She's Here and The Count Up

Grace is here!!!  You can't imagine how blessed we feel to have her here with us.  I can't bring myself to stop kissing her little warm cheeks!  I have to say that I feel a little older and wiser after my first all natural childbirth.  Whew!  ;-)  More details about all that fun later. 

Grace's stats:
12/17
1:44 p.m.
9 lbs. 1 oz.
21 inches long

The rest of this entry is one I wrote two days before she was born, but never got a chance to post because I was moving too slowly to add the pictures of Sophia's birthday which was on the 7th.  I'll add them later, as well as a picture of our new blessing soon!
_________________________________________________________________________________

My 'Blog Baby' there on the sidebar is counting up now.  My due date of December 10th has come and gone and we're all just sitting around and waiting. 

I have always been aware that one of my biggest weaknesses is being able to function outside the structure I create.  I usually have an idea of how I want the day to go and if there is anything that throws off my mental image of what should be, I struggle with staying on track.  There have been times when I let the unexpected interuption totally shut down my day as I give up and do nothing instead.  How High Maintenance can a person get?  ;-)  I've gotten better at overcoming this tendency over the years, but it's a huge exercise in self-control to pick-up where we left off before the unexpected reared its ugly head.

Last week when my due date arrived and left without a baby, I shut down.  I quit doing school with the kids and other miscellaneous stuff that took any extra effort on my part.  :-/  It took Thursday through Sunday of this wasteful inactivity to finally draw me out of the funk and realize that I still have to function like a real person.  This week has been so much better and I feel better because I've been productive - not a vegetable on the couch.  ;-)  A friend pointed out that the waiting is the perfect opportunity for learning.  Yup.  Having kids is the biggest character stretcher EVER.

We did have a birthday last week.  Monday was Sophia's 2nd birthday.  SWEET thing!  ;-)

Still Waiting

Still waiting for Grace to make her way into the world.  I keep thinking that she's just waiting for me to be able to finish paying the bills, or to get my grocery shopping and laundry done, but nope!  Apparently she has her own to-do list to take care of and it has nothing to do with mine.  :-)  So we wait.  In my control-freak-kinda-way, it wears on me because I hate surprises.  I want to know exactly when she's coming, so the waiting is killing me!  But God is good all the time.  He knows what's best for Grace and me.  But the next person who tells me that I look like I'm about to pop..........  ;-)

Blog Breaks

A lot of my favorite bloggers seem to be taking blog breaks.  I hate it, because after all, they are my favorite bloggers.  I love reading what they have to say.  I realize that I love their blogs because they are the type of women who place their home and families first, so them taking blogging breaks to focus on the most important things is encouraging to me because I want to keep my family my first focus as well. 

During the last month and a half or so, I've been working on keeping my head above water around here as I've gotten slower and more tired.  As usual, my brain has been going faster than my body.  I've started off many days with big plans for a deep cleaning of some room, only to find myself satisfied with a general cleaning-up. No one would know what a neat freak I am if they walked in our house today.  And I'm okay with that.  One of these days I'll get to clean to my heart's content while wondering what all my kids and grandkids are up to that day.  Maybe I'll forego the cleaning and just go find out.  ;-)

Baby Grace

Jack, our 9 year old, has taken to fake burping.  His favorite thing is the burp INSIDE something so that the sound will be amplified.  He's becoming a real pro, and I really don' t know whether to laugh with him or scold him for being so ungentlemanly.  Henry, our 3 year old, is his other half.  He is also becoming very adept at the classic fake burp.  These two boys share a room which is next to mine and Darin's room.  You can imagine the fun that drifts over into our room in the mornings. 

They do have their differences.  It takes Jack a little longer to let go of a grievance than it does Henry, which is interesting when they've got each other worked up.  Jack will sit with his arms crossed, not daring to look at anyone around him.  And there will be Henry, who has already recovered from the incident, hovering over Jack, saying, "It's okay, buddy.  It's okay."  Then he'll start patting Jack on the head and before we know it, Jack starts laughing uncontrollably and all is well again.  It's fun to watch them together.  Their latest favorite thing is to play "tackle football" in the living room.  Jack is just the right amount of rough with his 3 year old bro.  Every now and then Henry will say, "Jack, let's go kick and punch!" 

