The Family Way

Working at Playing

2012-02-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

I try to only have "productive and imaginative" toys. We have lots of arts and crafts (paint, beads, paper, stickers, etc) fun activity books (dot to dot, mazes, hidden pictures), blocks, trains, dolls, cars, puzzles and some Lauri education toys.

I love to see them each doing their own thing, being "studious" and content to look at books or work on something. *Although I must say I despise the Expo markers as they tend to ruin clothing.* So just fyi, it's not wise to let your 22 month old son try to write with one. : )

Because he will not only write on the book and himself but he come to attack you with the offensive marker.

They decided to use toliet paper to wipe the pages clean but I didn't limit a piece per person so our living room looked like a fluff factory. Baby wipes work great at cleaning off Expo marker no matter how long it's been left on the page.

Katie is my little kitchen helper here of late. She sits on the counter while I attend to the kitchen duties. She's not much for being worn backwards anymore. Anyone know of a good out facing carrier? I have a Bjorn but it hurts my shoulders and back. I know there is controversy over front facing carriers, something about the hip or something of the baby but I'm asking for recommendations regardless.

Puzzles have become a big there over the weeks as of late. The girls get so excited when they complete a puzzle. I've got to be on the lookout for some more easy puzzles.

We've not been doing much "official" school here lately. We've been working on our math facts (doubles, minus and plus 1), counting backwards from 30, counting by 2's and 10's. and talking about 1/2 and whole. Nothing scheduled just random throughout the day. We've been doing lots of animal reading from some discount book store books and we are taking a break from phonics. It was becoming too emotional and dreaded so we've just been doing lots of family reading and me pointing at words she can sound out.

We're coloring lots of Bible story pictures and talking about the related Bible passage. We've been watching Swiss Family Robinson, totally envious of their seculded tree house. As you might know we are house hunting and Maggie has decided that she wants the Swiss Family house and I completely agree. Oh, and I saw Courageous for the first time yesterday. It had me in tears of sadness and belly aches from laughter. It was a great movie. More details on the house hunting and selling coming soon.

Our Little Bit of Big Guy

2012-01-29T14:08:00.000-05:00

See that big belly? Doesn't it make you grin? It sure does us over here. He weighs as much as his (skinny) 5 year old sister but heavens, to pick him up, you'd think he weighed a full ton.

Despite all the pictures of his food smeared face, he doesn't consume as much as you would think. Certainly not enough to account for that Pooh size belly. He's had a few rough weeks with no desire for food, sleep, or play. He finally seems to be returning to the old "Zyley". Praise the Lord. We've dearly missed the little guy.

During our Costco shopping last week, the poor little guy just could not get control of his emotions. In a desperate attempt to comfort him, so we could quickly finish our shopping and get back home, I dug out the only remaining pacifier (it's been about 2 weeks) that I hid in the depths of my bag. I handed it to him and he instantly quietened down. He looked at it, turned it over and over in his chubby little hand, and then proceeded to just hold it. Then he saw the enormous tub of pretzels in the bottom of the cart, gave me the paci back, and "asked/grunted" for a pretzel. The end of the paci days. : )

Any Kefir Users?

2012-01-25T10:21:00.000-05:00

Hi dear friends and readers. Are any of you Kefir users? I am interested in trying Kefir instead of buying store bought probiotics. If you use Kefir, do you use the dairy or the water? I am interested in both but mostly in the water keifer right now since I can't do dairy and I think the children would like the "soda" type drink as a treat. Any one have any grains they would be interested in sending my way? : ) I would love to hear any comments or tips on using or making Kefir.

Happy Birthday Mom & Nana!

2012-01-24T15:08:00.000-05:00

It's been 70 years since this earth was blessed by the birth of this woman. She is the mom of all moms and the nana of nanas. She is the one person that I know loves my children almost as much as me. She enjoys them and delights in them as much as if she gave birth to them. She spoils us constantly with her love and unselfishness. We are so blessed to have her as our own!

Happy 70th Birthday Mom & Nana!

Your life speaks volumes of Christ and His love!

We love you so much!

4 Months

2012-01-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

Miss Katie Ellis turned 4 months old today and weighs 13 pounds 8 ounces. My smallest 4 month old so far. She went for her 5th physical therapy appointment. She's been going once a week but since she is doing so well she doesn't go back for 2 weeks. Her neck is greatly improved and her head is reshaping to be more symmetrical. She doesn't cock her as much as she did. You can see in the above picture that it's only slightly cocked.

She is doing great on her stomach and can almost roll from back to front. She's still gets stuck on her side. She enjoys sitting in the bumbo and do great sitting up in our laps. She still sleeps in my bed but not on my arm all night, just most of the night. She is quite restless during the night and nurses often .

She is very content and laid back as long as I haven't eaten anything that upsets her. And like I shared the other day, I'm still 100% sure of everything that she is sensitive to. But I'm learning. When I've eaten something bad, we all know it because she doesn't sleep well and she screams.... a lot. I carry her around facing out on my hip most all the time and she still naps in her swing during the day.

I must admit I love the fact that she is getting older. I love it when they interact and start playing with toys. I get excited about it getting closer to the time when I can start introducing simple foods. For the most part, I do not have happy infants. So in our family with age seems to comes more contentment which in turns brings a more peaceful home.

6 Years

2012-01-19T12:29:00.000-05:00

It's been 6 years since Jeremy and I committed ourselves to each other for better or for worse. It's been a quick 6 years with lots of ups and downs.

In 6 years we've

~ been blessed with 4 children, 1 at home, 3 in the hospital
~ survived 11 days with our son in the NICU
~ bought and sold 3 houses and currently selling the 4th
~ rented 3 different apartments
~ rented 1 house
~ lived with my parents 3 separate times
~ had our front door attempted to be kicked down
~ had our vehicles broken into 3 different times in 3 different locations
~ had our (current) house broken into (took bank cards/checkbooks & video camera)
~ been unemployed for several months
~ worked (Jeremy) at 6 different jobs (currently looking for #7)
~ gone from an ultra-modern to a reformed church and lifestyle
~ been through 7 vehicles (#8, 9, & 10 are in the driveway)
~ not taken near enough pictures together
~ and a ton of other things I could list. : )

Happy 6th Year Anniversary my adoring and loving husband!

Fear of God

2012-01-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

Fear of God should take over our entire lives.

It is a perception, a conviction, an attitude,

and an emotion that should burn as a fire at the

core of our beings.

It should permeate every area of our lives,

causing us to esteem the smiles and fear the frowns of God

more than the smiles and frowns of people.

~ Parenting By God's Promises, Joel R Beeke

Food and Thought

2012-01-17T06:33:00.000-05:00

This year has already brought about much change and challenge in many areas. We've begun to watch more closely what we eat and how it affects us. As I've mentioned before, Katie doesn't tolerate gluten or dairy in my breastmilk. My only evidence of this is the screaming she does after I eat something from the aforementioned food groups. I'm thinking eggs may be a culprit too. I was SO blessed to be able to spend some time on the phone with Cinnamon from Knights and Maidens Gathering. She too had dealt with the same problems while breastfeeding her youngest child, Rosie. She has a wealth of information on her site about food allergies and she was able to help me find a few other areas that problem food might be hiding.

While on the phone with her she mentioned a blog on her sidebar titled, Finding Joy. Rachel, the mom of 7 and author of Finding Joy, recently found out what was wrong with her baby boy, Samuel, after a year of fighting for a diagnosis. It ended up being Celiac Disease. I highly suggest you read this post of hers.

I am looking at starting the Elimination Diet in order to figure out and confirm what my body and what Katie's body reacts to. I know for a fact that my body does not like Almond milk and Gluten Free Rice Chex mixed together. Normally we don't eat cereal but eliminating dairy and gluten doesn't leave too many quick, snacky things to eat and this breastfeeding Mama stays hungry. I'm not sure if it is the combination or one or the other. But I also know that while they tasted really good, my body doesn't like these Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies. Both foods make me feel slightly nauseous and my head to ache. Interesting, very interesting.

Both of the girls, Maggie and Emma, are prone to stomach aches. My pediatrician says it's reflux. I say it's food. So I'm on the lookout for what's ailing them too. My dear husband has common stomach issues too but I'm thinking while he thinks it's a good idea he's not gonna stick with the diet long enough to figure anything out. : ) I know my guy pretty well and when it comes to food he'll just deal with the pain.

*Emma had a stomach yesterday while we were working on remodeling the bathrooms. Both bathtubs were filled with tools and junk so we made her a temporary tub with a storage container and lots of warm water to ease her tummy. Her big sister fed her popcorn to pass the time. : )

And to think I used to think eating healthy was simply eating natural whole foods. Boy can things get complicated quickly. To God be the Glory.

Morning Math Mess

2012-01-10T19:40:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows you need peanuts to do math,

A sister to eat the extras,

And a brother with the silliest "cheese" face!

Don't you just love homeschooling? : )

New Way of Life

2012-01-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

Zion is learning about life without a pacifier. He's an addict and it's been so heartbreaking watching him so through withdrawals. We decided to do it cold turkey and it's been a few days; with day getting better and better. We even made it through our Sunday service with no paci. We are having to keep on him for putting his hands/fingers in his mouth so as not to develop that bad habit.

He's started adding some new words to his VERY limited vocabulary but he still does lots of grunting. We've come to love his grunting and will more than likely miss the day when it ceases. It's kind of his trademark. : )

We still have two main physical things to work on:

~ sleeping in his own bed

~ potty training

We are going to get over the paci withdrawals and then start on the sleeping thing and in the months/year to come work on the potty training when he shows some signs of being ready.

New Year

2012-01-08T12:43:00.001-05:00

Somehow my idea to keep up better with the blog has not been happening. I finally got caught up from my lack of blogging in December only to fall behind yet again. We got our blog from 2009- 2010 published by Blurb. It now sits on our book shelf in it's hard back book, all pretty with pictures and words. Well mostly on the shelf, it's in the girls' laps as they look at it over and over. We were very pleased with the results and are almost finished compiling the 2011 blog for book #2. It gave me a boost to continuing to blog in order to record our family memories, milestones, and struggles.

We did our traditional New Year's meal at my house, inviting my parents, sister, and Aunt. We didn't actually do it on New Year's but the day after.

We are working to complete some of the house projects we started, like covering all the red trim, destructing the bathroom, redoing the hall ceiling, painting the hall, redoing some the crazy wiring.... the list goes on and on.

We had a realtor come out and do a walk through and we waiting to see what she thinks it might market for. We are interested in selling and buying some less expensive in order to get closer to being debt free. Our payment here is small compared to most but there are lots of repairs that need to be done inside and out that are costly. And time and money to do them are not our friend. : )

So far it's been a great new year but it's already going by so quickly. I've yet to sit down and make out my discipline desires for the year. I've got a few rolling over in my mind but I've not made them actual "goals" yet.

The Days that Followed Christmas - Family Fun

2011-12-30T13:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T12:58:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning we woke up in the hotel room and headed down for good hot breakfast on the main floor. We actually went down in our PJ's. : )

After watching a little of the holiday parade on TV, Jeremy took the three older children down for a Christmas swim. Don't you love the boots from Grandma? *wink*

After swimming and baths the children got their Christmas "stockings" which is actually a pail. I wanted them to have something that would be easy to match for our future children plus something that was inexpensive, durable, and easy to find. So for $3.79 a piece we have a galvanized bucket from the feed and seed store.

