrapped the bread before bed and went to give my kids extra kisses while they slept.Please join me in prayer for this grieving family.

The dance of time

They say(by the way, who ARE THEY??), that time goes by fast. They say that we will miss these moments with our kids. They also say I should put my kids in public school so I get a break. They say that I will one day miss my kids being little. This is all so weird to me. So confusing. My intent is to soak up every moment I can. Not to smother them, but to enjoy the time with them. My mom always use to say, "let's make a memory." And we did. LOTS of them. Granted, my brother and I have very different takes on them, and we remember stuff mom has forgotten. Sometimes we remembered the wrong part. But the point is, we made family memories. And I don't really think my mom wishes we were little again. I just think she wishes we weren't so busy and we could see each other more now.
But for my crew, even though there are incredibly stressful moments, I love the teaching. The re-learning. The challenges and the changes. It is simply my way. Though not many understand it, it is the choice I have made. I want to teach them at home. This is my way of soaking up the time with them. My intent is to enjoy every possible moment with them, and for me that includes being a part of their learning and their figuring out life and their place in it.
My goal is to snuggle every chance I get, kiss every cheek I can, and hold every hug as long as possible.(all while taking as many pictures as possible) This way, I don't think I will miss or long for their baby days-- just remember them fondly. I know time moves quickly, but I can be just as fast. I will just dance along. So, if you are worried about missing moments with your kids, or that they are growing up too fast-- Don't worry, time doesnt go anywhere if we are soaking up the moments. It just moves and we dance with it. So put on your dancing shoes and get grooving.

(these are Moriah's "dancing shoes" from last year. They were just inexpensive black dress shoes that she decided were tap shoes. She danced,spun, flitted and fluttered until she wore them out. I had to hide them then throw them away because they were so tight they hurt her. But before I did, I got this picture to remind me to dance so hard I wear out my shoes. and yes, I did buy her more. and this year she has her very own REAL tap shoes--which she calls clapping shoes-- and they are very loud. and kind of annoying. but we dance anyway, I just need earplugs, Thank you.)

Bedtime rituals

Every night we have rituals. We have these crazy routines that we do... they have changed over time. The have outgrown their lullabies and moved on.
They dont want to sit in my lap and snuggle. AND I AM GLAD! They are as tall as me. This is getting crazy! 10 and 12 and they are as tall as me??
The littles dont get arn baths and full body massages like they did when they were babies either(oh to have the life of a baby in this house. I have to say, it is pretty darn good)
So, life changes. We have to change with it.
Riley has begun a ritual of a kiss on the cheek and awkward side hugs.

Moriah still loves her song,
"her eyes are like chocolate, hair like the night, skin like the sand on a warm summer night... she's my beautiful baby girl...." but she whispers after(you know I am not a baby, right?)um, so that may be drifting out too.

Olivia's thing is to say "I love you more" and see who says it first.

Elijah still gives sweet kisses(even though he told me at age three he was too big for other people to see this ritual) and tight hugs. He has never been one for snuggling or singing. But his love runs deep and strong. He is so secure and determined about life and who he is it can be intimidating. But it leaves you feeling lucky you are a part of it.

Then there is Isaiah. His life changes more and faster than anyone I know. If you have ever seen the movie "Dennis the Menace" you have seen my son. He is not really a menace, just a crazy active little boy with a fast moving brain. A brain that moves not as fast as his body sometimes. Well, by bedtime, this can put me into a stupor. A fog sort of. By the time I am getting everyone to bed... I can be a little ditzy. So every night for a whole year, he comes to me(he has begun using mouthwash-- I know he is young but it is the nontoxic type and he can do it well and has supervision by dad) EVERY NIGHT! He comes to me, and I pucker and close my eyes and lean in. Assuming it is the sweet full lips kiss of last year. But no, it is the "my-mouth-is-wide-open-for-you-to-smell-my-breath" move. So I open my eyesto see him and I have matching wide blue eyes and are (again) in this awkward position of my puckered lips are fully inside his wide open mouth. Again.I back away, sigh, and say, oops. I did it again, huh? He simply says, smell!!! with a big smile.(like this is a big surprise) and I sniff, say the regular, "wow! That smells minty fresh! Good job" (meanwhile thinking, we need to have a talk about the dating years)Then comes the sweet puckered kiss and the super tight hug. Then Dad reads to the boys, I read to the girls and we are all in bed. Sort of. Until Moriah wakes about 12:30 and says "mommy, I am scared in MY bed alone" and she climbs in with me and pokes her cold toes under my warm behind. She sighs big and smiles bigger as she wedges herself between daddy and mommy. Making herself quite at home. Then when I am thinking, GAH! I need some space!!!!! She says "I yove you mommy!" And I roll over and say, I love you too honey.