Then there's Ben.  14 years old.  This year was the first time he did not want to participate in handing out candy and tracts to trick or treaters.  He hung out with Darin and me in the living room.  We call him "the old man."  He's always cold and can sound like a grouchy old man every now and then.  Tonight, Lydia was talking about Christmas lights when Ben, in his best deadpan, said, "Do we have to do Christmas lights this year?"  (LOL!  I'm just chalking that one up to his being tired from getting up for his 6:30 a.m. football practice.)  He's so sweet with Henry and Sophia, enjoys reading through different books with Lydia, and this fall, has been teaching Jack how to play football.  He's a good big brother.

Lydia - our sweet girl.  If all our daughters could have the same sweet spirit she does, we would be set for life. I call her my "little mama" because she is a natural with our littles.  She could play endlessly with them - to the point where I sometimes have to remind her that she has other work to do!  ;-)  She loves playing the piano.  She reminds me of my sister.  My sister is a great pianist.  Every time she got the chance throughout the day, she would sit down and go through a few songs.  Lydia does the same thing.  Like a true 11 year old, she NEVER runs out of things to talk about.  I love that because I never have to guess what she's thinking about.

Sophia - I remember wondering on this very blog just WHO this little girl would be.  Well.  At 22 months, she seems to have been born with a writing utensil in her hand.  She will spend over half her day filling up spiral notebooks with her scribbling.  She's also partial to the coloring sheets I print out for her with babies on them.  She's always very passionate about what she wants and amazes me with how she can do a belly flop on the floor when she's unhappy about something - must be her small stature that allows her to get away with that.  At almost two years, she is just now growing out of her 12 month pants.  She's gorgeous with her white blonde hair and bright blue eyes.  We all dote on her and it's a really good thing she's not going to be the baby of the family!  ;-)

And so here I am, again, wondering who our new baby will be.  I am so anxious to meet her, I can barely stand it.  Someone that I ran into at the chiropractic office told me that she will be like a twin to Sophia.  Well, that would be okay, but how does he know?  ;-)  I mean, it's always possible, but I can't imagine it.  They are all so unique.  Such gifts from God, our Creator.  I take comfort that He already knows her, and that He knew who she was at the beginning of time, and knew she would be mine and Darin's daughter.  I remember back in high school, chatting with my pals about who we would marry, how many kids we would have, what their names would be, where we would live...MAN.  A verse comes to mind at this point.

1 Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Nesting

Usually when I start nesting during pregnancy, I start gathering in things like toilet paper.  Oh my.  With the first three, that was my obsession.  I had every bathroom cabinet packed tight with TP.  With the fourth, I decided that I was being ridiculous over toilet paper, so switched to dryer sheets.  I didn't have to buy dryer sheets for the first year of Henry's life.  With Sophia, I got a clue and collected cleaning products.  You would think, with all my household product collecting with the first five children, that no one was going to be allowed to leave the house to go to the store - EVER.  But really, who can argue with the logic - we never had to worry about TP, dryer sheets or cleaning products, and that's one less thing to stress over,  ya?  I just know that my special stashes saved me...maybe that'll be one of the questions I ask God when I get to Heaven.  "Tell me!  What sort of trouble did I save myself with all the dryer sheets I had on-hand during the first year of Henry's life?"  Can't wait!

With this current pregnancy, I feel I've finally hit my stride.  I am making tons of food for the freezer.  Usually my Mom is here performing her Tennessee Woman Cooking Magic.  Since she won't be this time around :-/ I'm trying to pick up her slack.  What amazes me is my militant attitude about it.  I mean, I mean business.  Any kid tries to snag a banana pancake that I've set aside for the freezer and I'm on top of them in about two seconds.  No one takes away my freezer food, man.

