Why I Am This Way...

Had a doctors appointment this morning for a routine physical.   My husband's work has this rewards program for having healthy levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etc.    The main thing my doctor was concerned about was my weight.  No surprise there.   He said I need to work a little harder to get my BMI into at least a healthy range.   Ok... so the rest of my day went like this...

I had to fast for my doctors appt for 12 hours which meant no eating after 8 PM last night.   I have a bad habit of eating late.   I only ate a salad for dinner.   So after my appointment I was very hungry AND I had no kids with me, which happens... like... NEVER!   So I decided to run through the McD's drive through and get a breakfast sandwich and coffee.   While waiting at the "2nd pickup window"... apparently a new thing at the Chesterland McDs for those who have to wait, I saw a Grand Opening sign that showed they were having a promotion for the month of Dec.   Today's special was $1.99 happy meals.   My kids hardly ever get happy meals because they are so darn expensive.  So with this being affordable, I thought it would be a special treat for today.   I took the kids there for lunch and had a McDouble meal.

THEN... I had no idea what to make for dinner tonight.  When my husband woke up, I asked him, "if I could make anything for dinner, what would you want?"   I really had no taste for anything specific (probably because I had already eaten my days worth of calories from breakfast and lunch)... after much discussion... he decided he wanted chinese.   Even though it was totally a bad idea... I couldn't sit here and watch him eat chinese (the kids got pizza)...so I ordered a meal too. 

Yep, that explains a lot doesn't it.   Granted not every day is like this!!  We've actually been trying to eat much, much better!!   I just thought it totally ironic considering my doctors advice this morning.  

Cleaning Tricks

Today we asked our children to clean their rooms.   One of my children happened to clean their room in record time.   Too fast, actually.   Being the smart mom that I am, I walked over to the closet and voila!  I found all the "stuff" that was previously on the floor.   My husband and I chuckled to each other.   Don't they realize that we were children once too!  We know all the tricks :)  

I read once a quote that "Cleaning is just moving things to less conspicuous places".   There's some truth in that and it made me laugh.   The closet, however, isn't less conspicuous enough!  

Have a blessed weekend!

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Do you ever feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?   Meaning your personality quickly switches from one place to another?   For me, it does sometimes.   And there's nothing more sure to make my personality switch than a trip to the grocery store toting five children along with me through the aisles.   Such an occurrence happened last week.   Within a matter of 15 minutes, I went from being completely "normal" to an impatient yelling mess.   I don't know what happens or why on some days it seems that I can "handle" the minor inconveniences of children, but there are those times where it just sends me into overload.  

Have you ever taken those personality tests?   I guess I'm specifically referring to the Myers Briggs test -- the one that determines if you are an extrovert or an introvert?   When they state extrovert or introvert, they're not relating to whether or not you like to hang out with people, but where you gather your strength... by being with other people or in solitude.   Years ago, pre-children, I tested as an extrovert.   I loved being around people and would jump at the chance to get together with friends because that's where I would find my energy and strength to recharge.   About 2 years ago, I took the test again at work and it determined that everything was the same except for this one area.   I tested as an introvert.  I found it interesting because I think, now that I am constantly surrounded by people, albeit miniature ones,  I prize and treasure my time alone.  

I think that's the only way I can explain why I all of sudden get frustrated with the little things.   Usually my best resolve is to just spend some time alone!  I'm sharing this because I hope in some way you can relate -- specifically that I'm not the only crazy one out here :)   I guess I found that my other resolve is, no matter how short I think the trip in the store will be, I need to use the in-store child care!!! 

Funny note about this though.... I couldn't remember whether Dr. Jekyll was the nice guy or Mr. Hyde.   So I searched for it on the web prior to writing this post.   When I read this explanation I actually rethought my use of this analogy:   "The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next.^{"   (Wikipedia)}  Made me laugh... surely I'm not referring to being "vastly different in moral character".   Well at least not in the way they refer... I guess I hope you know what I mean.

So onto other things....   the past week or two has been a difficult one.   Our family has never quite been in such financial straits that it really takes some adjusting to.   I have been all over the map in this one in terms of where I believe God has placed us and what His plan is for us.   I'm pretty sure I've sinned more than a few times too in not trusting God and questioning His character or at least how He's not living up to my expectations of Him.   But it's amazing how God is SO faithful through it all.   Our pastor spoke a message on Sunday that related EXACTLY to that point.   I have had expectations and a hope that God would be a certain way when we were in need and provide for us how I wanted Him to.   I've been sorely disappointed that God has not done it my way.   He really spoke to me through that message and used my husband later that day to speak words of wisdom to me as well.   I had a moment of surrender since then.    Then God showed today that He will take care of us, once again, in our current situation.   God has provided many hours of extra work over the next 4 weeks.   Words cannot express my thankfulness and relief. 

Sometimes I can be so short sighted.   I get so wrapped up in the momentary situation that I lose my focus on Him as my source.   I tend to doubt Him and get angry.   And yet... still... He is there.  

I'm starting to realize what Paul was feeling after being a Christian for many years.   You'd think after being a Christian for so long you would "be better" or "be further along"... but all I realize is what a wretched man I am (Rom 7:24).  

I write this post humbly today.   I hope that in my weakness, you will find encouragement as we all seek to find strength in Jesus, our true hope.   And as we try to be more and more like Him, we will continue to fall short.   But I find hope and cheer in this... He disciplines those He loves (Pro 3:12).

Love you all... hope you are having a fantastic week!

Thanksgiving Happenings

Wow, what a week!  We had a great Thanksgiving week in terms of spending time with family and relaxing.   We found out that my brother-in-law and family are expecting their fourth child.  After a year overseas in the army, I don't think anyone was surprised.   It was only a matter of time.   We are very excited for them and hope maybe, just maybe, this one will be a girl.  We also joke that it would be very funny if it were twins... just like our fourth child was. 

We got a chance to take a trip to the zoo.   We also went a few weeks back when it was sunny and warm.   It ended up being a little chillier last week, but we still had a great time.  

 

 

We also got a chance to go with some extended family members down town to see the Christmas lights.  

 

 

About a week or so ago, one of my four year olds asked when we would see a Lorax tree.   I told him, I didn't know, cause I was thinking "like never!"    Imagine my delight, when the mall's Christmas decorations looked like Lorax trees.   My sons were delighted as well!!

 

Lastly, we put up our Christmas tree.   Actually, I should clarify, the kids put up the tree.   All I did was get it down from the attic and put the lights on.   They put it together and hung the ornaments.   I was SO excited when they actually ALL worked together WITHOUT FIGHTING to put the tree together.   I even rewarded them with a piece of candy.  I was so impressed.   

 

Here's what happens when your four and six year old do the ornaments.   Eventually the bigger kids and I had to move things around and even out the tree.  

 

 

Hope you had a fantastic holiday week.   I am SO thankful for all of your friendships! 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

You Raise Me Up

Wow, so much has been going on.   The past few weeks have been such a roller coaster ride for me.  