Each of the 3 children also got one gift to open. Maggie got a "sewing" kit, Emma got "those melting beads" and Zion got a gun, hat, and Civil War book.

We loaded up and made the 30 minute drive to parents and spend the remainder of the day there with my family. We were blessed to have my brother, his wife, and their 3 children and also my sister and her husband and 2 teenage sons at mom and dad's.

We had spent time explaining to the children what Christmas was about and that we were going to have a birthday cake for Jesus. Emma was adamant about Jesus not being able to eat cake. At first she was concerned then she decided we would eat it FOR Him. : ) And Maggie said we needed to pick His cake out for Him since He couldn't do it. : )

It was a great day with lots of food and lots of cousin fun. There was lots of men sleeping on the couch on an off and several times of multiple computers in use simultaneously.

We attempted to get a "good" grandchild/cousin photo but Emma was having a HUGE meltdown so this is as good as it got. : )

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T13:10:00.000-05:00

Christmas in our family is anything but calm and serene. It involves late nights and too many gifts.

Christmas Eve morning we did gifts with all the children. Each child gets 3 gifts under the tree.

For Josh, tool kit, bible study, and The Screwtape Letters. For Natalie, an art easel kit, bible study, and a "new" jacket. For Autumn, a deluxe art set, bible study, and a "new jacket.

For Maggie, an RC Sproul child's book, The Barber who Wanted to pray, Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart, and new pajamas. For Emma, an RC Sproul children's book, The King without a Shadow, Christmas Hymns for a Kid's Heart, and a new pajamas. For Zion, a new workbench and 5 matchbox cars and carrier bought at a yard sale during the summer. And a joint gift of the Winnie the Pooh movie.

Each child got a goodie bag with a Pepsi, Little Debbie Tree, fruit roll, gum, marshmallow rope, a chocolate snowman, and a glow stick.

The children all enjoyed the junk while watching Winnie the Pooh. Most of it my children didn't eat. : )

We made the adorable mice treats to take to Jeremy's parents Christmas Eve night.

After a lunch of fried chicken strips, rice, and green beans everyone except Mama took a nap. We then freshened up a bit and loaded the big green van to head to Jeremy's grandparents where there would be finger foods and LOTS of relatives. We left about 4:15 and got there about 5.

It's always a crazy time with lots of loud people and general chaos. For the most part my children don't handle the confusion well so it's not something I look forward to. : ) After eating and getting one gift a piece from their great-grandparents we loaded in the van again around 8 and made the 45 minute drive to Jeremy's parents.

At Jeremy's parents there is lots of gift exchanging which takes a good 2 hours or more. This year the gifts were over the top and next year we are looking at possibly completely pulling out of the tradition family Christmas in order to try to limit the materialistness of Christmas and try to regain the focus of Christ's birth.

After completing the gift exchange at Jeremy's parents around 11PM we had a 45 minute drive down country back roads and over a mountain to meet Jeremy's ex wife to drop off his children so they could spend Christmas with her and their family on that side. Last year we spent the night in a camper in the driveway of Jeremy's parents. This year we stayed in a hotel in the town of the drop off.

Christmas Goodies

2011-12-28T19:55:00.000-05:00

Jeremy helped the little ones make their first gingerbread houses.

Then the next day they set about decorating them.

The time spent decorating was short.

The time spent eating was a little longer.

And the time spent cleaning was MUCH longer.

Mom and I spent some time in the kitchen cooking up some goodies to share those we love and appreciate. This year we made

white chocolate pretzels

pecan cheesecake bars

"fudge"

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

brownies

and

Christmas candy (not pictured)

We delivered them to friends, doctors, familiar faces of workers at Costco,

Jeremy's co-workers, mailmen, and others.

3 Months

2011-12-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

Katie bug is now 3 months. She always has an ever ready smile which spreads from ear to ear. She laughs out loud, babbles lots and just completely melts all our hearts. At her check up last week she weighed in at 12 pounds and 8 ounces. She's a wonderful healthy little lady. Thankfully she doesn't weigh over 16 pounds at 3 months like her brother.

(notice the bracelet from her sister on her little arm)

She is going to have some physical theraphy for her neck issue. She holds her little head cocked to one side. We go for our first appointment today. I am NOT looking forward to it but I am relieved to be working on getting her head straight.

She still sleeps on my arm at night, every night, all night and she continues to not nap well during the day (like less than 2 hours combined day naps). But she usually sleeps for 6 - 7 hours straight at night (she goes to bed around 7) and then wakes up about every 2 hours to nurse. We've still not quite figured out her nursing/food sensitivities. I can't figure it out 100% but I'm still (mostly) avoiding wheat and dairy.

Pre-Christmas Season

2011-12-17T15:55:00.002-05:00

Our big Charlie Brown Tree

The girls' tree with an angel handpicked by Emma

Making Christmas Bracelets

Decorating Nana and Papa's Tree

Spreading Christmas Cheer

A little driveway art

The Local Christmas Parade

Backpackin' with Daddy at parade while eating cookies

Mommy posing with Daddy's coffee

Katie sporting Zion's hat

Post Thanksgiving Trip

2011-12-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

(the bounty of the apple season)

We spent Black Friday canning applesauce. Hello Black Friday savings. : )

(big green loaded and ready to go)

Jeremy surprised us with an impromtpo plan to take a "stay"cation.

(apple in the floor)

We originally were talking about going to Gatlinburg but with the mileage/money and crowds we decided to have a little time away in town.

(settling in)

He picked us out a super nice hotel downtown with a generous sized suite and an enormous hot breakfast bar! It put all other hotels to shame!

(a little city viewing)

We spent a lot of time talking and thankfully it was warmish and we were able to spend a good bit of time walking outside.

(have swing, will travel)

We had our Saturday Thanksgiving meal at my parent's and then went back to the hotel where the children enjoyed an afternoon (indoor) swim with Daddy.

(paci addict)

We took a walk to a nearby dinner and got one piece of a Coke flavored 7 layer cake which we ate in the eating area of the hotel near the insanely tall Christmas tree.

(waiting on the shuttle)

For dinner we road the free downtown shuttle to our favorite pizza joint and shared a large pizza and lots of water.

(outside the pizza joint)

Afterwards we rode the shuttle to see the downtown (electronic) window presentation the local electric company puts up each year.

(photo fun in the hallway)

After a little viewing we walked back to the room to share in some hot chocolate memories.

It was a wonderful weekend; something I can't wait to repeat!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-17T12:53:00.000-05:00

Zylie and his morning meal

The littles watching the Thanksgiving Parade on the computer

The Feast at Grandma and Pawpaw's

The mini table

The big table

This year's newest blessing

Oh Happy Day

2011-12-02T18:57:00.000-05:00

When the new washing machine came,

thanks to the generosity and selflessness of my wonderful caring parents!!

Thanksgiving Fun

2011-11-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

We've been enjoying focusing this week on the story of the Pilgrims and what Thanksgiving really is.

We've read a lot and done some fun crafts.

And now we spend the day preparing the food for Thanksgiving.

If you haven't already then I suggest you read this from Doug Phillips.

Handwriting Woes

2011-11-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

(this is my fear and motivation - the handwriting of a certain 13 old

who frequents our house)

Oh handwriting. This is our biggest struggle (of course we are only doing writing, reading, and math). I battle with how much to expect and how much will improve with practice, time, and age. I know excellent handwriting can be achieved very young. My dear, diligent, friend Laura and her children have proven that. I've been blessed to see it in person.

(Maggie's writing practice this week)

I admit I can't stand messy writing. It is important to myself and my husband that our children write neat and legible. I don't want to push too hard but I don't want to allow bad habits to be formed or allow laziness to reign!

I don't want to neglect something that needs attention but I so often stress over things that work themselves out in time. So what I want to know is what do you do with handwriting? How much do you expect from a 5 year old? Do you make them do it over and over until they get it perfect every time or do you just carry on each day with more and more practice and not make it be perfect?

Real Life in our Living Room

2011-11-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

Little ones coloring on the couch (not a good location)

Maggie's bedshoes in the floor

Zion's blanket in the floor

Flashlight on floor

Canning book left on bookcase

Blanket in the chair

Zion's clean shirt on back of chair

coloring books on "picnic" table

shoes not in cabinet

cabinet door not shut

homeschool cabinet not shut

sleepy wrap left on bench

donation items strewn on the floor (thanks Zion)

face place not on light switch

back door (with a crack) not painted

trim still red (working to get rid of all red paint)

mid morning McD's drinks on table

stuff for Thanksgiving craft on table

carseat left on table

chairs not pushed up to table

Zion's cup under the table (I wondered where it was)

So there you have it, our very messy lived in Living Room. I wish I could say this is a rare sight but it's messy much more often than it's neat and orderly. Try as I might I can't seem to train the children to have better habits than myself. : )

This Season At Our House

2011-11-16T16:10:00.001-05:00

Emma folding clothes and Maggie bouncing Katie while "reading"

We enjoyed the last few days of warm weather and are now experiencing a few days of rain but it's still warm.

School in the morning

We've been doing our school work faithfully but "school" has just recently gone under a major transformation. More on that later.

We celebrated my sister's 50th birthday. Not only is she 50 but she also has Downs Syndrome which makes her being 50 even more special.

the 3 older fixing their breakfast

Don't you just love stair steps?

Life with the 3 older gets more and more fun every day. Taking all 4 out in public makes quite a stir. Not sure why that fourth brings so much more attention than just having three.

They usually play nicely together. Although I must admit the boy quite often causes great conflict and ruckus.

But his early morning butter/cinnamon sugar kisses make me forget all the trouble he causes every day, most all day. : )

We also celebrated Josh's 13 birthday and Autumn's 10 birthday. It's a busy season with many many more holidays and celebrating to come. Don't you just love life?

8 Weeks

2011-11-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that Katie Bug is 8 weeks old. She is still having some reflux issues and is still on her medication but she seems to be doing better. She's got a cold (like the rest of the kiddos) so she's got some major congestion.

She still has bouts of screaming, no rhyme or reason as to to what time of day they might occur. In the last week or so she's become much more interactive and sometimes I can distract her by talking to her and it lessens the screaming. Praise the Lord. It's heart wrenching to see her such discomfort. But it's so wonderful when they will laugh and coo at you.

She is still sleeping on my arm at night and although I have tried to have her sleep on her own she doesn't and I'm not interested in loosing sleep and letting her scream so we'll be sleeping together for awhile. : ) Her little body curled up against me brings tears to my eyes many a night. Besides, before I know it she'll be up and grown. Enjoy the moments for they pass all to quickly.

Freezer Cooking Amish Style

2011-11-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

Thursday is the day the children used to go to my mom and dad's in order to spend some time with their godly grandparents. Prior to Katie, I dropped the 3 of them off, and either went home and did some much needed housework and school planning or either went and ran errands and did my weekly grocery shopping.

Since the birth of Katie, Saturday mornings have been reserved for weekly grocery as a family with Daddy. It makes things so much more enjoyable and manageable. So now, Mom and I have started spending a good chunk of Thursdays cooking for the freezer. Coming together and doing work that needs doing is one of my favorite traits of the Amish lifestyle.

This week we did;

~ 2 lbs taco meat with 3/4 c. lentils

~ 2 meatloaves

~ 2 batches Flax Apple Muffins

~ 2 (10 cups each) batches of Chicken Sausage & Bean Soup

~ 13 Twice Baked Potatoes

I have got to say I do LOVE having things in the freezer that just need thawing and heating. Having a fussy baby can make dinner prep very tricky.