This past week was my first week preparing food for the freezer.  Here's what I have so far:
Breakfast:
Banana Pancakes
Crustless Quiche

Breads:
Whole Wheat Bread
Spice Bread w/ a side of Maple Butter

Main Meals:
Ravioli Casserole
Farmhouse Chicken

The really great thing about this freezer food is that I only prepared half of what is on the list.  Darin and I have gotten super-duper serious about having the older three be able to run the kitchen.  Again, my Mom won't be here to keep life humming for us, so SOMEONE'S gotta do it!  The only ones we could think of were Ben, Lydia and Jack.  They are 14, 11, and 9, and I tell you, they are really catching on.  It has taken awhile, and they still have moments when they refuse to work together while insisting on deep lines in the sand concerning where their own contributions end and begin, but little by little, they are learning to work together and get things done.  I leave the kitchen after every meal, stay within earshot, and let them have at it.  Just in the past two or three weeks, I've given Ben and Lydia entire meals to cook, and they've done so well.  I can't wait to see them in action after the baby is born.  What a blessing they will be to Darin, me, and really, to the whole family.

High School Life

I have so little time to blog these days, but things keep piling up on my "mental list of things to blog about" that I almost feel short circuited.  I don't know if I can actually get out a coherent blog entry because of the overflow of thoughts.  We'll see...

As I thought, the football-thing has been a challenge for Ben.  Darin and I wondered how he would take the added stress of the football schedule along with his other responsibilities.  We're grading him on a curve on this one since this is a new situation for him.  He's used to having plenty of time for school and chores, but now we are three weeks away from the end of the season and he seems to still have a ways to go in figuring out how to balance everything.  He keeps thinking he should have the same amount of free time he always had.  Funny.  I find myself still thinking that way sometimes.  It's just one of those lifelong struggles, isn't it?

We began World Views of the Western World I with Ben this fall.  Where we live, most sign their kids up for an outside class for this curriculum.  The author, David Quine, says that when he wrote it, he had in mind the parents and student going through it together and having conversations about it.  So Darin and I decided to go for it and we're really glad we are going through it with Ben.  Not only are we learning things we never even had inklings about, but there have been a few conversations with Ben that have really been enjoyable.  It is such a privilege to homeschool our high school boy.  I can't imagine missing all the fascinating conversations we're going to have with him over the next four years.  And those ah-ha moments don't stop after elementary school.  They're continuing, and it's so fun to see connections being made in his mind - growing up, young adult connections, that will lead to more mature thoughts and beliefs.  I am just in awe of this homeschooling thing.  I wish we were doing it perfectly, but I'm praying that God is taking care of the graded curve on this one for us.  ;-)

I have farmed out one aspect of Ben's schooling.  Writing.  I was an English major in college and got pretty good grades, but I am no writing teacher.  A friend of mine told me about Patrick Henry's Writing Mentors for High School Students.  I thought about it for a bit, then remembered that MY SISTER is a High School English teacher.  Big "duh" moment for me.  ;-)  She has always been very supportive of our homeschooling, so it was a no-brainer to ask for her help.  And so she is working with Ben and helping him to fine tune his writing skills in a way that I would have really struggled to do.  It's worked out so well that she has begun to also work with Lydia, our comma queen. 

It's a great blessing - next time our kids complain to us about their brothers and sisters, we need to remind them that they have the family they have for a reason!  Of course I know that I don't have my sister only to teach my kids writing, but I know it's part of the reason.  God knew I would need my big sis in this way one day.  :-)

And Our Jaws Dropped

Part 2 and 3 of our insurance drama...

PART 2
A wonderful friend of mine read my last blog entry and recommended CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) for me, since I'm pregnant, and for the kids.  We checked it out and were excited about it, but we do not qualify for the program.  Darin's income is $500 more than the minimum requirement.  But after the baby is born, we will qualify for it since there will be one more member of the household to include in the final count.  So we're getting our paper work ready for December and will get that going as soon as the baby is born.  Darin and I plan to still check out Samaritin Ministries for ourselves.

PART 3
So Darin was working away in his office and two of his bosses entered.  They were wondering why we chose to opt-out of the insurance plan for the year.  Darin explained that we couldn't afford a potential $15,000 in insurance payouts, so we decided to wing it for a few months before looking into the Samaritin Ministries deal.  You know, all I wrote about in the last post. 