The obvious news is that Barack Obama was re-elected last night.   While I'm a little disappointed, I can't say I'm surprised.   I truly felt he was going to win months ago.   My perspective, I guess, is based a little on the fact that if we are truly in end times, something about America has to change.   At least that's how I see it.   The bible doesn't appear to mention the USA at all, even symbolically.   If we are the #1 nation in the world, I don't see how that could be overlooked in end times.   That just my opinion and train of thought though.   I guess time will tell.  

Our finances have been quite a roller coaster lately too.   We really need to depend on side jobs to pay our bills and put groceries on the table.   Side-jobs however are a roller coaster in and of themselves.  We've been working on ways to bring in additional income.   A few weeks ago I watched an episode of Extreme Couponing on Netflix and was somewhat inspired.   

Honestly, I think those people are a little crazy.  I mean who really needs 70 bottles of mustard, or 1000 tubes of toothpaste.  However, it did seem like an easy way to save $$ and only have to input a little time each week.   So off I went.   I have enjoyed finding some great buys!   I've also realized it takes a little more work to determine if your coupon is really a better buy than a generic brand or brands that you could buy at other stores.   To date, I've saved over $50 in a little less than a month!  

Homeschooling has been going okay.   I seem to stumble over my own failures rather than anything having to do with the kids.  My own impatience and lack of discipline make homeschooling the challenge that it is.  However the kids seem to be doing well and learning... that's the key :)  

Speaking of lack of discipline, my other disappointment lately has been the state of my house.   The mess, the piles of laundry, the unfinished parts of the house, the torn up couch, and so on and so on just have been eating at me.   Some days I feel SO motivated and then I have a string of days where I am just in a funk.   I wish I could figure out what makes me really motivated some days and bottle it!!   I want to be motivated every day.   So often I give into my flesh and "run away" from my "problems".   It just seems easier to leave the hard things.   Ah, but then when you return, guess what.... IT'S STILL THERE!   I pray often for the power to press on in spite of what I feel.  

Right now, the roller coaster is getting ready to crest another hill.   The pantry has food in it.   The bills are paid.   We may even scrape up enough to get new tires on the van before the month is out... maybe.   But all in all, I know God is faithful.   I'm SO thankful, He is faithful even when I doubt  and even when I'm frustrated.    I can honestly say I don't know where I'd be without Him.   He lifts me up and gives me strength.   Thank you Lord.

I hope you all are having a wonderful autumn season and that God's blessings are pouring out bountifully!  

Day 2 - No Power

Two days ago, a big hurricane hit the east coast of the US.   We were one of the less fortunate ones who lost power during the storm.  Luckily, we have a generator, (thanks to Y2K worries) so we are able to stay in our house.   We have the heat hooked up to the generator as well as a few other appliances such as the sump pump and freezer.   It actually hasn't been as bad as I would have thought.  

We've all slept in the family room since that is where the heat is.   We've played lots of board games to keep busy.   We've showered at the YMCA and our church.   We ate at the church and enjoyed a meal at Hometown Buffet.  

I've been reading a lot of Janette Oke books lately and many of her stories are back in the "olde" days when the fire needed to be started every morning, the items that needed to be kept cool were stored in a cellar and so on.   It's felt a little like being back then except that we get to escape every now and then to civilization.   The only bummer is that we have no way to cook food or even heat up water in the house so that has been a major pain.  

Right now, it seems like we will still be without power for a few days.   Our neighbor and our house are the only 2 on the street without power.   That means we are low man on the totem pole for getting fixed.  

So here we sit... in the dark...

Carving Experiments

When my husband was doing construction full time, he knew he didn't want to be fixing up houses forever.   We had talked about investing in a small CNC machine (computer operated cutting machine) to start to make cabinet doors and other wood objects.   We took a portion of our tax return and bought a machine.   Unfortunately at the time, it was on back order and wasn't expected to be in for a few months.   They had predicted we would receive it in May.   During the months that we waited, my husband got a full time job.   The machine finally arrived mid-May and we were so busy trying to finish up left over construction projects and starting a new job that we didn't have any time to dig in and play with it.  

Then my son and I finally decided to pull it out and try to use it.   We faithfully watched the instructional video and started to set everything up as needed.   Then, we realized we were missing the cutting bits... an essential piece of making the machine run.   My husband contacted customer support and had some replacements on the way.   Once we got the new bits, a few more weeks went by.

At last, about two weeks ago, we got it running.   We've essentially did a bunch of trial runs just to see how it worked.   Then last week we created something worthwhile to give as a gift to my cousin at her wedding.  Tonight we had our first SALE!   We made a plaque as an anniversary gift for our most faithful customer.... my mom. 

So... all that to say, here are some pics of our creations.....

(up)  Playing around with doing pictures.   Realized we need to use wood with a very light grain.  

(up) This is the untrimmed and un-edged version.

(up)  Ditto for this one.   Didn't actually get a picture of the finished product.

(up)  Our first sale!

Happenings

Wow, I hadn't realized it had been so long since I wrote.   Often I think of a bunch of stuff to write on here, but I seem to never make the time to sit down and do it.   Well today had a funny moment, so I'm here.   But, I'm going to save the funny moment for last.  Ha, just to hold you in suspense.

It's been busy as usual, but all in all things are going well.   My son turned 10 this year and since it's kind of a milestone birthday, we decided to throw him a birthday party with his friends.   He is really into Legos, so it was a lego themed party.   We had 23 kids present, which was kind of nuts.   We played lego themed games.... 1- broken up into teams, they had to scoop a cup full of legos and fill up a bucket at the other end of the drive.   The first team to fill up their bucket won.   2 - We packed legos into a jar and they had to guess how many legos were in there.   3- We had a building contest.  Who could build the tallest freestanding tower in 1 minute and then in 4 minutes won.  The kids had a blast.   We also made a lego cake, which came out really cute.   Thanks to my hubby who finished it when I got to the end of my nerve with it.  Here are some pics...

 

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We also started building a treehouse.   We cleaned out the garage and found some very long 2x4s that would work nicely with some trees we had in the back yard.   We also had some left over 6ft fence pieces that my dad has been hanging onto from our old house that would work nicely as the floor.   The kids and I were going to tackle it ourselves, but when I started asking my husband questions about what screws to use, etc.... he kinda got involved and wanted to be present.  Ha, funny how that works.   It's starting to take shape although we aren't done yet cause it definitely needs sides, but we let the kids get up there for a view.   With 4 boys in the family, how could you not have a treehouse, right??  

 

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Last week, my son's friend's mom stopped by to see if we wanted an old electric 4 wheeler that they were getting rid of.   My husband and I had never been interested in them because we thought the kids should actually use their legs and muscles to get around, so we decided not to purchase one.   However, if someone's going to give it to us for free... well I'm up for that :)   Only 4 of our children are small enough to ride it and the battery doesn't last too long (takes 14 hours in between charges).  So that means each kid gets to ride it for about 6-7 minutes a day.   I don't think that will affect their muscles too much :)   They've been having a blast with it.   They gave us a really nice helmet with it also so everyone is staying safe!   We're thankful for the blessing/gift.