What are some of your favorite things to freeze?

Thanksgiving Resources?

2011-11-09T08:13:00.000-05:00

With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, I realize I am unprepared (that's no surprise). I would love some good God centered Thanksgiving resources (books, workbooks, etc). I know that Scripture Adventures offers a great looking one (for free) but most of it is over the girls' heads this year. I would like something like a good hardback book to keep from year to year. Any suggestions?

2 Grain Free Treats

2011-11-07T11:15:00.000-05:00

After reading this post my post of recipes seems rather trivial. But I'm going to share them none the less.

In an attempt to get less grain, especially wheat, I've come across 2 awesome recipes. The first one is from my sweet sister-in-law.

Flax Apple Muffins

1 1/4 c. flax seed meal (you can buy this or use a blender to blend meal from the actual flax seeds)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. Cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg (I hate nutmeg so I always leave it out)
1/4 c. sugar (used evaporated cane juice crystals
1/2 c. brown sugar

Mix all the above ingredients.

Add:
4 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
1/4 c. oil (used melted coconut oil)
1/2 c. water
1 medium apple, finely chopped
1/2 c. pecans, if desired

Mix well and allow to sit for 10 minutes before putting into muffin pan. Bake at 350 for 18 -20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

If you don't eat them all while they are hot/warm from the oven, I find that they get VERY moist and sticky. So I always heat mine in the oven a bit before eating the leftovers. : )

This next recipe, Better than Almond Joy Cookies is from Naturally Knocked Up. If you have never been there, she has some great healthy recipes! I followed the recipe for the most part. I only had sweetened coconut flakes so I reduced the amount of honey by almost 1/3 or more. I also got tired of waiting on them to get ready and I wasn't really concerned losing the healthy properties in the honey and coconut oil so I ended up cooking mine much higher than she did, for a shorter amount of time of course. I also didn't add the chocolate but only because I was too lazy.

I do highly recommend trying both of these for a good grain free treat! Super yummy and healthy!!!

*No pictures. Sorry. : (

New Members of the Family

2011-11-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

We have been SUPER blessed to welcome 2 new "members" to our family this week. Jeremy has been looking for a large passenger van since Zion was born. Our mini van seats 7 but with 4 carseats it only seats 6. The CRV seats 5. With Jeremy's children there are 9 of us so for almost 2 years we have had to take both of our vehicles when Jeremy's children are here, which includes the 30 minute (one day) drive to church. Plus we do lots of traveling (day trips and longer) with my parents and sister. We have also outgrown my mom's van which seats 8.

Last Saturday we stopped at a local car lot to look at their 15 passenger van (the back seat is not in it so it seats 11 right now). It used to be a shuttle to the airport. We were able to get the van, warranty, and get it repainted for less than $3500. WOW. We were figuring on spending atleast $8000 - $10000. Grant it, it is a 2000 model.

So we are now proud owners' of our very own large family 15 passenger van, debt free. God is good and we so very very thankful. And just in case, times get too tough, we can always charge for rides to the airport. They left the credit card label on the back. : )

The second new "member" of our family is the Big Berkey. I've been scrimping and saving out of our grocery money for months and was finally able to buy it. I bought one out of the Scratch and Dent section for $52 less than the "perfect" one. The only imperfection I can find on it is a few scratches on the lid that Jeremy had to point out to me. I am so excited to be able to filter my own water. I have been lugging 5 gallon jugs back and forth from Earth Fare/Whole Foods for years. And let me tell you it's almost impossible to pick up on of those things 9 months pregnant. There's no belly to brace it against. : )

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2011-11-01T10:36:00.000-04:00

This is our new favorite cookie and it's the healthiest cookie I've ever made. What a winner! So here's the recipe.

1/2 c. plus 6 Tbs Butter (used melted coconut oil)

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar (used evap. cane juice crystals)

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour (used fresh ground)

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

3 c. oats

1 c. raisins

Mix butter/oil and sugars together in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, soda and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 - 14 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute. Move to cooling rake.

Variations are endless. We sometimes add chocolate chips/carob chips in place of the raisins. Or dried fruit or coconut flakes or dried cranberries. Nuts are good in the mixture too!

Two Ways to Save

2011-10-26T16:21:00.001-04:00

So this is proof that this blog isn't just snap shots of my children. : )

We buy most all our clothes used. It's difficult to find modest skirts and dresses for the girls. Most of the things in their size are WAY shorter than I would like them. Since I have some basic sewing skills I am able to buy skirts and dresses in sizes too large and quickly and easily remake them. It's much quicker and cheaper than sewing. Like today, I found an adorable skirt for Maggie at the thrift store for 2.99 at 20% off. It was a 10/12 but she is able to wear it as a long, mid calf skirt and a bonus on this one is that it's a drawstring so I didn't even have to do anything. Dresses can easily be cut off at the waist and made into a skirt. You can cut fabric off an adult skirt to make into a skirt or two for little ones at a fraction of the cost of buying new fabric.

We eat bread, a lot of bread, everyday. Everyone has toast for breakfast almost everyday. I'm not making wheat bread right now so we buy the Nature's Own Wheat Bread (since it has no HFCS). At the store it's about $3. Now that it certainly not in my price range. But we have a "thrift" bread store in town run by Flowers. I go once every few weeks and stock up on bread for the freezer at $1 a loaf. It's the same bread they sell at the grocery store. It's mostly route returns, meaning the bread is about to expire. I bring home 6 - 9 and freeze them until ready to use. I have never had a load so bad and it takes just as good once thawed. They have an assortment of things from bread products (loaf, buns, bagels, English muffins, etc) to tortillas and all kinds of junk like snack cakes, crackers, and the like.

Do you have any good saving tips?

Mine and Katie's Plea for Help

2011-10-22T19:58:00.000-04:00

So I'm asking for advice and personal experience. Katie is miserable. She started pretty content except for the mucus problems. About 2 weeks ago evenings started getting a little rough. She was fussy and sometimes hard to console. Then mornings, starting with her first morning feeding (anytime from 4 to 6) she would get restless and chocked and I would have to get up with her even though she was trying to sleep. And now we are to the point where all day she is miserable. She is on reflux medicine but if it's helping I can't tell. When we went to Atlanta I forgot her medicine. I wasn't too concerned since I couldn't tell that it was helping anyway. But she screamed inconsolably pretty much the whole time we were there. So when we got back home I started the medicine again. She's still fussy but if she's moving in the car or being bounced in her bouncy seat she' will sleep or just look around without crying. She's not happy being held or rocked. So I'm not sure if the medicine is helping or if she was just having a few bad days.

I am not sure if it's something in my diet that might be upsetting her but for the sake of sweet Katie I am going to eliminate most of the common breastfeeding problem foods. I'm going to start with all dairy (I'm going to so miss cheese and butter), caffeine (I don't get much of this anyway), chocolate, and tomatoes (we do use a lot of tomato products in our cooking). If that doesn't help I am going to add in a few more less common items like apples and citrus foods. I'm not sure about the gluten yet. I really know nothing about gluten intolerance.

I suspect Maggie had the same problem as Katie. With Maggie she screamed from 4 weeks to almost 18 months. : ( The only way we could calm her down was to roughly bounce her in the bouncy seat, allow her to soak in the tub, or hold her tight against our chest and find a bouncy chair or sofa and bounce up and down. She didn't even like the car.

So what can you tell me? Anybody dealt with reflux or breastfeeding allergies or intolerances? I'm all ears.

Another Daddy Trip

2011-10-21T10:07:00.000-04:00

We were very blessed to be able to go with Jeremy on another business trip this week. Originally it was scheduled for New Orleans and at the last minute was moved to Atlanta, which meant it was within driving distance.

Thankfully the hotel was much larger than last time. : ) This time it was a condo/hotel so it had a full size kitchen with full size appliances, a living room, a bedroom, and a huge bathroom.

In order to save money and sanity we decided to cook in the room for all our meals with the exception of the last lunch which was past check out time. We brought a frozen casserole and green beans for one night and cooked chicken and the ingredients for chicken noodle soup the second night along with some french bread. For breakfast we had bagels and boiled eggs and for lunches we walked to the grocery store across the parking lot and shopped the freezer section. : )

Each morning Zion and Jeremy would head out around 6 for their morning time together. Normally at home Zion "joins" in Jeremy's morning quite time. So each morning they made the 3 floor trip down to Starbucks and had coffee, breakfast, and Word.

Don't let this sweet face fool you. This little girl screamed almost the whole time we were there. She slept well (on my chest) at night but during the day she screamed and screamed and sleep little tiny spurts.

I was sick the first day we were here, fever, chills, headache, and horrible horrible body aches. Thankfully it was short lived and I sweated most of it out that evening and during the night. The next day was "simply" a headache (I've been suffering from migraines and headaches since Katie was 3 days old). I am rarely sick and when I am it reminds me how important our health is and how I need to make sure I am diligent about protecting our health by exercise and eating well.

One Month

2011-10-20T08:49:00.000-04:00

Katie is already one month old. My, how time flies when you aren't pregnant. : )

She weighed in at 9 pounds 15 ounces the day before her birthday.

Sweet girl is a terrible sleeper. She sleeps on me at night due to her reflux and congestion. Every time I lay her down, day or night, she wakes up and if by some chance she doesn't wake up she will wake up shortly chocking, gagging, spitting up, or hiccuping. Suggestions? I know this too shall pass but quickly would be nice. : )

During the day she lives in the bouncy seat. Praise the Lord for the invention of the bouncy seat. Seriously!

Apple Picking Year 3

2011-10-14T16:43:00.000-04:00

We went on our 3rd annual apple picking outing today. The first year we went to BJ Reece and then last year and this year we went to two different apple orchards. BJ Reece allows you to u-pick during the week but Hillcrest has more activities, such as the petting farm, slides, cow milking, etc.

We have met my sister, who lives in Atlanta, all 3 years at the apple orchards. It's always so much fun.

This year we did more looking over fences than we did paying to enjoy. With the growing family, there's more outside enjoying rather than always being hands on.

We were able to enjoy the slides, the "zip line" (thank you Papa), and the fake cow milking. Hillcrest is geared more towards school groups during the week. I've never been on the weekend and after seeing the crowds today I don't think I will ever venture up there on a weekend.

It was a great day with warm weather and happy faces. Katie did great in the baby carrier. It was very windy and at times it was hard to protect her from the wind, even with the blanket.

Zion was feeling a bit better after almost a week of an upset stomach and several rough nights. It's been sad seeing his weak little eyes.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch before going into the orchard to pick. Since it's a per person fee, only those who wanted to pick went in. So Meri (my sister), Nana and Maggie went and picked some apples while Papa and I stayed behind with the other 3 children. We enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. Well actually I sat in the car and nursed Baby Katie but I did enjoy the sunshine. : )

This Guy

2011-10-12T15:21:00.000-04:00

It's not the new little girl that keeps me the most busy. It's this guy. People told me boys were different but I sure didn't know the extent until I had my own.

2 Weeks

2011-10-05T14:42:00.000-04:00

She's only 2 weeks but I already can't imagine our lives without her. She weighed in at 8 pounds 5 ounces on Monday and is holding at 20 inches. She's experiencing her first cold which is so heartbreaking and nerve wracking. She also has some reflux issues, which I pray she outgrows soon.