But Darin's "boss" boss was not happy with that.  He was concerned that between now and the Samaritin Ministries/CHIP thing that something major would happen and we would be $100,000 in the hole, rather than $15,000 in the hole.  Well, that was our concern as well, but we felt as though we just needed to trust God for our safety.  His boss said, "I'm not a big fan of insurance.  I think it's a scam, and I've gone without it before, but not when I had as many kids as you or was as old as you."  LoL!  i.e. When he was a young man in his 20's.  ;-) 

So he and the other boss stepped out of Darin's office to confer for a minute.  When they came back in, they offered to pay our premiums from now till December, when we can get the kids on CHIP.  Then in January, Darin and I can either stay with the plan or sign-up for Samaritin Ministries.  AND they are giving Darin a $1000 bonus on his next check to help pay for our Midwife! 

It's a done deal and we are blown away.  This was totally unexpected.  We know that God is good, but we just did not expect anything like this.  The kids and I had prayed the day before for God's protection and so after I got off the phone with Darin and told the kids the latest update, we prayed again and thanked Him for that protection.  Sometimes we don't always see God's Hand at work in our lives so obviously and it's moments like this, when we can see Him moving, that just takes our breath away. 

I Can't Even THINK of What to Title this Post....

On Thursday, Darin brought home some papers he received from one of his bosses on his way out the door.  It was a recap of the new insurance set-up for the coming year.  Darin said he read over it, but didn't get it, so I decided to take a turn and immediately I understood why he didn't understand what was on the paper.  WHO WOULD?  Who could believe what was right there on black and white?  To recap: it seems Darin's company has thrown it's employees under the bus on this one.  I won't go into the details, but it seems that way. 

Here's the deal: Our health insurance premiums went down 25 bucks a month to $400.  Starts out good.  Then comes the Freak Out part. 

Our deductible is $5,000 per person, or $10,000 for the family. 

But after that we're covered at 100%, baby!

Sigh.

Basically, our insurance has gone up from close to $5,000 a year to $9,000-$15,000 per year.  <cough! choke! SPIT!!>

We're amazed. 

We're also not signing up for this joke of a plan.  Our immediate concern is the birth of our new baby girl in December.  We cannot pay for a hospital birth.  We looked up what we and our insurance company paid for Sophia's birth - about $12,000.  We paid 20% of that after our $1000 deductible was met.  But now we can't imagine being able to pay $10,000!  Oh my.  That just gets my heart beating real fast.

So....we are checking out a local midwife that some of my friends have begged me to go to for the last couple of babies.  ;-)  It should be a fraction of the cost without the presence of those abhorrent spine numbing epidurals.  eeek!  Please, REALLY.  Say a prayer for me about this.  The good news is that my labor has dramatically sped up with every baby.  The other good news is that I have never been one to have to push longer than 5 or 10 minutes.  The OTHER good news is that our chiropractor has been getting my pelvis good and lined up so the baby can just come right out with no hang-ups.  He told me today that I'm perfectly lined up and ready to go and that he can't wait for the delivery.  (me too! ;-) The other good news is that I have already been working at trying to psyche myself up for an epidural-free delivery, but I was keeping it to myself because ya know, if one talks about things out loud, it tends to make it harder to follow through.  At least for me it does.  My resolve weakens and then I give in to whatever it was I was trying to psyche myself up for.  But I don't have to worry about giving in to the epidural this time since there won't be an option for it. 

I know I sound like a total wimp to some of you ladies out there, but I have been induced with every baby.  Those induced contractions are STRONG and painful. 

Anyway...it is what it is.  Definitely no epidural this time around.  I'm almost relieved that the choice has been made for me.  I won't have to feel like a failure for giving in this time around, if you know what I mean. 

ANYWAY...say a prayer for the protection of our family.  We are going to use the money we would normally pay towards our insurance premium to pay for the midwife.  After that, we will probably try to sign-on with Samaritan Ministries (we've heard good things).  Pray that our family will stay healthy and injury-free!

Mom and Dad

My Mom and Dad have always been here when we have a baby.  After Ben was born, they came and brought along my teenage niece and nephew and stayed a couple weeks.  We were living in a two bedroom apartment at the time, but we all crowded in and had a great time together.