 

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The last update prior to my funny story....(Yep, still holding out)... is that we finally got everything moved around as I had mentioned in one of my previous posts (I love change).   Actually I take that back, there are still about 3 pieces of furniture to move, but we'll eventually get to those.   The nice thing is that we were able to get our "school room" in order and start using it a few weeks back.   It's been nice to keep the school books, etc off the kitchen table, so we can actually sit down and eat lunch without having to clear everything.   I also commandeered my father's white board that he uses occasionally for bible studies to the school room.    Unfortunately, I wrote on the board yesterday with a Sharpie!!!  ARGH!!   I've been working at it since then trying to restore it.   Luckily there were suggestions out there on the web for removing permanent marker!!   Here's a pic of the kids working- (pre-marker accident).

 

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And now to the story...   As I mentioned before, we've been doing  a bible study with our kids every morning.  Last week sometime, we started reading the Proverb of the day with them.   Well today being the 5th, we read Proverbs 5.   Word to the wise, maybe not the best proverb to read to younger children.   Within the first few verses, we hit adultery.  My son who was reading finished the verse, and I thought he would just continue, but he didn't.   He stopped and asked what adultery was.   I gave a very PG rated answer, something to the effect of people who are not in a marriage relationship doing things that married people are allowed to do.   Or people who are in a marriage relationship doing things with someone other than their spouse.   I kind of smoothed it over (although I'm sure it created some questions in their heads)... and on we went.    Much of the chapter is on the adulterous woman, so we didn't even have much to expound on.   Then we got to talking about the "wife of your youth".   Verse 19 was the kicker.... "Let her breasts satisfy you"... umm okay.   Let's have daddy finish reading the chapter and pre-screen the verses.    Then I opened my mouth at the end to try and offer some explanation and decided... nah, let's just let that one sit for now.    My husband and I were just looking at each other like "Okay... how did we get HERE!".   Ahh the joys.   

 

So I hope you got a little chuckle out of that one.   Also hope you like the pics as an addition this time.   Hope all is well with you and yours.....

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

School: Week 2 and Answered Prayers

Ok, so week 2 of school has come and gone.   It was another monumentally crazy week trying to get assignments done.   The kids started getting some graded stuff this week.   My kids are pretty capable of getting A's and B's, so imagine my surprise when someone got a D and an F on two separate assignments.   I was pretty shocked, so I went into "fix it" mode trying to figure out what was going wrong.   I'm pretty sure that all of the time being spent with the first grader who cannot read assignments was taking it's toll on the others.  I started spending more time with the boys to make sure they were understanding the lessons, etc.   As a result, my daughters assignments weren't getting all done.    Additionally, we went to the fair on Thursday, and the time counted towards school.   Which was great, except that we still had to "make up" the work for that day, which by Friday meant about 5 overdue assignments for my daughter on top of the 4-5 she already had for the day.   I spent Thursday evening in a kind of panic trying to figure out how we were going to make this work for us.   I was feeling strongly that we should switch back to traditional homeschooling (where we pick our own curriculum and drive our own schedule) but felt bad.   My husband said it wasn't  a "bad" feeling.   He thought I was being convicted in the other direction.   I just felt that we didn't give the e-school a fair chance.   But honestly, going a few more months and coming to the same conclusion was only going to put more of a strain on learning since we would have to switch curriculum mid-year.  

So in the end, we made the decision to switch back.   I sent an email to the teachers and the asst principal explaining why we were leaving and initiated the withdrawal from the school.   Much to my surprise, all of my angst was for naught.   Two of the three teachers replied back with understanding and wished us well on our endeavors.   Almost didn't seem like a big deal to them at all.   They must have a bunch of first time families that leave within the first few months.  That's the only thing I can figure.  

So we filled out our notification forms and ordered some curriculum and we'll be well on our way.

Speaking of ordering curriculum... I have some praise reports to announce.   Much of the decision for going to an e-school was financially based in the fact that we didn't have any money for curriculum.   Then early last week, we were approaching the end of the month and some of our bills were not paid yet for August.   My husband has a full time job, but unfortunately that money does not cover all of our necessary living expenses.   He does side construction work to make up the balance, but the timing of those payments arriving can be sketchy at best.   I had planned in late July for what money I expected to come in and it had still not arrived by early last week.  

Additionally, my husband had this job left over from when he was doing construction full time that he had still not received full payment for because the home owner had outstanding issues with the work.   I didn't even count on that money because I had already counted on it twice before in June and July and it had not come through.  

As I mentioned in my last post, we started a bible study with our family and to end each session we lift up our prayer requests.   We have prayed with the kids before and seen answers to prayers, but we wanted to show them more formally on paper that God was indeed providing for our family and answering our prayers.  One of the items on our list was for new tires for our 2 vehicles. 

I'm sorry I'm bouncing all over the place, but I'm trying to set the stage for the awesomeness of what happened.   So many things all came together in this one week it's kind of crazy.   So bear with me....


We needed tires for the vehicles last winter and couldn't afford them, so we squeaked by and did not get them.   When tax money came (which is how we usually make bigger purchases), winter was practically over and we needed the money for other things.   So we didn't buy them then.   But we really DID NEED them this year.   There wasn't going to be any squeaking by this year.   It's been in the back of our heads, but like I mentioned we added them to the list of our prayer requests just two weeks ago.  

I also received prayer for the money to come in from a Monday night book study group that I was going to.

On Wednesday, just two days after receiving prayer from the ladies, we got a check for a job that would cover the August month bills.   We were also able to pay for swimming lessons for the kids which was also on our prayer list for the fall season.   Then on Friday, my husband received his normal paycheck.  I mentioned to my father that we would have money for him (we live in their house and pay rent), he acted surprised.   I realized that it was not quite September yet, and then realized this was a third paycheck for the month.   We budget on two paychecks a month, so a third is always some "extra" money.   We always hope for "extra", but it never seems to end up that way, so we hardly ever count on it ahead of time.   Well this unexpected surprise ended up allowing us to purchase some curriculum so that we could make this switch in schooling.  

Then today... it FINALLY CAME TO AN END!!!  Hallelujah!   The never-ending job is finished!!  We even collected $$$ for it.   We lost quite a bit for a number of reasons... but we still walked away with enough.  This money will allow us to put tires on one of the vehicles.

We still have one more outstanding invoice, which we were told should be paid early next week.   My husband also has 3 jobs lined up for September.  We'll have to figure out the best timing and what money should go for what, but it appears as though by the end of Sept we will be able to afford tires for the other vehicle as well.   It almost feels to good to be true.  

Well there it is... quite a long one.   Hopefully you stuck around for the ending.   I feel so blessed.   Even when things are bad I know that God blesses us and is an awesome God, but it really is easier to say when things are going well.  