The girls are smitten with her and canNOT keep their hands off of her. Zion can't quite decide what he thinks about her. The first time her hand reached out and touched him he was quite concerned. : ) He completely ignored her the first 10-12 days but has since decided he might need to stop and stare at her every now and then. : ) Lord willing, she will making her first overnight trip this Friday.

The Effects of Shopping With Daddy

2011-10-02T19:57:00.001-04:00

Never in my 5 years as a parent have I had a child (not in an infant car seat) fall asleep in the shopping cart. First time grocery shopping with Daddy and *bam* he's out. : )

It's Official. She's 5 Now.

2011-10-02T12:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, October 1st, it was official. My oldest is now half a decade old. Wow. Since we celebrated her birthday 3 weeks early we wanted to make her actual birthday special.

Jeremy had to work the first half of the day so my parents picked me and all the children up and we went across town to Krispy Kreme. It's amazing how much they have grown since the last time we were there.

We got a dozen assorted doughnuts. Maggie picked the ones with sprinkles but the bite in the picture is the only bite she took. LOL.

The children were a little more impressed but still neither Emma nor Zion ate more than half. Maybe next time we should do an ice cream stop since that seems to be the only consistent sweet they eat. : )

Katie didn't even know she was there but I added the hat to document her first visit to Krispy Kreme.

We spent the afternoon at home and then the evening plan was to downtown and see the hot air balloons like we did last year.

The weather was beautiful but it was very windy and cold.

We talked to some of the balloon owners and they said that if the wind didn't die down they would not be able to get the balloons out.

We made a few rounds around the perimeter of the park and decided it was much too cold and windy.

As we were loading up the van it did seem that the wind had died down. The balloon owners were repositioning their vans and baskets. So they may have indeed been able to get them out and up.

But regardless it was too cold. Poor baby Katie kept getting her breath taken from the wind despite all the blankets we had protecting her.

So Lord willing, maybe next year we can see the balloons. But regardless it was a great 5th birthday for Maggie. A day filled with treats and sweets and family. : )

I Love That She Loves Him

2011-09-30T14:52:00.000-04:00

*Emma comforting Zion while sick

*Leading him at Museum

*Posing for last photo of the 3 before Katie

*Kissing him during the early morning ride

*Leading him to safety at Cracker Barrel

*Leading back to us at the Zoo

*Pushing Him in the doll stroller

It's been such a joy to watch Emma's love and protection for her "little" brother grow. I never thought she would be the one with the overwhelming mothering heart. It's so blessed to watch each of their personalities and Christ-like qualities emerge. Of course, I must add that Emma can aggravate the fire out of Zion at times as well. :O )

*photos are newest to oldest

Baby Katie's First Week

2011-09-27T15:05:00.001-04:00

It has been a smooth transition to life with 4 under 5 (I can only say that for 4 more days then it's life with 4 age 5 and under), despite Katie's face in the picture. : )

*wide awake after her first bath*

The first two days were kind of rough. She retained a lot of mucus since she was born so quickly which resulted in lots of gagging, spitting up, and fussing. She didn't rest well and those two nights were rather long.

*first visit with Grandma*

Now that has cleared up she is sleeping at night and during the day much better. She nurses well and is regaining the weight that she lost. When we left the hospital she weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces. At her Dr visit today she weighted 7 pounds 10 ounces.

She is my first baby who's jaundice/bilirubin level is not a concern. All the others were jaundice for weeks and went for multiple tests. Thankfully hers is a light case. Praise the Lord.

*first visit with Aunt Meri*

Her only concern is that she laid in the womb funny with her head turned to one side. It resulted in the neck muscles on her right side being underdeveloped. If you like at her one side her neck and check is plump like it ought to be and the other side is thin and sinks in.

If we do nothing, her head will be elongated on one side and will cause a permanent deformity. We knew this when we left the hospital but had to wait for the Dr appointment to get the exercises to help correct it. As the Dr said, no pain, no gain. : ( The exercises are simple. We just have to make her turn her head each way and hold it for 5 seconds. Then press her ear to her shoulder each way and hold it. We have to do it at least 3 times a day 5 times for each exercise in each direction.

We go back for a check up in 2 months. If at that time it is not corrected she will have to go to physical therapy. So please pray that God will heal it as we do these exercises and that the pain would be minimal for dear sweet Katie. Emma was most upset at the Dr for hurting her Katie. Poor dear just cried and cried. : ) I love her tender motherly heart.

*fun times with cousins*

The Week of Daddy at Home

2011-09-26T08:55:00.000-04:00

*Daddy fixing morning oatmeal*

One of the advantages to having the induction was that Jeremy could schedule a week off from work. So for the first time in the history of our life together we were able to have Daddy home for a whole week (minus a few hours on Wednesday when he had some meetings).

We were able to spend lots of time as a family and he got some good bonding time with not only Katie but with the other 3 littles well.

*Playing Doctor at the museum*

One of the things included in the hospital info packet was a coupon for free admission to the local Children's Discovery Museum. It was good for 2 adults and 4 children.

*Zion kissing the ball*

So Thursday morning, while Nana and I took Katie for her bilirubin check, Daddy took the other little ones to the museum.

*photo time with Daddy*

He is so much more fun at things like that. He gets so involved, where I usually just sit/stand back and take care of the youngest one while the older ones play on their own.

*photo time with Daddy*

*Mother Emma taking care of Zion*

*water play*

The Birth of Katie Ellis

2011-09-22T10:26:00.000-04:00

The entire pregnancy with Katie I struggled with being anxious over her coming too early. As her due date got nearer I transitioned from anxiousness over being too early to actually battling fear over her delivery. After the problems and complications of Zion’s birth I was ready for a “good” healthy labor and delivery.

My midwife, the one who delivered Zion and saved me from a c-section, was going to be gone to California for the week surrounding my due date. Jeremy and I talked and prayed about it and decided around 37 weeks that we wanted to be induced at 39 weeks before my MW went out of town. I didn’t want to risk delivering without her. We prayed consistently that Katie would come early like the other 3 children. I’ve never carried a baby past 39 weeks.

Well, despite prayers and pleading, no baby was coming, not even any signs of labor except for the painful contractions I had been having for about 2 weeks. So Monday morning, the day of 39 weeks, September 19, 2011 Jeremy and I arrived at the hospital (that only does low risk deliveries) for our 5:30AM induction. It was so strange to arrive at the hospital, not in labor. I felt like we were checking into a hotel.

They started the pitocin drip at about 6:30 or so. I was already having some irregular contractions on my own, was dilated to about 3 1/2 and was still thick. They played with the pitocin drip, trying to find a level high enough that the contractions would stay regular. The contractions weren’t uncomfortable and I highly doubted they were doing anything. My MW came in about 9AM and broke my water.

From there things got much more intense and I got the epidural like I planned around 9:45. I’m very sensitive to the medicine in the epidural and normally can feel nothing from the waist down after it is administered, no contractions, no pressure, no nothing.

The nurse checked me at 10:15. I was 5 centimeters and 80% effaced. She said she thought in about an hour we might have us a baby. I was beginning to question calling the epidural guy to come back and lower the dosage since my legs were so very very numb. However there was not to be enough time. My nurse came back at 11:15 to check me. Mom, Dad, Jeremy, and the children went down the hall for a snack. She elated to report that I was 10 cm, fully effaced and baby was at a +2. She was afraid to leave me to go get the delivery tools. She didn’t want me to have the baby in the room while alone. I called mom and her and Jeremy quickly returned while my dad kept the littles in the lobby.

The MW and nurse came back and got set up. I never felt the urge to push or anything. By the time they got everything set up you could see Katie’s head just by looking. We literally just watched Katie emerge on her own with little to no pushing from me. It was the most surreal thing. I never strained or grunted. All the nurses and attendants were completely amazed. I was too. I was talking normally with the nurses and MW while she emerged. My MW told me to reach down and pull her out and I did. It was 11:33AM. I placed her on my chest and she remained there for some time. Jeremy was able to cut the cord and I quickly delivered the placenta. There was no tearing and no cutting. Praise the Lord.

They weighed her and cleaned her up a bit. She so kindly had her first bowel movement and wetting right on my stomach right after she was born. : ) She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces 20 inches long with reddish fuze.

They brought her to me and laid her naked but diapered body on my bare chest where she remained for about an hour. She nursed well and eventually went back to sleep. They wrapped her up and we left Jeremy and Nana hold her while I had some yummy lunch.

According to the nurse my labor was 2 hours and 45 minutes. They begin counting when you are 80% effaced. We were at the hospital for 6 hours - went from 5cm to 10 and fully effaced in 1 hour - and pushed/watched for less than 5 minutes while she emerged. It was the most surreal out of body experience. While I did not go into labor on my own like I prayed, my prayer for a quick and easy delivery was more than answered. : )

It’s now been a little over 26 hours since Katie was born and we are all home and settled and rejoicing in the birth of baby blessing #4. I can’t describe the joy of walking out of the hospital with 4 little children. I think the staff might have picked up on things since their last comment was “See you in a year or two”. : ) May that be true!

She's Here

2011-09-19T15:59:00.000-04:00

Katie Ellis

Born at 11:33 AM

7 lbs 13 oz

20 inches

2 hours 45 minutes of labor

38 Weeks and Her 1st

2011-09-13T13:35:00.001-04:00

38 weeks and nothing to report

I did gain 2 pounds so I'm at 141

(I'm blaming it on the 5lbs of cookie dough in the frig)

Still about 2 cms and still thick

Lots of miserable contractions and

so ready for baby to come!!!!

And Maggie is now the proud owner of her first (used) skirt.

Yes, she's almost 5 and never worn a skirt. I bought one once

and took it back because it just made her look too old. : )

She's super excited to be wearing a skirt and shirt like mommy.

Maxwells/Titus 2

2011-09-12T10:21:00.000-04:00

Most of you are probably already familiar with the Steve and Terri Maxwell family. If not, you find out more about them at their website and blog.

But in case you are familiar with them, I thought you might be interested to know that they are coming semi-local if any of you live near me. October 7 & 8 they will in Pigeon Forge, TN for a free conference.

If any of you go, I would love to know since Jeremy and I are "planning" to go. Of course we will have a newborn so those plans are always subject to change. : )

(Almost) The Big 0-5

2011-09-10T19:09:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Maggie's 5th birthday today even though her actual birthday isn't until October 1. We have to do birthday parties on weekends when we have Jeremy's kids and the next weekend that we have them is too close to D-day. We didn't want Maggie's birthday to get lost in the birth of Baby Katie so we opted for her party to be early.

It was simple as usual. Immediate family, plus Nana, Papa, and Aunt Melanie.

It's the first time I've not made the cake (or cupcakes) and attempted to decorate them for our children's birthday. In my defense *smile* being almost 9 full months pregnant, with limited movement, sleep, and um....sanity, we opted to just buy a cake. Maggie is still a lover of all things Curious George. We did George at her 2nd birthday and now at her 5th due to her repeated request for a George cake.

The cake was good but I must say I think we are all feeling the affects of a major sugar/junk overload. The little girls while completely entrolled with the cake, at only a bite or two. I do love their lack of taste buds for such junk. : )

The gift run down for Maggie's 5th birthday:

Saxon Math Manipulatives to complete her Saxon 1 Math, (thanks N&P)

her own pink water cup like mama's, (thanks N&P)

a flashlight to use to read in bed, (thanks N&P

the Children's Illustrated Bible,

2 Dot to Dot books & 1 book of Mazes,

and

a small bag of goodies; new pencils, stickers, a notebook,

and some sparkle polish for her toes.