Lydia was a difficult pregnancy.  I was put on bedrest at 31 weeks, and down flew my Mom from TN.  She stayed with us for seven weeks and saw us through the first week of Lydia's little life.  My Mom is a huge homebody and I can't imagine the torture of staying in someone else's home for almost two months, but she did it with a smile on her face the entire time.

When Jack was born, we had another two week visit from my parents as well as my nephew Josh.  It was great to have them there because Jack had been a 10 pound 2 oz. big boy.  I was very sore after that delivery!  Mom served up more of her good ol' Tennessee homecooking while my Dad took the kids to the park and kept himself busy doing any home improvements for us that he could.

I started having false labor pains - intense false labor pains - pretty close to Henry's due date.  Before then, my parents hadn't been sure when they would come - before or after the birth.  But as soon as they got the update on what I was going through, they hit the interstate and were with us within two days.  Mom totally takes over and boy, was I glad to see her then.  :-)

Sophia was born in December.  My parents decided that they were going to come and spend the entire month with us so they could also be here for Christmas.  They got here around the 4th and Sophia was born on the 7th.  The whole month was one big date night for Darin and me.  :-)  Mom and Dad kept reminding us, "We won't always be here!  You go spend some time together while you can!  We'll stay here and hold the baby."  LoL  When we would leave, Mom would be in the rocking chair, holding Sophia.  We always found her in the same position when we got back.  It killed her back, but she was in heaven.  A few times Dad said she even let him hold her.  ;-)

But we noticed a difference in my parents the last time they were here.  I am the 5th of 6...my parents were born during the Depression...my Dad is 79 and my Mom is 74.  They didn't seem as energetic as in the past.  In fact, it was a big difference between Henry and Sophia's birth.  They are 21 months apart.  My parents noticed it, too, and said they probably would not be able to help out if there were another.  And they can't.  They are both struggling with health issues this year.  My Dad just had heart surgery to replace a valve and repair another and my Mom is struggling with her own things. 

It's really hard to think they won't be here when our new little one makes her debut this December!  I think it's hardest on the kids because they have so MANY cherished memories with Mamaw and Papaw and want to continue building on them.  My parents have been such good grandparents and they absolutely have the love and devotion of the Beard children to prove it. 

Sense? Sensibility???

It was one of our crazy/busy weeks this week and by Friday night I could barely walk.  I spent most of my days this week on my feet going from one thing to the next which is really nothing out of the ordinary for me, but when I'm pregnant, I always move slowly.  I've been trying to move at my regular speed, and became real sore at the bottom of my tummy - I guess where most of the weight of the baby rests.  After dinner, Darin banished me to the couch where I sat and watched Ben, Lydia and Jack cleaning the kitchen.  After we had all the kids in bed, I finally stretched out on the couch and was probably asleep before they were.  ;-)  I laid my head in Darin's lap and he rubbed my head for the two seconds I was awake.  He watched two movies he knew I don't have much interest in.  I never heard a thing.

This morning Darin put me on a sort of bedrest for the day.  So I made a grocery list, printed out tons of groovy coupons, told Darin what to make for lunch and then ate what he made (how kewl was that???), put Henry and Sophia in bed, worked a bit on planning some school for Ben, then Lydia and I got in the car and went to SuperTarget for our weekly shopping trip.  Darin made dinner and is giving Henry and Sophia a bath right now.  Ben, Lydia and Jack are almost done in the kitchen.

I am not used to such inactivity!  And while my body is slow right now, my brain is definitely not.  Feeling the leisure of the day, I have made plans to begin work on my forgotten cross stitch project and maybe pick up a new knitting project.  I bought a really neat knitting book for beginners with some new patterns in it a few months ago.  (FYI - I will never get to that stuff, but it's fun to think about.)  To top it all off, I went to Sense & Sensibility Patterns and bought an ePattern for a Regency Era dress to make for Lydia for Halloween.  Click here to view more details

Really, not a totally insane thing to do unless you realize that I have only the most BASIC sewing skills.  BASIC.  I have no business buying a pattern for a Regency Era dress.  But since my mind has been in overdrive today, I've convinced myself that we have two months to figure it out and it'll all be fine!  If you're my Mother-in-Law and are reading this right now, you're probably quaking in your boots and I would say that you're totally justified.  ;-)  But I'm determined.  Really, I am.  I have downloaded the pattern and tomorrow we will go get some interfacing (I have no idea what that is) which we will use to transfer the pattern onto that we printed out tonight.  Then we'll take it from there.  Lordy.  I'll keep you posted on our progress..... 