My favorite line from a song is "Every blessing You pour out, I'll turn back to praise", which come from the story of the 10 lepers cleansed in Luke 17.   So I praise Him for every blessing he has poured out!!!

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OK total side note.   I think I'm going through puberty again.   LOL, okay not really, but seriously... I have had major cramps again... I thought those weren't supposed to come back after having kids??   And my face definitely looks like that of a teenager???   Could this be pre-menopause????   Seriously don't know what's up with that, but I'm considering going to a dermatologist AGAIN!!

Ok enough ranting.... back to praising...

THANK YOU LORD!

First Week of School

Well we made it through our first week of school.    We decided to try an e-school this year.   An e-school is an online public school.   The children are given curriculum and computers and assigned a teacher, but the parent is the main learning coach and work is submitted online.   I knew it would be an interesting first week as you try and settle into a new routine and also start something new.   Luckily I went into it expecting a challenge.   My kids spent roughly 7-8 hours a day last week completing school work.   It was insane and overboard.   I have a friend who does the same school we do and she has 10 kids.   I FB'd her a message to find out how the heck she does this.   I also posted some messages on the boards of the school to get some tips.   Apparently many parents cut out a lot of the busy work that is provided as part of the lesson.  

Okay I can handle that... but then comes the challenge of looking at all the lessons before the kids do to weed out what needs to be done, etc.  

I used to be a programmer.   Many times as a programmer you would have to "fix" someone else's code.   You would have to dive into the code, figure out how they are doing it, find out where to rewrite what they have and not mess anything else up, make changes and hope that everything still worked.   It was always easier to start writing with fresh new code.   That is what it has felt like a little bit this first week.   I am digging in someone else's lessons to figure out what works and what I can change.   I'd almost prefer to write my own from scratch... at least then I know what's there and what's not.  

It hasn't all been bad though.   The teachers the kids got have been very helpful and they are nice.   I haven't had any complaining about having to do school (although we've ended up in tears on a few assignments because they were challenging).   The school is very organized and all the classes/lessons/assignments, etc are laid out ahead of time so you can move at your own pace.   The online live sessions have been cool and the kids have really enjoyed being online with their class.   I appreciate the structure that is there.  My daugter is loving all the one on one time she is getting with me because it is necessary.  (This is something I may have pushed off under other circumstances) 

I'm hoping that over time it will become easier.   We did manage to finish school today by 3:30, so it was an improvement.  

That's the school story.   Another thing we started last week was a family bible study every morning.   My husband is home at 8 AM and it was a good time for waking everyone up for the school day, so we have enjoyed family times of worship together.   This has been something I always wanted to do and could never figure out logistically when it would fit.   So glad it has worked for now.  

I guess that's pretty much all I'm going to share for now.   Toodles...

It's Not About Me

I'm in a funk.   When everything from the day finally slows down in the evening, I get these minutes to myself, time to think... and the war begins.   I've been having this internal struggle lately about what I feel God has called me to and what I "think" I want to do.   I say "think" because the reality is the grass is greener on the other side and if I was truly doing those things, I wouldn't be any happier.   For sure.   And yet, I feel so discontented by my current situation.   Sometimes there are good days.   But all too often I'm driven by the in the moment frustration and think back to "brighter" days.  

My son has been dealing with similar issues.   He would like to do what he wants, when he wants and how he wants.   In this family, THAT is just not possible.   I keep reminding him, "THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU!!!"   Life is not about what YOU want!   Yes, sometimes life stinks!  But it really isn't about making US happy.  

So as I sit here in my funk, I take a dose of my own medicine.   This is what God wants for the betterment of my children and my family.   It's about time I let go of some of the pride and selfishness that is in my heart and faithfully and cheerfully serve my family.   It's not easy but I know blessing will come from it.  

It's so good to have a God that reminds us of these things.    The good thing is when I get in these funks, it really does draw me to Him.   I need Him for strength.   I need to rest in his presence to be recharged.   I need to continue to learn to trust Him.   I need to remember that Jesus was a servant to all.  I need to remember, it's not about me, it's about HIM!

3 AM

It's almost 3 AM and I am STILL AWAKE.   Had to run the kids to the eye doctor this morning and didn't have my coffee beforehand.   Got back around lunch time and after eating lunch, I felt so sleepy.   I decided to take a nap... which felt great!  Woke up about 4 PM and then had the brilliant idea to have my cup of coffee then.   Anytime I have coffee after noon it affects my sleep.   So here I am.....

Crazy thing is my eyes feel tired and the rest of me is not.  Hopefully, the rest of you are all slumbering soundly in your comfy beds and can pray for me in the morning when you read this and I have to venture out into my day with my children.   As a matter of fact, pray for my children :)

Why can't we be friends...

It's been a while since I've been on here.   Every once in a while, when I start to feel too vulnerable on a blog, I seem to withdraw.   It might not appear vulnerable to others, but merely my perception of myself.  Therefore, I've been off for a while.  

Today however, I was perusing FB for a while and came across a number of 'arguments'... I put that in quotes because they probably weren't arguing as much as sharing very opposing views  of various topics.  However, that kind of stuff just bothers me.   I think sometimes that I spend so much time not trying to offend anyone that I may be missing my calling as a follower of Christ.   But at the same time, I just wish we could all get along.   It reminds me of that song "Why can't we be friends?".   I feel like most people I know and am friends with that are not Christians have made it pretty clear they don't want to hear anything about Jesus and therefore, I usually don't share anything than the normal happenings in my life and things that I normally give glory to God for.   Don't get me wrong, people know I'm a Christian, but they never have that "I want what she has" mentality.  

It bothers me to see America as a whole so divided on so many issues.   The bible says, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."  Mark 3:24.    My father once got an email about the similarities between America and the Roman Empire... of course, relating to how the Roman Empire fell.   It was interesting to note the similarities between us and history.   I just wonder, if America keeps heading in this direction, what will we end up with?   What will our children end up with?   It's interesting too to note that America isn't really found in the bible.   People have made speculations about certain phrases etc, but it's not "clearly" in there.   All this division just has me deep in thought. 

What should I be doing?  That's my thought for tonight and my prayer for the near future.  

A Personal Gift

Many years ago, a close friend of mine gave me a very special gift for a birthday.   Because she knew it was my favorite dessert, she simply made me a plate of Rice Krispie Treats.   It was such a small act, but it meant so much to me.   Even to this day, I remember it as one of the best birthday gifts I ever got.  It showed that she really knew me and wasn't concerned about money or anything, but wanted to get me a gift that I would love.  Something personal.  

Tonight I was sitting watching TV in my living room.   One of my twin boys was scared, so I let him come sleep on the couch by me.   A few hours later, the other twin woke up and wanted to know why he wasn't allowed to sleep on the couch.   As I was holding him in my arms and watching the other one asleep on the couch, I was overcome with gratitude.   When God gave me twins, He gave me such a personal gift.   I have always had this fascination with twins.   I kind of assumed it was in everyone, and to some point I think it is.   When I married my husband, an identical twin, I thought it was ironic.   I put some sort of connection between my fascination and the fact that I ended up marrying Him.   Knowing God and that He has a plan for me, it's very easy to put a connection there.   