And there you have it, the completion of birthday party #5 for Maggie Eliza. Of course when you have your party a full 3 weeks early, you know a mama's gonna have to do a "little" celebrating on the actual day. : )

36 Weeks

2011-08-29T12:50:00.000-04:00

36 down, a few more to go. I was scheduled for an ultrasound this morning. Jeremy wasn't able to go so Nana and the 3 littles went. Everything looked good in the ultrasound. Fluid is good and baby is very low, head down. The measurements suggest the weight to be 6 pounds 4 ounces, which is right in line with my dates. The actual size can be off a pound either way. The head was so low she had a hard time getting a good accurate size. And there was great confirmation that it is a girl, Katie girl.

The appointment with the MW went well. She did the GBS test and did a quick check while she was there. I am about 1 1/2 dilated and still thick but she can feel the baby's head and my cervix is very irritable. LOL. Whatever that means. I am still at 140 and my blood pressure is good.

So for now we wait and must admit, pray for an early, but not too early, delivery. I always say I'm not going to get impatient but goodness, carrying around an extra 20 pounds is quite taxing on the body. I'm ready to be able to bend over, roll over, hold kiddos, move furniture, paint, etc. Not to mention hold that sweet little body and nurse her and rock her and spend sleepless nights with her. : )

Pre-Baby Doings

2011-08-24T15:29:00.000-04:00

With a little over 4 weeks left before Baby is due, I've been working very diligently on my pre-baby to do list. One of the major things was to move all the bedrooms around and paint them all. : ) We've been here 18 months and have done nothing to the bedrooms, but more on that when they are actually finished. We bought a set of bunk beds for the girls. They were both in toddler beds and we were ready to transit Zion into one of them so we moved both of them into the bunk beds. Plus, um.....neither of them were actually sleeping through the night in the bunk beds. So I made a big bucket of single pieces of candy and they are allowed to pick from it each morning that they sleep all night their own bed. And for the past week, they have every night. Hip, Hip, Hooray.

Aside from sleeping in their beds, I always wanted the girls to be more independent on their morning and night time routines. Making the necklace style chore packs has been on my to do list for months but I've been too lazy to actually do it. Then I made a list of the things I wanted them to do but I wanted someone else to draw the pictures. I can't draw anything! I finally gave up and drew them myself. Poor girls, hopefully they can tell what the pictures are. I just made them to today so I am not sure how well this is going to work for us but the girls are SO excited. They are anxiously awaiting bedtime.

I've made several trips to the attic and brought down the girl baby clothes (please let this truly be a girl). They are all washed and ready for wear. I also brought all 3 of the other kiddos fall/winter clothes down too. Making a trip into the attic right after delivery didn't sound too enjoyable, not to mention the mess of clothes that came down. So now I know what we have and what we need.

I've got the baby bassinet right by my bed, ready her sleeping little body. See the green blanket? It is a special treasure from a very dear friend. It was a sweet and blessed treat to find it in the mailbox one day a couple of weeks ago.

We've still a few things to do; it's never ending, you know? Some of the main items include:

~ pedicure - my mom treats me to one right before baby

~ pack hospital bag

~ finish my new nursing cover

~ stock up on diapers

~ make a few more things for the freezer

~ clean out inside of the van (baby needs clean care, right?)

~ finishing the painting in the house would be nice : )

~ cleaning the outside windows would be nice : )

~ And getting Zion to sleep somewhere other than on the couch at night would be AWESOME!

So there. That's all I can think of. My main focus these last few weeks to simply enjoy our ending days as a family of 5. Being a family of 6 is super exciting but I do want to make the most of these days with just 3 little ones. Life will be changing soon, ready or not. : )

Taking Back the Time

2011-08-22T14:12:00.000-04:00

Maggie and Emma watching TV years ago

I've confessed this sin online before. It's been so long it's not even on this blog. Sadly, although, I confessed to man and to the Lord, I've not been living out the change. I've known for months something had to change, something had to give. Hard things were going to have be done. I never want my heart to grow cold or hard from refusing to correct what the Lord has revealed.

Zion watching TV at night

My children watch too much t.v. Like it was mostly always playing in the background, eck! We don't have cable or digit satellite or even bunny ears but we do have DVDs. We have Curious George, Word World, Thomas the Train, and Baby Einstein. We have Andy Griffith, the Sound of Music, Anne of Green Gables, few James Stewart movies, Moody Science videos, and some Franklin Springs Media films. It didn't matter what was on, the children were watching it.

Maggie and Zion watching TV

I've said over the years that I was going to just keep the TV off unless it was a special time. But then Zion would be whining or bothering the girls, or the girls would be bickering, and if I turned the TV on then normally, calmness would come. Total cop out for godly parenting and correcting sin patterns.

Zion "working" on the TV

So it's gone, completely gone. It's down in the dark damp musty basement. I've rearranged the living room and now it focuses more around our "homeschooling"/activity table rather than the cabinet that held the TV. I know my limits and for me, as a lazy mother prone to the sin of allowing her babies to be zombies to mindless entertainment, I can't have the TV/DVD around or else I will fail and give into the temptation of turning it.....and leaving it on. So we are completely TV less and while the first few days were a bit of an adjustment, things are coming along nicely. Now if only there was some financial gain from doing away with the TV, that would be nice. But a spiritual gain, well, that out does financial any ol' day.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of your time because the days are evil. Ephesians 5: 15-16

Keeping My Focus

2011-08-18T10:50:00.001-04:00

I read a story in a local magazine a few months ago while waiting at the Dr office. The article was about local "star" doctors who had gone above the "call of duty". This particular story was written about a young couple who had just had their 4th child, with the oldest child being around 6 or 7. The pregnancy had gone well but when it was time to deliver something (I can't remember what) went wrong and the mother required emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. In order to do so, they had to do a hysterectomy. Thankfully the mother and baby were fine and released in a few days. I don't know the family or their convictions or anything of that nature but it caused me to wonder if that shattered their dreams of having more children. They had 4 healthy children and her life was spared. Wow, what a blessing. I then began to ponder in my own heart how that would affect me.

I want all the children God will give us. And at times I am even discontent with HIS spacing, thinking He should allow ours to be closer together like "the X Family". I try to calculate in my head how many children we could have before I go through menopause, say at 40, provided all the pregnancies are full term, living babies and the spacing stays the same as it has in the past. My mind wonders what it will be like to give birth that last time and for the last round of "firsts". Of course, we won't know it's the last baby until I just don't ever get pregnant again.

While it will be hard to accept that my baby birthing years are over naturally due to age, how would I accept that if it happened earlier? Whether it be due to fertility, health complications, required surgery, etc?

Is my desire for a large family larger than my desire for God's will, even if His will is for no more children?

Do I find my contentment in having (and desiring) a large family or do I find my contentment in the Lord?

Being honest before the Lord, I can't say that my response to these questions would not be pleasing to Him. Quite often my focus is just on my family, when it ought to be on my family through the Lord. Contentment comes only from the Lord. If I am not content with 4 children, my heart will not be satisfied with a dozen. I often feel like my desire for children ought to have been mentioned in Proverbs 30:15 among the things that are never satisfied.

It is my prayer that my focus might be on the Lord and bringing Him glory, rather that is with four children or twenty. I pray that my thoughts will be on Him and His kingdom and not on simply expanding our own. I pray that I will be a good steward with the blessings that He had already entrusted to us and quit wasting time wondering how many, if any, more He will allow us to have.

Menu Plan

2011-08-16T16:01:00.001-04:00

Super Yummy Treat

Bread is baking and beans are soaking. Kiddos are finishing up a lunch of last night's leftovers. I do enjoy cooking but I do not enjoy menu planning. Mostly because I am always wondering what Jeremy would really like to eat and my menu planning usually goes by me picking out what I am in the mood for that week. I have a running list of things we all like but I am usually just so uninspired. So this time I ask Jeremy to plan the week's dinner menu. He did so in less than 60 seconds. : )

Monday - Hamburger Patties (seasoned with shredded Parmesan cheese, basil, season all, and garlic
   salt), baked potatoes, and "Mabelle" peas (Jeremy works late so we ate alone and he took
   leftovers)

Tuesday - Ham and Bean Soup w/ homemade rolls (the weekly Amish white bread made into rolls)

Wednesday - Homemade Pizza (for some reason I do not enjoy making this)

Thursday - Breakfast to include bacon, pancakes, eggs and toast

Friday - Veggie Night - corn on the cob, Parmesan potatoes, whole wheat butter noodles, and steamed
   broccoli, with optional salad

Saturday - Lunch - BLT
   Dinner - Out with Jeremy

Sunday - Lunch - Spaghetti (we eat this every Sunday)
   Dinner - Cheese Quesadillas

For weekly lunches, we either eat with Nana, have leftovers, cheese quesadillas, or butter noodles.

For snacks, I keep apples, bananas, grapes, cheese, raw carrots, yogurt, organic animal crackers, and whole wheat snack crackers on hand. My kiddos aren't much for baked goods so we usually just stick with the above items. I do still make cookies and such on occasion but I usually end up throwing them out after a few days. I shouldn't complain, right?

34 Weeks

2011-08-15T14:38:00.000-04:00

I went for my 34 week check up this morning. There was a crispness in the air, a slight breeze, cooler temperatures, and birds chirping. It was such a glorious refreshing gift from the Lord. I blog for lots of reasons but one of those is to have a log for our family and to keep good records since my memory is at best sketchy. So don't take this as a compliant but more of a record so next time I can remember what was going on this time. : ) This pregnancy, as best my memory serves me, is much more tiring than the others. I am normally good and energetic until the delivery with very little complaints. This time, other than my purple foot and ankle, I am not having much pain. My foot does cause great discomfort while standing still or sitting. I prop it up at every opportunity. My varicose veins, except for the foot and ankle, are not bothering me, although they look AWFUL. But I get so tired, like first trimester I can't do anything that takes longer than 5 minutes or I might just faint tired. I'm having lots and lots of braxton hicks. Any physical exertion and I will have them until I stop. There's been no exercising, not even walking, in the last few weeks due to constant, sometimes, painful/uncomfortable contractions. Pretty much everything seems to trigger them. The baby loves the kick and shove her body parts up under my right rib cage and it *hurts*. Despite how my belly looks, she is high and causes great discomfort when it comes to breathing. I am constantly having deep sighs and sometimes have to lie flat on the bed and raise my arms over my head to get a good deep breath.

So here are the official 34 weeks stats.

Weight 140 (up a pound from 2 weeks ago)

Blood Pressure Good

Fundal Height measuring 36 weeks

At my next appointment which is 2 weeks from today they will do another U/S and the Group B strep test. I am most anxious for the U/S. I would like a little more confirmation that this in fact Baby Katie and not Baby Peter.

His Trip and My Failures

2011-08-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Center of the hotel - 22 floors

We followed him on a business trip this week. Well, at least for part of the week and part of his trip. We all went down, including our gracious and ever-enduring Nana, for the 2 1/2 hour drive on Sunday. Jeremy will be staying through Friday but the children, Nana, and I returned on Wednesday.

girls travel bags

Monday, we were richly blessed to be able to meet my sister-in-law and my 2 nieces and nephew at Callaway Gardens. It was day of quick fellowship while viewing the beautiful creation of the our Lord.

butterflies in butterfly center at Callaway

Tuesday morning we went to the Atlanta Zoo and enjoyed seeing some of God's amazing creatures. And spent some of the afternoon in the hotel pool. We spent the evening with Jeremy while "strolling" the downtown streets of Atlanta, enjoying the playground at Centennial Park and the views the city had to offer, all while having contractions due to the heat and physical exertion.