"...with purpose of heart they should continue in the Lord."

The other day I was reading the chapter titled, "The Power of Purpose" from Beautiful Girlhood with Lydia.  Included in the chapter was this story that has been bouncing around in my thoughts since we read it. 

"The power of purpose is the power of love.  No man can cleave to any purpose with all his heart unless he loves the cause for which he strives.  He must so love that cause that to give it up would be like giving up his very life.  I once read of a woman who lived on a lonely ranch in a foreign land.  Her husband had to go away for a week or more, leaving her alone for that time with their little children.  He had not been gone long, when she was bitten by a poisonous snake.  She knew that in a matter of hours she would die.  She remembered her children, and that if they were to be kept safe she must in the time left her draw enough water and bake enough bread to supply them until their father returned, or he might find all his family dead.  So she worked and prayed that day, sick, fainting, almost unconscious; but love set her purose strong, and she struggled on.  Night came, and her time was nearly gone.  She put her babes to bed, and wandered out of sight of the cabin to die, but with a determination to live as long as possible for her children's sake.  In the morning she was miraculously still alive, still walking, and her system beginning to clear of the poison.  She lived to tell the story, a monument to the power of a loving pupose."

I pray that I can start every day with such a purpose and serve my family as though I really mean it! 

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13)"

 

Pregnancy Update

Last month we had THE sonogram and found out we're having a girl!  Now everyone tells us that we're just like the Brady Bunch.  I am always quick to remind them that we don't have an Alice.  I tell you, none of us appreciated Alice as we should have.  We just thought she was comic relief, but can you imagine that Carol would have never had time to sit at the little orange dinette sipping coffee if it weren't for Alice working up the "Pork Chops and Appleshauce" in the kitchen.  Alice was the glue that held it all together.

We are usually pretty quick about coming up with a name for our new babes, but we're struggling this time around.  At first we thought Claudia.  It sounds so pretty, but it means "lame!"  We cannot call our daughter Lame!  It would be very 80's of Darin and me, but no, we just can't bring ourselves to do it. 

Darin's latest thing has been Grace Anne.  Love Grace.  I'm all for it.  But as I told him while we were driving to a "Meet the THESA Riders" (football) event, we did not have a relative with the name Anne.  It's been our custom to choose a middle name from a member of the family.  We've been alternating families, and it's my family's turn.  I was chatting with my Mom on the phone and my sister-in-law Shirley was there and they were asking about a name for this poor baby.  Shirley recommended Shirley Jackie (Jackie is my Mom's name) or Jackie Shirley.  hahaha.  We got a good laugh from that.  

So as we were driving along to meet the THESA Riders, I told Darin about the Shirley Jackie/Jackie Shirley thing.  hahahaha  Another good laugh.  Then we started brainstorming about a middle name again, but Darin could not budge from Anne.  He was refusing.  I tried my sister's name....Patricia.  No.  He didn't like that with Grace....Lynn.  My sister's middle name.  No.  That sounded too much like Graceland when said together. sigh.  We've already used a variation of my Mom's middle name for a middle name and that left only my sister!  We are overrun with boys/men in my family.  But then Darin came up with a great idea.  He said, "I'll bet Shirley's middle name is Anne."

Give me a break.  What were the odds going to be that Shirley's middle name is Anne?  I swore it couldn't be and Darin swore it could be.  So I grabbed my cell phone and called my bro and Shirley right away.  My brother, Jim, answered and I asked him what Shirley's middle name is. 

IT'S ANN!