Once I started having kids, I wanted twins, more for the fact that it was a "two for one" sale.   Two babies, nine months, what could be more perfect?   When it didn't happen the first or second pregnancy, I thought it just wasn't going to happen.   I'm not even sure I expected it with the first or second, but I think I had my hopes up that one day the doctor would say, "oh look, it's twins".   It wasn't the slightest bit of an expectation by my fourth pregnancy.   If anything, we were having a fourth to even things up and be done.  

The point is, I feel like they are such a gift from God.   Not just a blessing like other things, but a personal gift suited just to my personality straight from God.   Just like those Rice Krispie Treats given to me for my birthday.  

What a personal and amazing God He is.   It's amazing when you feel like God, the creator of the universe, has reached down from heaven and done, or spoken, or given something directly to you.  You!  A measly speck in the span of all time.   He is amazing and worthy to be praised!

Heat Wave!!

After a week of 90+ temps and sitting through a little league baseball game this afternoon, I am so thankful for air conditioning.   We live on the second floor of a house and have a window air conditioning unit for the main living space of our house.   In temps like these, it barely keeps up, but even still, I am thankful!   It's a roaster out there today!

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 I was sitting at the computer the other day next to one of my sons, when he asks, "What is sex?".   I immediately am thinking, where did this question come from!!!   Then I noticed that the computer was on the homepage for Facebook and on the main page are the fields to register.  One of them is 'sex', referring to gender.  WHEW!!  Tough question averted!!!  Made me laugh afterwards!

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I have officially been asked by one of my children to no longer share stories about them.    At first, I was like, really??, but I want to honor their request, individuality, and dignity, so I will oblige.   I have a good friend to tries to tell all her stories in a gender neutral way without identifying which child, and now I can better understand why.   I will try resorting to that on my posts.  

It's interesting, because when I heard this request, I thought about the book of Luke.   When reading the first few chapters of Luke, I was struck by how many times it said "And Mary hid these things in her heart".   I didn't understand why it emphasized that so much.   I think Mary realized there would be a proper time to share stories about what was happening with her and her Son.   Just as this child has requested me not to share stories, in their proper time, they may not mind as much.   They will understand that I share stories because they were cute and not to embarrass them.   Probably not totally related, but that's what it made me think of.  

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We celebrated a great fourth of July.   A friend invited us over for back yard fireworks from their neighbor.   Everyone was raving about how great this guy's show was and that it rivaled any city fireworks they had seen.   We went and checked it out.   After getting completely poured on for a little bit in a heat storm, we got to see the show.   Wow!!!  It really was as good as everyone said.  This guy must put quite a bit of money into this every year.   We were thankful that the kids got to see some fireworks (after our city fireworks got rained out the previous night) and enjoy it with close friends!!

Guess that's all for now.... until next time!

I love change!

Yes, I am a person who loves change.   I like to change things up just for changing's sake.   Right now I'm trying to figure out how to better organize our clothes and all the in-between sizes that are stored and sorting laundry etc.    I'm contemplating changing our walk-in closet into a family dressing room like the Duggars have.   (I have not seen the Duggars, although I have heard from friends many times about it).   The nice thing about our closet is that it used to have a hallway entrance as well as an entrance from our room.   I think at one time it might have been a baby nursery.   We closed up the hallway entrance when we were living in just the upstairs part of my parents house, pre-addition, because we needed a pantry desparately.   We currently use that closet as a linen closet, but we actually have 3 linen closets in the house, so we can easily eliminate one.   Only problem is there is "stuff" stored in the closet currently that would have to go somewhere in order to make all the clothes fit. 

I'm also contemplating teaching piano lessons.   I keep going back and forth on this decision, but I'm closer than ever to making the dive in to do it.   This decision would require emptying out my office/school book room to put the piano in there for teaching.   In order to find a place for the desk and book shelves to go, I was contemplating moving my boys rooms into our existing office/toy room, so all four boys would be in one room, moving my daughter to my older boys room and making the two bedrooms (my daughters current and twins current) office and school room space.   This would require basically moving our entire house around.  Hmm... I wonder how thrilled my husband will be about this???   LOL.   We actually don't have all that much furniture, but still moving things around just gets crazy.   We'll see.   Maybe I'll spread it out over time.  

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On another note, I am cooking bacon right now for cabbage and noodles for lunch.  YUM!!   In order to not get grease all over my clothes, I'm wearing an apron.   I don't normally wear an apron in the kitchen so when I do, it makes me feel so domestic.   Don't know why but it does and I love that feeling!!!  

First Hit

While I was at the CHEO conference last weekend, my older boys each had a baseball game.    My oldest decided for the first time to play baseball this year.   At 9 years old, it suffices to say he is a little behind the other players in terms of experience.   In spite of that, he has kept a great attitude towards the game and never once asked to quit or anything.    Early on in the season, he realized that when he swung the bat, he rarely hit the ball; but if he didn't swing, he would generally get walked.  So game after game, he was content just standing at the plate and taking what came.   Often he would get walked to first and occasionally the pitcher would be able to strike him out.  

We started working with him at home on batting.   A few years ago we bought a pitching machine for my baseball lover, so it was a great tool to help in this situation.   He got to the point that he was hitting the balls from the machine quite well, but still wouldn't take a swing at a game.   Then the few times he did decide to swing he was still missing.   We found that the pitching machine was always delivering strikes, but in little league, you're lucky if you get two strikes in a row.  He continued to have a hard time judging the balls coming in.   My phrase for him at each game became "today's the day!!"   The other moms even picked up on it, and we all encouraged him to swing and try to get a hit. 

So while I was at the conference, my parents took the kids to their games.    My mom lifted up a prayer for him that he would have a taste of success and see how good it felt to have a hit.  Side note... it never once occurred to me to pray for this.   For a mom who prays for everything, I can't believe the thought never crossed my mind.   Anyway, as you can imagine, God answered that prayer and gave him his first hit!   He was so excited he called me at the conference to share his news.    One of the other moms told him that his parents were never allowed to come to another game... LOL!

Well as great as that was, the next game he did not get a hit.  So yesterday comes and he has a game and he decides he's going to pray for a hit.    I asked him why he wanted a hit because God judges our requests by the intentions of our heart also.   (James 4:3)  I was afraid God wouldn't answer his prayer.  

Lo, and behold, he got a hit in the game.   He bobbled the ball just in front of home plate.   Unfortunately he got out at first.   I told him he needs to be specific when he prays.   God answered his prayer by giving him a hit but it wasn't in the way that my son expected. 

I think it's great that God is gracious like that.   He answers the prayers of the young to show them he cares for them even  when it's insignificant.   I was excited too that I got to see him get a hit!!