What is at my core?

I have been doing more cooking this last few weeks. Baking breads and making things from scratch. I have taught the kids a few lessons with it all, and I have learned a few as well. I have been chopping, slicing and dicing. When I chop an onion, I see its many layers. With an apple, it is simply skin, meat, then core.(oh, and some seeds in that) I have always known people are like these two things. Some people are onions, layer after layer of emotion, and thought and feeling. Others are apples(some sweet or some tart maybe) but they have a solid sort of self. What you see is what you get. Neither onions nor apples are bad. Nor are they always good. But they are what they are. And each has a center. The core. I have been thinking so much about who I am. Who I am in God, through Christ... who am I. What am I made of. What is it at my core??
You can figure out a lot about people by judging their fruit.(NOT JUDGING THEM!) What is it that they place top billing in their lives on? What is it that each of us sets as a main focus? I feel regret that there are days that I dont set God as the center. There are days when I feel life has steam rolled me before I can stop to pray! But there are days when I feel His sweet presence and the confirmation of His love... and am awed.
My core is obviously desiring to trust and obey Him, and glorify Him with my words and actions. My core values from there are to figure out myself, makes sense out of and enjoy marriage, and raise my kids to be seeking the Truth for their lives. My hope is that my priorities and actions will actually line up WITH that. May we live authentically, love enthusiastically, and celebrate endlessly.

Things I never did BEFORE children(BC)

I never had trouble finding time to shower.
I ate slowly and without interruptions.
I slept when I was tired and got up when it was time to go to school or work.
I never woke up in a puddle of pee.
I never woke up with little feet INSIDE my pajama pants.
I had the option of sleeping "au natural"
I never fought a man over who got the Tylenol PM.
I never did rock- paper- scissors to determine responsibilities.
I never knew there had to be systems for every darn thing we did in a day.
BUT to be fair,
I never knew what I was missing:

snuggles in bed with warm cozy bodies
the smell of baby hair
the relief of nursing a hungry baby
the relief of being done nursing
hearing your almost teen say, "mom, you said I could talk to you about anything" then hear him say things that he must have had such a hard time saying(and that I may need therapy to get over)-- but it was normal teen stuff, just awesome he was comfortable enough to talk to ME!!!
having your little one say, "mamas are for lovin"
hearing your kids read to each other and know how to spot good books at the library.
watching a giggle fit from the latest joke
having weekly pillow fights
making bubble hairdos in the bath with your daughters
and, hearing them pray every day for their two new sisters to get here quickly...

Beginnings

Beginnings always are easy for me. I can dive right in with a happy attitude. It is the midway on that get hard. By the end I am usually saying "ugh, just get DONE!!" I have been this way my whole life. I remember a coloring book at age 4. I hardly finished any of them. I would start this page... then realize my color choices did not reflect my imaginings... and get sad or mad and stop. At age 10 I would bake cookies. I got the first batch out of the oven. ate half, then stopped. leaving the dough in a bowl in the fridge. I HATE baking for no reason! I have done this with countless things my entire life. Mondays I look at with hope! I think, ahhhh a new week. Fresh with no mistakes. Then by weds I am thinking, MY goodness!! WHEN will the weekend get here!!??? I HATE having my lesson plans go awry by weds. I hate not having all the little squares checked off... I know it is a problem. and it is on MY end. I see that and it is one of my aspirations to deal with that this year too. But for now, I am simply aspiring to finish what I begin. If I am hating something, I will walk away for a moment, then come back refreshed or turn on music or something to make that thing better, til it is done. And I will learn to be ok with imperfection. In me, in my projects, my kids and my hubby.... I WILL. Here's to new beginnings! and also to happy (finished) endings

in case you wondered if my tummy always showed

Yes. almost always. But I will NOT make that my aspiration.lol Showing my belly button more. Definitely only a thing I could get away with at age 5 or 6 tops.