Speechless!  We couldn't believe it!  What were the odds of that????  LoL!  So we definitely have a middle name for this child, but Darin says he's not going to commit to Grace just yet.  sigh.  I like to make decisions a little quicker than he does.  ;-)   

So...other than all this naming drama, everything seems to be going well!  24 weeks and counting.

Home Making

We are well into our busy season and Darin and I are counting down the days until November.  ;-)  We are homebodies deep down and all the going is really stretching us!  It's funny...in high school and college I was always extremely busy.  I was one of those girls who was too busy to do much dating.  I loved it.  It was easy to juggle everything since I was a single gal.  Now that we have five kids and one on the way, I've had to readjust my mental frame of mind to realize that it's okay to not be so busy with outside activities because I have replaced the outside stuff with my children, husband, homeschooling and housework.  It's really sad to me to hear other mothers denigrate the importance of what there is to be done at home in favor of outside activities.

I love what J.R. Miller wrote in Home-Making:
"We are fast moving on through this world.  Soon all that will remain of us will be the memories of our lives.  No part of our work will then afford such a true test of our living as the memorials we leave behind us in our homes.  No other work that God gives any of us to do is so important, so sacred, so far-reaching in its influence, so delicate and easily  marred as our home-making.  This is the work of all our life that is most divine.  The carpenter works in wood, the mason works in stone, the smith works in iron, the artist works on canvas, but the home-maker works on immortal lives.  The wood or the stone or the iron or the canvas may be marred, and it will not matter greatly in fifty years; but let a tender human soul be marred in its early training, and ages hence the effects will still be seen.  whatever else we slight, let it never be our home-making.  If we do nothing else well in this world, let us at least build well within our own doors."

Bizzeee, bizzeee, bizzeee!

Darin and I are entering a time of life that we never truly realized we would be entering.  We started out a very busy family.  Co-Op, tons of church activities, playdates & etc.  After two or three years of that whirlwind we were happy to get off.  The negative impact all that had on our family was not what Darin and I were looking for.  A lot of people might say it was "normal kid stuff."  We don't think there has to be such a thing as normal kid stuff.  So we went the total opposite way and have been accused on more than one occaision of sheltering our kids too much.  So be it.  We have been able to focus on other "normal human stuff" with our kids - i.e. sin.  It's been nice to have the time to work on character issues with our kids that we didn't have time for before because of all our running around.

But life with a big family constantly changes.  The things we have been able to do for our older children we are probably not going to be able to do in the same way for the younger set.  Ben is going to be playing football this fall which will take us out of the house three or four times each week.  Add in AWANA at church on Sunday nights, chiropractor visits, piano lessons and other misc. committments and we're back in the busy life again.  I went to DonnaYoung.org and downloaded some calendar pages for the rest of the year and filled them out.  Once AWANA starts, we will have somewhere to be every day of the week! 

We just don't want to be so busy outside the home, but Ben is at the age (he'll be a Freshman in high school this year) where he truly needs to start exploring his interests and working out just what he wants to do.  Right now he has a list of things he wants to "be."  We're hoping to help him narrow that down.  One of the things on his list is Football Coach.  So we're gonna let him go get all roughed up every week to see how he likes it.  ;-) 

It should be an interesting fall!  The great thing is that everything seems to come to an end all at once in the first week of November.  Good thing.  I will be in the last month of pregnancy by then, doing my Jabba the Hut impersonation, and not moving too quickly.  Just TRY to get me off the couch by then.  ;-) 

Random

I fell asleep on the couch at 9:30.  Darin woke me up at 11:30 to go to bed, but now I can't sleep.  There's so much going on in my head.  Thinking about our new baby.  In NINE days we will know if this baby is a boy or girl.  The name will be Stephen if it's a boy, but we're still haggling over a girl name.  Darin still likes Beatrice.  I like Helen.  At this point, we're sick of talking about it.  ;-)  Really, in the past, when we've been able to settle on a name for a boy or girl first, the baby ends up being the gender of that name.  It has worked with every baby so far.  We'll see in nine days! 