CHEO and more

It's been a busy week.   A pretty good one too.  I got a chance to go to the CHEO (Christian Home Educators of Ohio) conference this weekend.   Heard some great messages and was greatly encouraged.   Have you ever had a message that you knew changed your perspective on a topic when you heard it?   Not a temporary change, but an overall adjustment to the way you think.   I've actually had 2 life-changing messages in the past week.   A rarity, I know.   One of them was at the conference.   A speaker by the name of Voddie Baucham spoke about "Harvard or Heaven".   My homeschooling perspective has been largely focused on academics.   Obviously, a big portion of homeschooling should be focused on academics, right?   That's the purpose of school.   But it shouldn't be the sole focus.   I pulled my children out of the public schools because they were being bombarded by opposing thoughts and world views before they were old enough to handle it.  Obviously, I want my children to grow up and love the Lord too.   With 4 boys, my goals are certainly that they will go to college to get good jobs to be able to provide for the families they will hopefully eventually have.   However, what God calls us to, as I was reminded by Voddie, is to prepare our children for heaven, not college.  His other big point was if you are going to send your child to college, do it wisely.   Make sure they are "college material" and are getting a degree in something that requires a college education, not jewelery making  or other "fluff" degrees.  

The other life-changing message I heard last Sunday was from a man named Norm Wakefield.   His message entitled "Live to Love" was different than anything I've ever heard I think.  To love as Christ loved means to love expecting nothing in return.   So many of our relationships have expectations of the other person and when they don't live up we get frustrated and even find them 'hard to love'.   When our children don't listen, I find myself getting frustrated because they aren't doing what I want them to do.   He makes a point that the more 'useless' a person is to you, the more valuable they are to you because you have the opportunity to show them Christ's love and grow that character in yourself.   I've been trying to keep this in mind when my children push me 'over the edge'.   I need to love them not expecting ANYTHING in return.  

Last year, God really worked on my faith.   Leaving my job was a big step for me because it went against everything I logically could think for life.   This year God has been pruning my character very strongly.   While it seems like we are often reminded of sins and faults we have, I feel God pushing me to repent and make big changes in the way I view life and others.   I feel very blessed!   God disciplines those He loves!

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In other news.....

I've been scrap booking again.   I love to do it.  It is probably my #1 hobby.   Unfortunately though, right now I'm totally loving digital scrap booking.  The problem is the cost is all deferred to the end of the project.   When working on traditional books, you can buy paper and supplies a little at a time as you work on the book.  It spreads out the cost and is usually overall cheaper anyway.   My kids have been begging me to go back to the traditional scrap booking because they love the way the books look.   They said it means more.   I'm glad that it means anything to them at all, really.   They love looking at their individual books.    So I've been perusing my pictures getting ready to print some out to do some pages with my good ole scissors and punchers.   I've also found some sites on the web that I can print 12x12 pages for around $2-3 a sheet instead of the $4-6 I've seen before.  This way I can mix traditional pages and digital pages in the same book.   We'll see how it goes.  

One of the twins dropped their play Nemo phone in the toilet today.   Lucky for me, it was pee filled.  Ew!  I tried my best to get it out with another object to no avail.  Yep, had to stick my hand in the toilet.   Ranks right up there as one of those loveliest mom moments. 

This week is baseball filled.   We have games Mon-Sat this week, alternating between our two oldest sons.   Luckily, my husband is going to make a point to be available for some of them so I don't have to attend them all.   I've attended over 20 games so far this season, so I'm kind of baseball'd out!

I hope you all have a blessed week!  

Lotsa thoughts

I have a bunch of things on my mind today, so we'll see which ones come out in which order.... probably won't even get them all down.   Here goes....

First a conversation I had with my son yesterday.  

Mom:   You know you really are handsome.  (partially admiring the haircut I just gave him :)  <long pause>   I bet if you were nicer, the girls would really like you.

Son:   I don't want girls to like me!!

Mom:  Well then I guess it's working.


For whatever reason, this cracked my mom and I up after it happened.   The boys had no idea what we were laughing about, so hopefully you all get it.

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I just got done cleaning up blood stains to my carpet.   I was in the midst of a fiasco in the driveway when I come upstairs to a loudly crying son.   My oldest tells me that one of the twins has a bloody nose.   I'm looking as they are standing in the middle of my living room!!   I yelled, get him off the carpet to which my older son, I think just processing, continues talking about what happened or how to move him.   The problem was that he was still standing still.   So I grab the twin and carry him to the bathroom and then instruct my older son to hold the kleenex until I come back upstairs.   I go to the driveway and finish sorting out the fiasco and then return to make sure everything was okay.   My little guy had been leaning over the couch to see out the window.   The couch that has already been moved a foot plus away from the window so they don't climb over the back of the couch and ruin it.   He slipped and cut his lip on the window sill.   Then proceeded to drip blood every foot or so across the carpet until he stood still in the middle of the room where I had a large spot, then every foot or so from there to the bathroom.   Thank God for Bissell carpet cleaners!!   You can't even tell it was there!  

In the process, I got to use my new vacuum that I purchased from an estate sale today.   Was pretty excited about that.   Had to vacuum before using the carpet cleaner, so now my rug looks all nicely brushed and clean.   Gotta take the blessings where you can find them!!   Also, thankful he didn't knock any teeth in the process of falling!  Maybe now my constant nagging to not climb on the couch will stick.  

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I have been very humbled the past few weeks by the Lord.   I am thankful for his correction and discipline, but its always hard to look at yourself and realize how far short from His holiness you fall.   As I mentioned earlier, I've been reading this book Homeschool Supermom... Not.  It has been showing me some areas of trouble for me like self sufficiency and impatience.  I have been living life on my own accord for a pretty long time and going to God only when it seems that I can't do something myself.   Which isn't all bad, except that I have found myself failing miserably lately and wondering why I can't pull it together.  

What this book has been pointing out it that when it comes right down to it, that is sin!   I've also been realizing how prideful I've been over the years and how much I really found identity in my job.   Now that I'm home and not feeling very good at what I do, I've been struggling with jealous thoughts and comparing myself with other people.   This was something I never really struggled with before.  I read someones blog today and thought, wow she takes awesome pictures.  I read another site and thought, man, she has such a way with words.   We got left overs from an event today and I thought what a talented family to the ones who made the food.   Except that I'm not just happy that those people are talented in those ways, I'm almost frustrated that I can't do that.   And I do mean can't.   In most cases, I think it's just not the way I'm wired.   So God has been showing me that I need to find my identity in Him and not in what I can do or not do.   I think it's so awesome though that He DOES show us these things.   That is the evidence of a relationship with Him and a moving forward in holiness and Christ-likeness.   So as these sins are brought to light I pray that I would truly repent and realize I'm a daughter of God and that's what makes me special.  

This seems like a good place to put a scripture relating to what I'm talking about.   Except, you know what?   I can't think of one.   That's because my quiet times have stunk lately too.   After being a Christian for almost 30 years, you'd think I'd be better about spending time with the Lord.   Nope, this is an area that I have ALWAYS struggled with.   One thing I do know, is when I'm feeling really down and out and somewhat lost on my path, I can directly relate those times to not being in the Word in a long time.  