2010

This would be a picture of me at about age 6. I am wearing an outfit of my choosing and eating not only 1 but TWO hot dogs and sticking my tongue out at the photographer. Not a clue who (but if it was my aunt she deserved it and not even my mom would have spanked me) I am also getting a dirty look from my brother behind me. But I was actually not a bad kid. Just had a wild moment. My hair refused to stay in a pony-tail. I had a too short shirt and my belly always stuck out, and THIS was my thin days. But what I love about this picture is that I was uninhibited and could care less what I looked like. I was happily enjoying junk food with both hands. I was barefooted at the lake and loving life. THIS is what I intend for this year. More moments like this!


We have been sick for a whole stupid MONTH!! The entire month of December!! Now we are finally getting better.(yay!) and I am thinking about the plans for the new year.


I give up on resolutions...I do not get along well with them. I kill them too quickly. They are like houseplants. They look great for a week or so then die sad deaths of neglect. I am choosing aspirations instead this year. That means I don't fail... I simply aspire to do better. My aspirations for this year:( the top one being to aim for a better relationship with God. Obviously any blunders are not on His part, but mine... so I aspire to fix MY end only.)
1. to enjoy my kids MORE and not stress about their safety, behavior and clothes choices.
2. to dance more, sing more, love more and laugh more.
3. to give more.
4. to be myself more. I give up trying to fit other people's expectations and please everyone else. Not that I intend to be intentionally rude or always selfish, but just be REAL and love life.
5. to figure out this crazy little thing called love.
6. to be healthier
7. to bring home my girls!.!! Hopefully in the newer part of the year rather than the later part.
8. to save money by learning to be a better cook.

May our New year be filled with the things that make us happy and help others and share the real love of God.

wedding day Dec 16th 1995

Merry Christmas 2009 !!

Happy holidays from our crew to yours! May your Christmas be full of peace and joy, and your new year filled with blessings! (((Hugs)))

Making a house a home. (safely)

I have been using a company's products for 7 years now. Melaleuca.(yes you can google that) I just wanted to share a teensey about what WE have experienced with their products. First, I will say I HATE selling things. So don't think I am. lol really and honestly. I am simply sharing because right at this moment I am sitting here with cotton in my ears trying to fight off what I assume to be an ear infection beginning. To do this, I use a product of theirs. Tea tree oil!! The home remedy for ear infections is so easy and it really has saved us so much money and of course kept the kids from so many antibiotics.
(use a children's medicine measuring cup or other tiny container)
mix :
a few drops of olive oil
a few drops of hot water
a few drops of tea tree oil
* then dab a cotton ball in the mix until it is soaked. Squeeze it out well. Then put in ear(you may have to tear it in half before dipping)
Do this as much as possible and especially at bedtime. Do this at first sign of ear ache if possible. This will kill infection and heal the ear. If you have a full blown ear infection, be sure to squeeze the cotton ball well, because it may sting if the ear is really inflamed. I have had to wait until kids were asleep to put theirs in sometimes.
Aside from their top grade tea tree oil, this company sells home cleaning products that are safe, and non-toxic laundry and dish care. They have the BEST laundry stuff. Really. If you look at their prices though, it may seem expensive, but their stuff is super concentrated. I use 1 TABLESPOON in a large load of clothes and they are super clean. I once got ink out of a new quilt(pale pink quilt) by using their stain treatment and then detergent.
They have safe body care products. Beauty products. PET products. Diet products. dish care products, Nutrition etc. I have to share about their vitamins. I was super anemic after having my third baby. I had colon problems that we could not get a clear diagnosis on. My liver tests were elevated to hundreds of times what they ought to have been. My Dr wanted me to have a full blood transfusion. They gave me iron supplements but my body could not absorb ANY nutrients. at. all. These vitamins have a different make up that allows the body to absorb them quickly and more efficiently than most vitamins. My bloodwork improved very quickly after beginning to take them! They are really amazing supplements.
They have candles which wont emit harmful things into your home air.
It really has saved us money to use this company. It has saved our environment locally by NOT having such harsh chemicals in our home. It has affected MY bloodwork(removing toxins from the home causes my liver to not work as hard), it has given me products I feel good about my children using.(I can have them clean and not worry about fumes or skin burns!) Just today I realized how many of their items are in my daily routines. I was thinking about how much money I have saved, how much cleaner our air is, and about how much better I feel. And I had to share!
www.melaleuca.com
If a person were wanting to buy, they can sign up like at S*m's with a 30.00 fee. Then there would be a requirement of about 45.00 a month to keep the PC or "preferred customer" status. So, look at the PC price. It is well worth signing up, to detox your home, and make you feel better. AND your cleaning will be easier, and your clothes will be cleaner! OH(speaking of clothes!) their laundry stuff is actually helping to keep our clothes looking newer. It does not fade or tear or wear out your clothes. We have clothes that have been passed through family after family... and they last so well.
If you are interested in their products but are unsure about signing up, I can order things FOR you and have them shipped to you, then you can pay me through paypal or check. I would not make anything for this-- just getting you the stuff at my cost.I just want everyone to realize the value and effectiveness of this stuff. I think it could help save lives in fact. I feel very sure it played a vital role in saving MINE. if you have any questions, email me : hezra_at_home@yahoo.com Have a happy FRIDAY!!