Nana and girls with flamingos

Wednesday morning we packed up and prepared to head out for home. Sorry to be leaving Jeremy behind but so so thankful to be heading home. Being in an extremely small hotel room with 3 adults (one largely pregnant & deeply affected by insomnia, 3 children 4 and under, on the 17th floor of an exclusive business-oriented hotel, which happened to be under renovation, well it was certainly a time of "trying" to tame the flesh.

Maggie at Centennial Park

Out of all my failures during this trip the one that hit me the hardest is the one that happened while waiting for the valet attendant to bring around our car. We were all standing (Zion in the stroller) waiting on our car, when this "sophisticated" business woman in her business suit and stylish short hair came up and asked me "how did I do all this sanely?. She really wanted to know how I had so many children and was pregnant again and could be so sane. She said that she had watched me around the hotel the last few days and couldn't see how I did it. She said that she even told her husband yesterday that 'there is this woman at the hotel, who is pregnant, and has 3 children who have be under 5 and she's sane'. And right then and there I FAILED. I failed to give God the glory. I failed to say that it was by His grace alone and that any sanity that she saw in me was from Him alone. Instead I made some bumbling stupid comment about it being 'a lot of prayer, training, discipline, and smiles during the chaos. I told her that we certainly had our insane times. She wanted to know how I made it through pregnancy while being sick and having other children. I FAILED again. I should have said 'only by God's grace' but instead I said 'you just do. You think with each pregnancy that you cannot make it through that first half of pregnancy again, especially not with another child but you do'. Her departing words, "I just wanted you to know that you inspire me".

Zion snacking in room

I look back on that conversation with such remorse. I must admit that while I was flattered I was HORRIFIED. What about all those times she would have been repulsed by how I was handling life with 3 little ones and one on the way? What about those other people who were watching when I had those moments in the flesh, when you grit your teeth and try not to let your anger over take you? Oh, those moments are way too often and often way too evident.

Sweet face after a meltdown aka attack of flesh

This conversation with this business woman taught me a lot about myself. It showed me that my focus is not on Christ as it ought to be. I was so quick to dismiss His glory and honor in the conversation, never even mentioning Him by name, only referring to praying. She has NO idea WHO I was praying to. Oh, how my heart aches at my failure.

Baby in the tummy ready for a swim

I pray that in the future my heart and mind will be focused on giving Him all the glory and honor and praise. In my own strength, in my own flesh, I am nothing. I am nobody. Without Christ, I am totally deprived of all wisdom and knowledge and sanity.

My mouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day.

Psalm 71:8

Purposely Planning For Purpose

2011-08-06T10:46:00.004-04:00

I find that if I don't make a plan, if I don't set forth each day to make it a purpose to seek and share Christ with my little ones, then more often than not I will find myself lying in bed at night regretting a day with no purpose. We pray, we talk of God's creation, we laugh and smile and learn but if I don't set a time, preferably more than one, and a plan for us to get into God's Word, to sit down, to be still, to be quite and listen in reverence and awe, then it doesn't happen. And what, might I ask, is more important than pursing Christ?

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

I know in my heart there is nothing more important than imparting God's Word; His goodness, His past, His present, and His future, His desires, His hatred for sin, His sovereignty. I know that my clean, organized house or my well stocked pantry or my crafty skills; I know these things mean nothing. When I stand before God's throne and I give an account of my days, I doubt He's going to be too concerned with how healthy we ate, or many weeks/months of food I had in my pantry, or if I bought new clothes or if I made the children's clothes, if I was 10 pounds overweight, if my children read at age 4 or 10. But I do know that I will give an account for my time and how I chose to spend it and what I placed above Him and His Word and His commission.

"O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am." Psalm 39:4

Being busy and productive, that's what I enjoy. Sitting and reading the True Bible with wigglers all around, wondering if they are listening, or if they understand, is their mind wondering, am I doing all this in vain, wouldn't my time be better spent cooking something in the kitchen, the bathroom sure needs a good scrubbing, there's a great deal over at Staples right now, my mind is just as unfocused as theirs.

But Martha was distracted with much serving..... Luke 10:40

I must make it THE purpose of each day to seek the Lord with the children, to read His Word, to soak in His world, to furthur incorporate Him in all we do. He is the reason for the breath we breathe. We are here for no other reason than for His glory. We know this, we have heard this. But do we live this? It's so much easier to just do things for Him, rather than to spend time with Him.

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her". Luke 10:41

32 Weeks/8 Week Countdown

2011-08-05T09:08:00.000-04:00

I said I was going to be more diligent about keeping records/notes during this pregnancy. Well um..... I did have great intentions. It's been 8 weeks since I've given specifics.

My 32 week check up was on Tuesday. I failed the one hour glucose test at 28 weeks but surprisingly passed the 3 hour. My weight is up to 137, fundal height on track, and blood pressure good. A week or so ago I did have about 24 hours of consistent contractions/braxton hicks which kept me up for the night. They never increased in intensity so I just waited. Thankfully they passed and are now just the normal sporadic tightening.

Apparently I must look quite large as people have begun to ask me when I am due and when I state that I have 7/8 weeks to go they make some comment about 'wow, do you think you'll go early', or 'oh you poor thing' or 'my, you must be miserable'. I usually just wave them off, say this is my 4th in less than 5 years and I actually feel good. I even had a lady who insisted on picking up my case of water for me at Wal-mart. I started to tell her she was welcome to home with me and do the lifting duty of my (almost) 30 pound 16 month old.

I must admit that this pregnancy has me continually running to the Lord for comfort (which is where I should always be anyway). I am a bit terrified of labor starting early since it did last time. Although there is nothing I can do to keep my water from breaking, I find myself continually trying to be careful and not stretch too much to one side or roll over (which is what happened last time) too carelessly in the bed. God is sovereign, this I know, and He is in control of this birth just like He was all the other times. His grace is sufficient and overflowing to walk me through these last few weeks of of pregnancy with baby #4.

2 Posts to Note

2011-07-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

I have recently read 2 blog posts that are worth noting and passing on.

Christie at Divine Calling has written a beautiful transparent post called In Which Life Gets Messy

and

Robin at Just a Family has written an all too true post about The Lie.

When time permits take a few moments to read these two. You won't be sorry and it will be a good use of your time. : )

16 and 2

2011-07-26T17:17:00.002-04:00

It's been 16 months to the day since I stood beside Zion's first crib. It was a totally unexpected turn of events but Lord taught us so much through those 11 days and the months to follow.

From the beginning of the pregnancy to today, his 16 month birthday, he has broken all rules for normal. I must admit when we found out that we were having a boy, I was disappointed. Even with 2 girls I wanted another girl. But I had no idea what was in store for being a boy's mama.

He is 100% different than the girls in every way. He loves to cuddle and give lots of facial love. : )

He's quite in dependent though and usually content to roam on his own. His roaming often involves lots of trouble. He is constantly making noises but uses very little, if any, words. He says 'thank you' very clearly but other than that we occasionally get a 'mama, daddy, or nana' and that's it. I hesitate to even say he says anything since it's so rare!

He loves to climb (beds, chairs, tables, anything) and takes a LOT of spills and falls. He's had more bumps and bruises and near death experiences. I am not going to document those. I am praying I forget them.

He enjoys his ride on toys and anything that he can pull or push or beat people with (such as swim noodles, brooms, mops, etc).

He is majorly addicted to his paci but I am being lazy and not doing the hard thing and dealing with the emotions and attitudes that come with long term removal.

He sleeps well at night in his crib and his nap times are easy. I usually lay down in the bed with him, he snuggles up and goes to sleep. Not the best practice but compared to how we rocked, sang, bounced, etc the girls to sleep this is much better. : )

*this is soup he dunked his head in, not blood

If his sisters are doing something he is bound to be in the mix, working hard to mess it up and bring chaos to a normally quite activity.

He LOVES to eat and I have found few things that he will not devour within seconds. He's known for his food stealing skills and for eating with one foot propped up on his highchair tray. He lost 2 pounds when he was sick last month but in the past 2 weeks he has gained those 2 plus some. Last time weighed him, which was last week, he was weighing about 28 1/2 pounds. *sigh* And I think at it his last dr appointment he was 31 1/2 inches long. Not sure about that though.

All you have to do is look at him and he breaks into a smile. He laughs so easy and enjoys so much. He's a mama's boy and a daddy's little man. He is so attached to Jeremy and it makes my heart melt. I do love to see him love his daddy so much.

For all his giggles and grins, he has a temper like I have never seen. He can throw some of the ugliest, most sinful fits. I didn't know something so little be so um..... forceful. Mind you, these fits, these "lovely" displays of flesh, do not go unpunished.

And 2 months from today, Little baby #4, also known as Katie (if she/he is indeed a girl) is due. There is no updated picture or stats. I'll work on that post later.

Summer Vacation 2011

2011-07-24T17:31:00.001-04:00

We were very blessed to be invited on vacation with my parents this year. They rented a 3 story cabin in Sevierville, TN. It worked out really well because Jeremy had to attend a mandatory work "retreat" in Atlanta so the children and I were able to stay on in Sevierville with my parents while work required him to be away. The girls didn't have much understanding of the word 'vacation'. They continually asked for 'vacation' the whole time we were gone.

Jeremy enjoying his morning quite time and coffee on the screened in deck

Maggie and Emma on their first train ride

Maggie and Emma on the kiddie Ferris wheel

(they didn't seem to enjoy either ride very much)

Zion getting his free ride on Daddy's shoulders

Emma painting some window ornaments

Zion's favorite toy from the trip

Baby #4 at 30 weeks

Emma riding a squirrel

Zion and a bear

The girls learning to go under water without freaking out : )

Blueberry Pickin' Let Down

2011-07-24T16:17:00.000-04:00

This is the 3rd year in a row that we have gone blueberry picking. The other years we went to the house of the owner of a local feed and seed store.

We were very upset to learn that they not only sold the store but also their home. So we were forced to change picking locations. And what a dissappointment it was.

There were hundreds of bushes but unlike what we were used to they were tall, way taller than us. There were no berries on the girls level and most of the ones that were there were above mine and mom's head.

Needless to say we didn't spend much time there. We picked about a 1/4 a gallon and left.....and went to Costco and had a hot dog. : )

Simple Sewing For Little Girls

2011-07-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a quick impromptu sewing venture back on the fourth. I found this tutorial online a while back and thought it would be so cute. It literally took minutes and less than $4 to make both of the girls a sweet little hand bag.

Maggie thought her bag would be best for picking garden veggies. She took it everywhere for entire 24 hours that she had it. On a routine trip to Wal-mart the following day she lost it somewhere in the vastness that is Wal-mart, never to be seen again. : (

A Blessed Visit with Friends

2011-07-15T19:08:00.000-04:00

We, as in myself, my mom, and the three little ones, were very blessed to be able to spend a few days this week with Laura and her sweet 6 (soon to be 7) children. It was a blessed time of good food and great fellowship! Sadly I didn't spend too much time taking pictures.

Queen Esther and King Zion - crowns compliments of

Esther

Sweet Baby Joseph

Nana and Esther

A little water fun for Maggie, Abigail, and Emma

Attempting Duck, Duck, Goose with several who didn't know

how to play - it was too funny for words

A picture of all 9, age 7 and under

And a short video clip of why that was the best picture I

could get of all 9 : )

Things to Work On

2011-07-08T19:05:00.002-04:00

I seem to always have a running list of things that I need to work on. There are some deep spiritual things, of course, (there always will be) but then there is the more shallow daily functioning things.