So, with the Lords strength, I'm trying to do better.   Just know that He is your strength and you are special NOT because of anything you do, but just because you are His child!!!   Be yourself and let God's light shine through you in who He made YOU to be!!

Dad's Power

I had the joy today of sitting in my house in a half hour of quiet!  No really, I did!   I'm finally to the point in my parenting where all the kids can play out in the back yard without constant supervision.  I loved it!   The kids have been into Power Rangers lately, so they had this elaborate PR game going on in the backyard.   I kept checking on them through the back windows while I checked email in peace, loaded the dishwasher, browsed the web, and so on.   It was heavenly!   One of the twins keeps wanting to be able to play on the driveway, but I'm not quite ready to give that up without supervision.   Even still it has been nice.   

I was very thankful for my husband today.   My strong willed son was giving me "mouth" about unloading the dishes for the second time today (God forbid, mom actually gets all the dishes done today).   A task which he actually shared with his brother, so really it just adds up to ONE complete unload.   Anyway, I assigned an additional chore, cause that's what we do in our house when chores are met with complaining... and we almost broke out into a complete argument.   My husband walks in the room and voila... he's off to do the second chore!   I used to get frustrated that the kids would listen to daddy right way and give me trouble, but now I'm just blessed that he is here.    It's kind of amazing the "power" dads have just from their authoritative presence.  

My husband and I recently had a conversation on our current parenting styles.   It seems as of late that we are on different pages and it becomes very apparent in the midst of disciplining.   Early in our parenting, we took a course to help us along the way.   It was a christian course and we were very much helped by the info and real tactical stuff they had you do to have children that obey.  As the years passed we realized some flaws and saw children that had been raised in this way straying from the "straight and narrow".   I started researching info about this parenting class and others.    We found ourselves not agreeing 100% with the theories that we originally learned.   So we took the nuggets of gold from that course and have been parenting in other styles as of late.   The nice thing about that class though was that we were on the same page.   Now we often find ourselves not completely agreeing on level of discipline and degree of punishment.  I want to say that one thing that has really helped was the book I mentioned a while back "You Can't Make Me...  but I Can Be Persuaded" by Cynthia Tobias.  It has revolutionized how we deal with our strong willed son.   (Thanks to my dear friend who recommended it!)   So long story short, my husband and I decided we needed a date night pow wow to discuss and come to an agreement.    Any excuse for a date night works, right?  

All that to say, I am thankful for dads and the role God has given them as Fathers.   I am thankful for my husband and the awesome father he has been to our children.  While we may disagree sometimes, he wants the best for them as much as anyone and loves them so much.   He also wants them to grow up to love God and follow His ways.  What more could you ask for!

He's Alive!

No I'm not referring to Jesus, although He is alive too.   I just finished the book, Unbroken, that I mentioned in a post a few days ago.   Again I was in tears over the book when Louie Zamperini dedicated his life to the Lord at a Billy Graham crusade.   God's redemption is amazing!  I got to the end of the book and it doesn't mention Louie's death at all, but it mentions dates in the 2000s.   I looked at the publishing date and it was 2010.   I immediately went to my computer to see if this man who endured SO much was still alive.   Lo and behold, he was on the Jay Leno show just 5 days ago!!!   He is 95 years old and still alive and seemingly still "with it" mentally.   I cried again watching the clip on The Tonight Show.   It's amazing to me what this man endured and the testimony that has come out of it.   As I was reading the book, I kept thinking, I would just choose death.   There is no way I'd want to live through all this.  What a testimony to God's grace and redemption!   I am in awe.

If you're interested in seeing this man, here's the link:

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/thursday-june-7-2012/1405500/

He was on the longest segment, I believe the fifth segment.  Just amazing.

Sun-burned Racing Stripes

Saturday, I had the pleasure of sitting through 2 Little League games back to back.  One child had a game at 9:30 and the other at noon.   I was smart enough to bring sunscreen for the kids and snacks (I'm not always so prepared).    I sprayed the kids and thought I should probably get myself too so I'm not burned.   So I did a quick once over with the aerosol bottle of sunscreen.   Apparently I was a little close to my arm and didn't get coverage over the whole thing.   The result, I am branded with a racing stripe down my arm of where the sunscreen hit and sunburned on both sides where I wasn't so thorough.   I've actually had worse, once I had lotion on my hand and tried to get the back of my arm where I clearly left 4 finger marks well defined.   This at least was a little blended so its noticeable but not a straight defined line.   I also probably should have gotten my face a little more.   Either way, both boys won their games and all-in-all it wasn't too bad.  

Sunday and today were also decent days.  I didn't do too much, actually probably not enough, but it was nice and relaxing.   I watched the kids do a "show" which is always entertaining.   Sometimes, I look back on a day and think "what DID I do all day".   Today feels like one of those days.   Didn't accomplish much and can't even think of what I really did, but time passed and it wasn't bad.   That makes it a decent day :D  

I attended a book study this evening with some other ladies who home school.  We're reading the book "Homeschooling Supermom .... NOT".   It's been encouraging and SO nice to get away and spend some time with other adults!  I look forward to getting to know some new people better as well.  

Guess that's it for now.  Ta ta!

Why can't there ever be "extra"

Wow, so many thoughts today... let's see if I can get them all out.  

I've been bumming for a few days for various reasons.   I paid the bills yesterday.   Wow, what a sobering activity.   The way my husbands schedule is has given us a ton of overtime pay.   That is a good thing because we had some catching up to do.   With what we expected to be coming in, I thought we would have some, the ever illusive,  "extra" money.   With his second paycheck and realizing what will come out for benefits and taxes, its just so depressing.   "Extra" never seems to be attainable.   When we were both working and making a combined six figure income, we would often feel like we were "broke".   Now I realize what a difference there is in having money that was spent and feeling broke and never getting the money in the first place and feeling broke.   Even in the midst of this, I have to be thankful, because this was something we chose; a sacrifice we were willing to make for the sake of our children.   So I am thankful that we are even able to be doing this.   However, it doesn't make it any less humbling.

The second thing that's been bumming me is out the utter sinfulness of people.   I am reading this book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.   It's a true story about an Olympic track winner that went into service for World War II.   Its a good book if you can handle war stories and hear the horrific things that happened to men during that time.   I almost didn't read it when I first heard the general contents.   This man ended up in a Japanese POW camp and was tortured for well over a year, if not two.   I know he ultimately survives because it is a true story, but I am not yet past the POW camp part.   The things one human can do to another is just beyond belief.   I found myself in tears last night asking God "why?".   I know its not for me to ask and we just need to trust Him, but wow, just floors me.  