BAH HUMBUG!!

I am so frustrated!!! I cannot stand the icky consumerism one more minute!! AND it is only DEC 3rd!!! I look at online stores and just think, sheesh, really? Do my kids need that? I get emails, and catalogs daily. FREE SHIPPING! 25% off!! BUY BUY MORE MORE..... your kid NEEDS this. Your home can't be without THIS for the holidays.
GAH!! I can't take it! I want a home for the holidays. A home where there is love, warmth, family and friends. Laughing, eating, and lots of reading and snuggling. I want my kids to see that the REAL meaning of Christmas is Christ. Love, honor, respect,sacrifice... Not getting MORE STUFF!!!!
I waded through the boys' room today. It was a MESS. The only toys they have in there are legos. But there are SO MANY! But what do they want for Christmas? a 3000 piece set of star wars lego STUFF! It is not that I do not wish to bless my kids. It is just that I am tired. Tired of tripping over the same toys. Tired of hearing them say, "do you know what I want for Christmas?", and tired of feeling the pressure to buy at every side.
Maybe my Moriah has it right. She said, "mommy? Here is what I want for Christmas. A toy pony, and for Audrey(my niece) to come over. Something to play with and someone to love. Ahhh... if only everyone on earth could get THAT for Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2009

I am so very thankful for my kids!! They are funny, adorable and amazing little(well ok, some are not so little) people. I feel so lucky to have them!

Riley ( he is 12 yrs old)



Elijah (9 yrs old)



Olivia (8 yrs old)



Isaiah (5 yrs old)


Moriah (4 yrs old)

bunk bed building

Compromises. Why does life have to be filled with them? Esp in a large family. It feels like we are constantly compromising about something! The most recent was bunk beds for the girls' room. I wanted these adorable white ones with sweet little spindles AND they came with 2 "free" mattresses. But the hubby thought 5 hundred something was too much for said beds. He said we should keep looking. Even though I had been looking for two years for those exact beds at under six hundred. But the mattresses??? Did I mention they were FREE!!?? My usually optimistic hubby became all cynical, scrunched his eyes and said "nothing is FREE-- remember the FREE puppy??" ahem, I think we were talking beds here, NOT dogs. So I looked around online and found free bunk bed/ loft bed plans to BUILD them. It is a basic set. No spindles. But it did look sturdy(very important in my house). The picture showed 6 adults on a top bunk.(I know practically WHEN would that need to happen?? but still it meant STURDY!!) So I asked him what he thought. He wanted to build them. He was excited to build them. I said, if you build it, I will paint them white. It will be our compromise. Here is the breakdown.
The supplies-- 180.00
The plans-- free
The labor-- free but several hrs of building then several hrs priming and painting

This is Dan building them. The boxes were assembled in the garage, then the posts and extras were actually put on IN the room. It is a really heavy set!



This is with the ladder on the end. IT is built. Now ready for painting!



This is the set fully painted and ready to move and get the mattresses on(which WERE free because we already HAD them.)