~ Breakfast - Our breakfast is the short order style. Everyone wakes up at a different time. Jeremy wakes up between 5:30 and 6. He makes his own cinnamon sugar toast and eats it while he studies the Word. I usually wake up around 6:30 and fix my strawberry jam toast and start Zion's oatmeal on the stove. When the girls get up, (Emma around 6:40 and Maggie around 7), I let them pick either toast, grits, or oatmeal. I want to change this to a more structured, balanced breakfast where we sit down together and eat.

~ A (good) morning routine - Right now there is no good flow. I have to direct everyone to the next step and there is no consistency.

~ Routine snack times - I wish we didn't snack but everyone here is used to having a mid morning and mid afternoon snack. I am thinking about cutting out the morning snack (if I start making a good balanced breakfast) and just having a mid afternoon snack. We eat lunch early, 11AM, and dinner around 6PM so there is a big gap there. But right now we seem to be (healthy) snacking much too often during the day.

~ Less Pacifier Usage - Zion is my first paci baby and I way over use his pacifier. He is majorly addicted to it and it's comfort. I've got to wean it down to just naps and then night and then do away with it.

~ Naps - Work on getting Zion down to one afternoon nap and then get his and Emma's naps synchronized.

~ Freezer Meals - I need to keep a couple of easy meals in the freezer in order to keep us from that last minute eating out. I'm all for eating out but I prefer for it to be planned rather than spontaneous due to my bad planning or unforeseen circumstances.

~ Daily Routine - While I am not looking for a schedule I do feel that we might benefit from a more structured day. We are often doing something in cahoots with Nana so our days are often more fly by the seat of our pants. : ) This works out pretty well during this season of life but there are some changes round the bend, and that bend is about 11 or so weeks away. Of course I always think a new baby/another child is going to change that but somehow the wee one just fits in with whatever is already going on.

* And I might want to work on knowing the whereabouts of my (current) baby. He seems to think he's the next family blogger. : )

A Parenting Must Read

2011-07-06T07:03:00.000-04:00

I've told you before that you need to go to Leading Little Hearts Home. If you aren't a follower of her blog then you probably haven't read this post yet, Parenting - The Easy Way. I highly recommend reading it, now. It's a great encouragement and refocus post. Go there, now and have a blessed parenting in the Lord day. : ) I'm off to get ready for my 28 week appointment and 1 hour glucose test.

Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-05T08:41:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed the Fourth over at my parents' house. It was a great

relaxing day of fellowship and food.

Instead of doing a lunch we opted to do a dinner cook out,

which gave us the majority of the day to prepare, which is

really handy when you have lots of slow little hands in the kitchen.

We had a feast of ribs, scalloped potatoes on the grill, corn on the cob,

deviled eggs, Romaine and Broccoli salad, and rolls.

Our festive dessert was a Berry Trifle. Yummy and yum!

It is always great to work along side mom and kiddos in the kitchen.

While not cooking the day was spent doing sticker books with the girls,

working on a quick and impromptu sewing project, napping, and little

North and South viewing.

After dinner and kiddos baths, we went outside where

Baby Chubby had already helped himself to the first ride in the

swing. A little green bean and squash picking and it was time to head

home for a good night's rest. What a blessed and restful Fourth it was.

Pre-Fourth Fireworks

2011-07-04T20:28:00.001-04:00

We did our Fourth of July fireworks show on Saturday night.

It was the first time Maggie had seen fireworks since the week Emma was born.

Poor Emma had never seen them.

And now Zion remains in the dark about the joy of fire in the sky

Since somehow he managed to not only sleep through the fireworks but

also the squealing of little girls.

The Child Who Needs Bubble Wrap

2011-07-03T09:44:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else have one of these? The child who needs to be contained in bubble wrap? Emma is "suffering" with her third freak injury. The first time she hurt her foot (at about 18 months old) by jumping off the couch and landing wrong on her ankle. It happened on a Friday, too late to go the Doctor. So for the entire weekend she couldn't walk. It was fine as long as she didn't try to use it. When she did it would just crumple under her. I took her to the doctor on Monday and he found nothing wrong with it and by noon she was able to walk lightly on it.

Incident #2 was last summer. Maggie and Emma were strapped in their car seats playing in the car with Nana while I ran into Aldi for a second. I came out to find Emma screaming in pain. Maggie had pulled on her arm and hurt her wrist. After almost an hour of inconsolable screaming and crying I took her to the walk in clinic. They did an x-ray and didn't "think" it was broken. We took her home and held her in a position which allowed her hand to not hurt as bad. About bedtime she forgot the pain, or fear, and started clapping (mocking Maggie). That was the end of that.

Incident #3 was Friday afternoon. Maggie pulled Emma up the little tykes slide and hurt her elbow. So from Friday afternoon until the present Emma has been unable to move her right arm without pain. I was hoping when she went to bed Friday night she would forget that it hurt and move it normal in her sleep. Nope. She kept that one arm in the exact same position that I laid it in when I put her bed, despite crying and moaning in her sleep. Saturday was no better, lots of screaming when it was moved. It does seem to be a little better today. There's not been so much screaming and crying but all she does is sit on the coach with her arm on a pillow. We occasionally put ice on it when it seems to be it too much pain and I'm giving her Ibuprofen on and off.

I am hoping and praying that this is just another one of the those "freak" Emma pains. The Dr office is of course closed tomorrow and I have my prenatal appointment Tuesday morning (hello sugar drink) so it won't be until later Tuesday or first thing Wednesday that I would take her anyway. But she is for the most part comfortable on the couch so we are doing the "wait and see".

Please, someone tell me that there always seems to be something of this nature going on at your house! I only have 3 children and it seems that someone is always sick or hurt or something!!!! How do you do it? How do you keep your large families healthy and safe? Seriously what preventive measures do you take?

World's Longest Lunch

2011-07-02T11:56:00.000-04:00

Corn, Green Beans, and Rice

One little bitty piece at a time

And surprisingly very little on the floor

Warehouse Shopping Update

2011-07-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

As I said yesterday my mom, the children, and I went to Costco to price check. This morning my mom and dad kept the 3 little ones while I made price check rounds to Sams, Wal-mart, and Aldi. In almost every single instance the warehouse prices won out over Aldi and Wal-mart. Some of the savings are crazy! For the most part Sams won out over Costco. In most cases not by but a few cents except for shredded cheese and frozen chicken. I am wondering if my pricing is right because in both of those cases the savings difference is substantial. Sams has fewer organic products than Costco. Even with that said we plan to join Costco. The gas price and the sales tax savings (since it's across state lines) should make up for the price differences but it also has better health choices which is a plus too. Just wanted to let you know the differences in the prices in case you ever wondered.

Small Like New Fuzzi Bunz For Sale

2011-06-30T14:39:00.000-04:00

I have 12 like new white Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers and 12 liners/inserts for sale. They are not the new style one size diapers. I bought them when pregnant with Emma but didn't use them but a time or two. Some of them I don't think have ever been used. The diapers as well as the liners appear to all be stain free. All snaps and elastic are perfect shape. I am asking $9 a piece (plus shipping) or $96 for all (plus shipping which is I don't know what). : ) If you are interested you can comment or send me an email jeremyandem at gmail dot com

Asking You Warehouse Shoppers

2011-06-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

My mom and I are probably going to get a membership to Costco.

We walked through the store today and took note of a lot of the prices. Some of the prices seemed high, some the same, and some better. There is a convenience factor that weighs in as well. Cosco is a good 20 minutes from our house but it is across the state line which means food sales tax is almost 5% CHEAPER. Plus their gas is about 7 cents cheaper than it is near our house. Plus it would nice to get out less with the children. Plus the buggies hold 2 children so if mom and I both get a buggy then all children, including the new one could ride which means faster shopping. Plus they have really great hot dogs for cheap (super healthy, I know I know)! : ) But my budget would still be the same, which is very little. Right now I shop at Aldi and Wal-mart once a week.

So I am curious what you think about Costo or Sam's? Do you have a membership? Do you think it's frugal? What items do you purchase there and what do you still buy at the grocery store? How often do you go?

Dental Check-Ups

2011-06-29T16:02:00.000-04:00

It's been well over a year since Maggie had her dental work last year. We haven't tried to have her teeth cleaned since just a conversation mentioning the dentist sent her into explaining how she didn't need to go to the dentist. Normally things aren't child-led (except potty training & breastfeeding, to a point) at our house but in this instance we felt it was best in the long run to take it easy. We don't want her to be traumatized at each dental visit.

We actually took Maggie to the health department dentist because we only wanted them to look at her mouth and see if there were any cavities (and it was WAY cheaper). We decided it would be a good thing to just have her get used to someone (other than us) looking into her mouth. It went fairly well.

For Emma I just scheduled an evaluation, since she is only 3 and we weren't sure how she would do. Jeremy took her and Maggie, so Maggie would have some more exposure to a dentist. This time it was Maggie's previous dentist. The health department doesn't see them until they are 4. Much to my surprise they were able to evaluate and clean Emma's teeth. I am so excited. Jeremy said she did very well. Woo-hoo. Both girls got little gifts for doing so well. Maggie got Thomas the Train UNO cards and Emma got Old Maid cards. : )

But the best part is that neither of them have any cavities or concerns. Praise the Lord. I was not looking forward to more dental trauma while in late pregnancy!!!! Of course we still have to see about getting Maggie's cleaned. One thing at a time, right? : )

Possibly the Worst 3rd Birthday Ever

2011-06-28T16:11:00.000-04:00

I'm sure it's not the worst ever 3rd birthday but it's certainly been the worst to us. We asked Emma what she wanted to do for her birthday and she wanted to take a picnic to the water steps. When we woke up this morning it was dark and raining.

Instead of the planned fun day we decided to take Zion to the doctor. After 3 kiddos having diarhea for 3 weeks we decided it was time to have at least Zion checked out. He's lost 2 pounds and has had several bouts of vomiting along with his diarrhea. In my defense I called and talked to the Dr last week and he said it would run it's course.

So we loaded up around 9AM (and took Nana with us) and headed to the Dr. We did get a treat of sausage and biscuits to eat on the way. The Dr drew blood which he will send off but that will take weeks since it has to go to a lap in California to be tested for the things he wants tested. He is concerned that Zion's stomach is still so large and despite his weight loss and poor appetite. We actually are the ones that mentioned it to him. He still looks like he has a bowling ball in his stomach even though the rest of his body has visibly lost weight.

The Doctor wanted stool samples of all the children but that office was out of kits so they sent us to the their sister office which is about a 40 minute drive from our home, about 20 minutes from where were. So we had promised Emma we would take her to McDonalds to play on the playground for her birthday since our other plans were spoiled. So we go to the closest McDonalds only to kind it overran with lots of people and rude big kids on the indoor playground. So we ate a quick lunch and loaded up again to head across the state line to the other Dr office.