The last thing is family, especially in-laws.   Its so much easier to love and get past the faults of your own family members then it is past the faults of in-laws.    It's much tougher when you see those faults hurt your spouse.   You know a few weeks from now, your spouse will be over it and best buds with siblings again and for me, at least, I still hang onto the frustration of the incident.   There are times when I feel like if a sibling wasn't an actual family member there is no way we'd hang out with a person like that.    Maybe we're on the raw end of the deal because we ARE family.   Weird how its easier to take out your emotions and be somewhat "rude" to family members when you would never act that way to a friend or acquaintance.   I'm just praying that I can figure out a good way to make sure my children don't treat each other this way when they're older.    I hope they will be friends and really respect each other as adults.  

A totally other subject.... I am so done with poopy underwear.   I don't know what the deal is with boys, but seriously.   Almost every day I have a pair of underwear soaking in a sink somewhere.   Please tell me other moms have this issue cause it just totally grosses me out. 

K, sorry for all the downers today, but just being real.   Praying for y'all and thankful for your friendships!

Life is strange...

Have you ever said to yourself, "Life is a strange thing"?   I say this to myself often.   The stranger thing is that this life is all I've ever known, so why would it seem "abnormal"?   I was sitting in the drive way today watching the kids ride their bikes.   It's amazing to me how big the twins are getting.   It just made me think about how everyone says "this time will our kids being little will go so fast".   Then I think about how short life is in general.   I'm so thankful for the hope of an eternity with God and everlasting life.   Maybe that's the life that's supposed to feel "normal".

Things have been going well lately.   School is done for all three big kids.   My daughter had her last day on Monday and is now officially a 1st grader.   I am so proud!   We are starting to get in full swing of summer activities.   Both older boys are playing baseball and their teams are undefeated.   That is NOT normal.   I've talked with moms on other teams who's kids are losing almost every game.   I think we just lucked out with good players and good coaches on the teams.   Unfortunately the boys are in different leagues this year due to their ages and so baseball has consumed most of our evenings.   There is a week in June where we have a game everyday Monday through Saturday.   Craziness!  

We've also started talking about what fun activities we can do this summer.   I think we're going to make a list of fun cheap activities and put them in a jar.   On Sunday night of each week, we'll pick one out and then depending on the weather requirements for that activity, select a day of the week to do it.   Hopefully that will keep a little spice and fun in our summer.  

My dad spent a few days in the hospital last week due to an irregular heartbeat.   Thankfully it was nothing serious like a heart attack or stroke or anything.   I felt a little bad cause it started when he was moving furniture with my husband for our township trash day.   It's strange to see your parents getting older.   I'm just glad he's okay.   Oh yeah, and taking 5 kids to the hospital at one time to visit Papa... not on the recommended activities list :D   But we survived.

Guess that's it for now.   I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful weather and have a great end of the week.  

I gotta PEE!

Well I had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.   I didn't get to it a post or two ago, but we went to a friends house for a picnic on Saturday and had fun watching the kids (and adults) having fun.   Add water balloons to any event and you're always bound to have fun, whether on the wet side or dry side of the fun.   The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and getting things done around the house.   My husband has been working third shift for a few weeks now and had to work through the weekend.   Even with that, it's nice because we get to see him earlier in the day  than if he worked first shift even with sleeping.  
So I bet you're wondering about the title of this post.   My twins are in the stage of life where they need to see every bathroom to every place we visit.   Totally drives me crazy.   Usually it starts with a loud, so everyone within 20 feet can hear,  "Mommy, I gotta pee!!!"  It always seems to be in the most inopportune times too.   My favorite is having to use the port-a-potties at the baseball parks.   Of course, they want to touch EVERYTHING too!   And you're like, "ooh, not that, no don't put your hand there... ewww".    You take that chance too if you don't take them, right?   Sometimes, I just want to wait, but we've also been getting hit with lots of peeing and #2's in pants.   This I think they are doing for attention, but it's still so UGH!  

Yesterday, my son said he had some poop in his pants.   "Just a little" he declared.   So I sent him to the bathroom to change his clothes while I finished up something on the computer.   A few seconds later, I hear something like water hitting the floor.   I jump up to see my son peeing on the floor.   Oh my.   words cannot express.   I didn't even say anything.   I just grabbed a towel, cleaned it up.  Got the mop and bucket with soap, washed the bathroom floor all without saying a word.   Then I calmly sent him to his room to wait.   Can't wait for this stage to pass.

Another fun thing we did this weekend is all sleep in the tent.   As I also mentioned a post ago, I had set up the tent in the backyard.  Well of course all the kids were pumped and wanted to sleep out there.    Knowing none of them would be okay without an adult, I was roped into sleeping out there with them.   What I really don't understand is how with all this padding I have, I could possibly be uncomfortable.   Let me just say, I didn't sleep much.   The ground is much harder than I remember it being.   It did feel great to be in the outdoors all night.   I love the cool weather... it was in the low 60s that night.  

That's about all for now.   Today is our last official day of homeschooling for this school year.   SO excited to have a break!!!!!

Preadolescence.... ugh!

I have a 9 year old, preadolescent son.   He also is very strong willed and lately has been pushing my parenting skills to the max!!   The ups and downs of emotions would be almost comical if it didn't hit so close to home and push my buttons some times.   Yesterday he declared that he wanted to live on his own and be independent.   I asked him of course where he would live, how he would earn money and what he would eat.   To this he replied, he would be a construction worker like daddy and live in the forest.   I didn't even get into the logistical part of living in a forest, like you can't just park it on someone else's land and most parks would kick you out.   I just said, okay lets give it a shot.  I'll set up the tent and you can spend the night outside "on your own".   I'll even supply the food/water.  

Now I know my son!  This is the kid that hates going upstairs by himself when everyone is downstairs because it's dark and he's alone.   No way, even with his strong willed nature, he was going to make it outside all night.   So I pulled out the tent and in 90 degree weather set it up in the back yard.   I even set it up within 10 feet of the house because I knew distance wasn't going to matter when darkness came. 

My son, so excited at the thought, got his sleeping bag, a flashlight, water, and bible (go figure) and moved out into the tent.  It was about 10 PM.   I don't even think it was 20 minutes and he was inside asking if he could come back in.   We needed to make a point and make sure he had "suffered" enough to remember this experience.   So we sent him back outside after a stern talking to.  

Being a part of a team means taking the good with the bad-- enjoying togetherness and the fun stuff while also working together to accomplish the "work" that needs to be done.   The second time he came back in, I asked him if he was ready to be part of the team.   I reminded him he is not the coach of this team and therefore cannot make decisions about it.   I also talked to him about being in God's will and under God's umbrella of protection.  When he chooses not to follow God's commands, he has to face the storms of life without God's umbrella and it's no fun to be rained on.   Being in God's will doesn't mean the storms won't come, but their so much easier to face with Him than without Him.  

All in all it was less than an hour!   Hopefully it made an impact.   Hopefully they'll be no more talk of running away or trying to make it on his own.  

So being at 9, I'm guessing this is JUST the beginning!   Oh Lord, give me the strength!