Moriah's bed! Made and ready for my little Ninja sleeper so she can sleep HERE and not with mommy!!! wooohooooo!!!!!(not that she did not have a bed before. and not that she stayed in it very much the first night, but I keep calling it her "special new bed with high hopes)


awwww, my sweet petite ballerina enjoys her new bed. At least for the super cute photo session.

The finished product is a bed that is simple, takes up little space and works. Not bad for under 200. The ladder is built into the end which makes it easier to build (and did I mention thereby taking up less space?). The girls love it. So that makes this one successful compromise. BUT the biggest problem now? We have to do another set for the new sisters.

the hair cut "After"

These are the photos of my boy AFTER his hair cut.

bad hair day

As we were getting ready for a trip in Sept, my hubby had #4 out with him. I can run a house, pack for 5 kids and myself and do the dishes literally AT the SAME time, but not if that one kid is in the house. He has the ability to be a kink in every chain. I love him to pireces but sometimes it is required to have breaks.(for my sanity and his probably) So he was "helping" Dad clean out the car. Dad had left some scissors on the front seat of the van. He had a few hairs hanging in his eyes. He saw a problem. He fixed the problem. Just a few days before my niece said, "oh I love his hair long-- it is so cute! Please don't cut it." I actually said, yeah it is starting to hang down a little I better trim a teensey. UGH! What is that saying about a day late? Here he is before the hair cut. Looking all surfer dude cute. My ONLY blue eyed blond in the entire clan.


MY husband brings him in, saying, "DONT FREAK OUT! He is ok!" I of course freak out. I thought he was hurt. This is the kid who has been to the ER every year of his life. The daredevil. The uninhibited one. Then I see him. I thought for long minutes about this. I tried not to cry. He is a boy, short hair is fine for boys. I kept trying to figure out a way to have some length remain, here he is while I assess the damage and try to figure out WHAT to do. We were supposed to be pulling out of the driveway at this moment. He was not happy about the picture, but I said, it is required if YOU cut your hair YOU are getting pictures!


I will post the afters as soon as I can. But imagine his fine blonde hair cut to about 1/2 inch all over. It looks nearly bald because his hair at that length is practically clear! This was not the first hair cut gone bad in our home, but it had better be the last kid done job!

Sticker mania

What is it with Toddlers and stickers?? Or markers? I feel like everytime I get a fresh coat of paint on something SOMEBODY puts something on it! Last night I found Moriah doing this to my freshly- painted bedroom door.
Me: ohhhh!!
Moriah: oh, you don't like it?
Me: well, it can take the paint off that mommy just put on!
Moriah:(sad face) oh.
Me: but I have to get the camera
Moriah: OOOH! You DOOO like it!!!
She graciously (in Vanna White style) pointed out to me the different styles of address labels. Snowmen, Christmas trees.. etc(thank you M*rch of dimes!)




Then after her photo shoot she sweetly removed them and carefully stuck them back to their original card.

little hackers...

The other day, I was looking online at our favorite websites. We order most of our Christmas gifts because it saves tons of time! AND we sort of love getting mail-gifts. Well, I started at Vision Forum. It is a GREAT place for Godly, toys and books and movies. Also they have real adventure stuff for boys. Last year we got the zipline, and the slingshot! The girl stuff is pretty sweet too. Well, I looked at the top of the page and it said I had 6 items in my cart! hmmm. can't remember adding things, but you know I haven't had a full night's sleep in like 12 years! So I may have but just forgot that detail. So I looked at the cart. hmm, yes, I remember thinking the spy gear would be good. Yes I looked at that for kid 2. hmm... yes I liked that too. then further down, "TOMOHAWK!??" I did not add that!!!!!! Who would give these three boys a tomohawk!? ohhh, it began to hit me ... THEY would. Yes a real weapon folks. These boys can maim one another with foam swords. They do it often. Plastic ones cause serious damage. and they think I'm gonna give them actual blades????? Those greedy little hackers.(hacking as in computer. lol no pun intended there!) if you have never seen the website, www.visionforum.com
Meanwhile, I am thinking foam blocks, bubble wrap and cardboard for my kids for christmas. hmm, no cardboard can give pretty bad cuts... better keep thinking.