Emma and Zion took naps in the car while we did the driving. When she woke up we ran into Dollar Tree and let her pick out a treat. Normally it would have been an ice cream cone but they are not allowed to have dairy due to the stomach problems. So she got her treat and we went to another McDonald's playground. Once again it was being controlled by loud older kids who were screaming and yelling. After getting our hysterical birthday girl out of the tunnels we left. So we took her to Wal-Mart and let her pick out an approved video. While parking the car we got a call from the termite people saying they had been at our house since 1 for our appointment and wondered if we would be there soon. (It was almost 3). Somehow in the chaos I never got the message that they were even coming today. *sigh*

So we came home, popped in the video, and flopped down on the couch. I'm not sure when we are gonna get up. : ) Needless to say, it's been an crazy day, running to and fro, which I hate. I do ask for your prayers that the kiddos will be healed and if it doesn't go away quickly, that they will find out what is wrong with them.

*All photos are from my attempt at getting a final (bedtime) picture of her at age 2. She was being quite silly and uncooperative, typical Emma Grace. : )

A Celebration of 3

2011-06-26T15:04:00.000-04:00

She's not quite 3 but come Tuesday she will be. Today was the day to celebrate not only Emma's 3rd birthday but also our joining of the church and Jeremy's baptism. God is good and it feels so good to be in line with His plan regarding the church body and baptism.

My "great" plan this time was to make simple cupcakes look like ice cream on cones. After searching the Internet I found an easy simple video. It of course wasn't as easy or as quick as it looked. : ) The girls loved helping and we had a good time. That's what matters.

A few presents were in order. I find it such a challenge at each birthday to buy items that are not just toys, or self serving, or things they don't need but yet things that they will enjoy, use frequently, and be profitable to the family.

Both the girls enjoyed the opening of the gifts. Emma kept saying over and over, "I'm so excidy (excited)".

We settled on a Gone Fishing Game, new coloring books, an easy puzzle, new PJ's, Question with Answers CDs (similar to the First Catechisms), and a bubble blower.

It was a great day after a really rough 3 weeks of sick babies and LOTS of laundry from sickness.

Mama and baby #4 really enjoyed the cake and ice cream. Although I'm pretty sure we over did the sugar, seeing as how the sugar crash has set in.

This little red head brings us so much joy and excitement (and sanctification). I thank God for allowing us the pleasure of loving her and training her. May we always rise to the calling of raising her in righteousness.

MFW : An Early Review

2011-06-24T17:01:00.000-04:00

For fear of giving My Father's World a bad name I must defend them in my previous statement. There is nothing wrong with the Kindergarten curriculum. It however, is not a good fit for Maggie. Part of the reason I chose this particular curriculum was because all the "subjects" were integrated together. That's the part that is not working. It is basically impossible to move faster than it is laid out. All the workbook pages are front and back so you can't move ahead in Math and go slower in Phonics, if you wanted. I have also found that I desire more Math skills than what they teach. Maggie is weeks ahead in the Math and phonics. I have yet decided what exactly to do about this. A lot of the science activities we are skipping either for costs reasons or just because that isn't our focus this year. Our main focus for kindergarten is Bible/character, Math, Phonics/reading, and handwriting (the only thing not going so well so far). : ) Had I know that this is what we desired to focus on I would have chosen a different curriculum approach. You live and you learn right? It's our first year, what can I say?

I am considering just "playing" around with it this summer and maybe doing something different after the baby comes or around Christmas. I am just not sure. We've already invested the money in this and are not sure we want to sell it since it might work well for another child down the road. Even before this discovery we had already decided to go with a different approach/curriculum next year. I love being under my husband's guidance and steady hand. : )

Finding Our Way in Homeschool

2011-06-23T09:57:00.002-04:00

So we've been homeschooling consistently (a huge downfall of my mine) for about 4 weeks. We've added some elements, removed some elements, debating some other elements. In other words it's not necessarily going to be the same in a few weeks. We are using MFW's Kindergarten curriculum, or at least some of it, with some other things added in. I can't say I'm all together happy with the MFW curriculum but more on that later. We have a different time where I do some work with both girls (including Bible) but this is about Maggie's school time.

For now here is what our homeschooling time looks like on a (mostly) daily basis.

Sing Songs - ABC, 7 Days, and 12 Months

Character Work - using this online resource for now

Calendar - MFW (online here) reinforce colors, shapes, and patterns

Weather Graph

Math/100 Chart - MFW (can also be found here) *also supplementing with some $1 workbooks from
Target

Phonic Work - MFW

Handwriting - MFW plus lined sheets and extra "fun" practice sheets

Science Activity - MFW (we don't do this daily)

There are several other things that I want to implement in the future. Reading aloud is one. I know how important it is. We have started numerous books but have never been consistent in finishing them before they are due back at the library.

Maggie loves to draw, so for her birthday, Lord willing, we plan to buy her an elementary art teaching book. Any recommendations? Veritas Press has several to choose from and I am sure there are dozens more out there.

Calling Pregnant (or previously) Mamas

2011-06-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

As you all know I am afflicted with varicose veins this time around. As I recently told someone, when I was pregnant with my first child my biggest fear was stretch marks. Now pregnant with #4 in less than 5 years I don't have a single stretch mark. But I would trade a number of my ailments for those previously dreaded stretch marks. : )

I would like to "talk" with any of you that have or have had varicose veins. I would love to know how to handled them and if you found a way to "help" them, especially along the lines of natural "stuff". Please email me at jeremyandem (at) gmail (dot) com if you are willing to share with them.

Every blessing,
Emily

For My Memory's Sake

2011-06-22T10:02:00.000-04:00

Our days have been full to overflowing. We've been enjoying some time outside in various forms of water play, some at home, some at local parks and such.

We are very excited to be new members at a sort of local reformed PCA church where we have been attending since last August. After church hunting for almost 4 years we have found a place we feel the Lord wants us; a place of growth and a place that actually wants us as parents to teach our children and requires them to be in the main worship with us instead of trying to encourage us to send them to various children's programs or the nursery. I must admit meeting before the session was quite intimidating. : )

Jeremy and I attended a work function last weekend, a 25 year celebration for the board members of the non-profit company where he works. We rubbed shoulders with a lot of politicians, including a senator and some other big wigs. So not my enjoyment but I did enjoy conversation with one of the servers, who is a homeschool mom of 6. : ) I got asked several times if this was our first baby. I love being asked that question. I love the look of shock on their face when I say "no this is our fourth". And just for good measure I like to tell them that our oldest is 4. : )

Zion got his first haircut....by mommy and daddy. The end result was not what we were looking for but the crazy curl and bed head look wasn't working either. Poor little guy has been sick on and off for 2 weeks. Between all this stomach ailments and just no appetite he's lost over a pound, not that you can tell by looking at him. He's still quite the robust boy. : )

24 Weeks

2011-06-10T09:52:00.000-04:00

There is not a lot to report here at 24 weeks. I have lots of different aches and pains which I didn't have the last 3 times but as my midwife says I've never had a fourth pregnancy. : ) She's so funny. Haha.

Things are going well though. I've not been eating as healthy as I should and I haven't exercised in weeks. ECK! And I can certainly tell in my overall "fitness" and energy level. Baby is very active and it's to the point where you wonder what will happen when there's not room left. Sometimes I feel like she's going to poke a body part out the front of my stomach. : ) I take the 1 hour glucose again 4 weeks. Prayerfully I will pass it and will not have to do the 3 hour nor will I end up with gestational diabetes again.

Weight - 129

Blood pressure - Good

Baby heartbeat - Good

once she was finally still enough to hear for a decent amount of time

Fundal Height - 26
(first time I've ever measured ahead,

the first time she measured it was 27 but after some baby movement it was 26,

of course I guess it could all have to do with how the baby lies????)

Menu Plan Monday for 8

2011-06-06T16:40:00.000-04:00

Every summer I get a crash course in large family living. We go from 3 children to 6, since Jeremy's children are here for the majority of the summer. When we first got married we had temporary custody of all 3 and I remember thinking that there was no way I would ever sanely be the mother of 3 children (this before our reformed quiverful mindset). But as you all know when they are your own (or permanently adopted) ,raised by your standards and used to your lifestyle, it's totally different. And I am thankful that most days I am a sane mother of 3 and 1 on the way. It's always a challenge to add 3 people to our food budget, which includes all paper and toiletry items, without increasing the amount.

Monday - Veggie soup with grass fed beef and crackers (normally would be cornbread but trying not to

heat up the house)

Tuesday - Spaghetti w/ side of raw carrots

Wednesday - Baked Chicken (cooked first thing in the AM), brown rice, and green beans

Thursday - Lasagna w/ fruit

Friday - Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli (using the leftover chicken) w/ salad

Saturday - Hot Sandwiches (meat & cheese with pesto mayo) w/ carrots

Lunch is usually a variety of leftovers. I fix enough for dinner in order to have leftovers for Jeremy to take his lunch and for us to have some for lunch the next day. If there are not enough leftovers we usually have either pb & jam sandwiches or cheese quesidillas.

Snacks are homemade cookies, homemade popcorn, pretzels and cheese, or some other semi healthy homemade item on hand.

I have found pasta and soups to be a great help in stretching the budget while still being able to fix food that the older 3 children will actually eat. : )

~ Visit Laura at Org Junkie for more menus.

Maple Syrup Goodness

2011-06-06T08:24:00.001-04:00

We were very blessed to get a gallon of REAL maple syrup as a gift from my mom. I did some research and found out that it is OK to freeze it. So I froze 4 quarts leaving plenty of headspace for expansion and left a large portion to keep in the frig. I have a "thing" for bulk items. When I was younger I loved the little single serving items (like you find in college town grocery stores) but now I LOVE to buy things in large quantities. : )

Since I had all that yummy rich maple syrup I decided to give this Carmel Corn recipe a try last night. It was delicious. Having all 6 kiddos (including Jeremy's older 3) and 2 adults (one being pregnant) it didn't last long at all and we even made a double batch. : ) Another great looking recipe that uses honey instead of maple syrup can be found at Laura's blog, The Muncks Quiver. Happy crunching. : )

* Linked up at Joy Filled Living's Monday Blog Link Up

First 2 Weeks of "Homeschooling"

2011-06-02T09:55:00.002-04:00

We have completely our first two weeks of Kindergarten "homeschool". The first 10 days of the My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum focuses on the 7 days of Creation.

Maggie was very adamant about doing her "work" each day and it quite concerned that we stopped with 7. Starting next week we begin actual academic work; phonics, handwriting (notice her name above, she's had no instruction in handwriting lol), counting, etc. One of the projects was to create a creation book with activities done each day.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

(I outlined the trees for her)

Day 4

(it's hard to see but there is a sun on the left and

her moon and stars on the right)

Day 5

(fish, whale on the left, octopus on the right

and birds in the sky)

Day 6 (her Adam and Eve on the right, my attempt

at some animals on the left)

Day 7 (she had such a hard time leaving this page blank)

It was such a fun project and as she says "I am so excited bout my book". : )

Influences

2011-06-01T09:17:00.001-04:00

Maggie's new favorite hairstyle

I have always heard that children are sponges but until you see it first hand you cannot understand the meaning of that statement. All children are different, some are more easily influenced than others. Maggie would fall under the category of easily influenced. She sees things in books, on billboards, movies (strictly approved of course), catalogues, on other people, etc and she notices the details. She notices what they wear, say, sing, how they act, interact. It's amazing and scary. It's always a constant reminder of how important it is for us parents to make sure that our children walk with the wise and are surrounded by godly influences.

Maggie's inspiration for her new hairstyle,

a picture from her book.

She said she needed a ponytail with a bow

and a braid and promptly went for the book to show me....

It matters, those little things that you think don't matter,

those influences matter. Thankfully this influence was a

good one. : )