Ben is in Colorado with his Aunt, Uncle and Cuz.  We miss him.  Henry especially.  Poor Henry.  He's just 3 and doesn't get it.  He thinks Ben should "come home now."  So do I, but I guess we'll survive till he gets back.  I know he's going to have a load of fun on this trip. 

I'm craving a chai from Starbucks.

We are going to a new chiropractor!  This guy is the cat's meow, man.  We have benefitted from chiropractic adjustments for three years now and are excited, thinking that we will benefit even more with this new doctor.  Darin has begun to experience some numbness and weakness in his hands and I am especially anxious for him to get better.  Our new chiro said the section of spine that this is related to is in Darin's neck and also relates to heart issues and high blood pressure.  Darin has been diagnosed with high blood pressure which we've kept in check with cod liver oil.  I'm praying hard that these issues are worked out for him with this new chiropractor.

Today I was cleaning up in the office - toys everywhere.  Sophia (19 mos) came in the room and backed into my lap for some cuddling.  I can't resist that.

This pregnancy has left me highly sensitive to noise.  Hmmmmm.  Not a good thing with five other kids in the house!  My impulse is to take all of them up to our bed and for us to all nap the day away.  But you know, they don't want to take naps all day!  LoL  In fact, we are in a phase where the boys cannot stop roughhousing, and they are all very testy with each other and each seems to want to be the parent of all the others.  I have to call out to God for every bit of patience He can spare.  Spending hours at the pool three times each week has helped a little because it wears them out, but I'm concerned about their hearts.  Darin and I keep telling each other, "just be water over the rock.  Water over the rock.  Make their rough edges smooth." 

My niece has been able to hook up with her birth father's family and I'm so glad for her. 

Okay.  I think I can probably go to sleep now.  Yawwwwwwwn. 

 

10 Years Ago

On the 4th of July we bought a month-long membership to our local Community Activity Center.  We're taking the month off from school - sorta - so we thought it would be a fun thing for the kids.  They've got the indoor/outdoor pool thing going with all the slides, lazy river and stuff. 

When we arrived at the pool, Darin and I couldn't believe the TATOOS all over the place!  We live in a fairly conservative suburb of Dallas.  Anywhere ya go, you're gonna see khaki shorts and boat shoes.  It's inevitable.  Little did we realize what everyone was covering up with their khakis!  Oh my.  I mean, these people kind of scared us a little.  And it wasn't just the men.  It was the women, too.  I think we saw just about every symbol of the Chinese alphabet.  The only thing missing was the heart tatoo with "Mom" written in the middle.  But I guess that was another generation.

As I looked around, I noticed that all of the peeps with tatoos looked to be in their early 30's.  They mostly had one or two very young kids.  They were in the same place Darin I were in....er....10 years ago. 

It just made me think of all the things that can happen in 10 years.  10 years ago it was not at all common, as far as I know, for women to cover themselves with tatoos like I saw at the pool on Saturday.  I mean, really.  I wish I had pictures!!!!!

10 years ago, Darin and I only had two children.  A three and one year old. 

10 years ago, Darin and I were at the beginnings of understanding what it really means to live our lives for Christ.  Thank God, He's still teaching us all that.

10 years ago, although Darin and I loved our babies, we did not truly understand yet what REAL blessings they are.

10 years ago, Darin was still finding his way in the Web World.  He taught himself everything he knows.  He's our first homeschooler in the family.  Now he's a pro and has even written a book with a friend about it.

10 years ago, we were just gearing up to begin homeschooling Ben.  I started with him when he was 4 because I was just so darn excited.  We did Preschool three times a week until I got pregnant with Jack.  Then we took it down to two days.  ;-)  Oh, am I ever glad to be out of the homeschooling newbie stage.  Life is so much more manageable these days.

10 years ago, my car was a 2-door Honda Civic.  Today I tool around in a Chevy Suburban and once this baby is born, it will officially be FULL. 

10 years ago we were able to sing Prince's "1999" and really mean it.  Although, really, I never partied "like it's 1999" because I got pregnant with Jack in October and I slept from then on.  But we had fun singing it! 

Okay, okay.  I guess I could go on forever.  It's just interesting, thinking of all that happens in 10 years. Gets me started thinking about 10 years from NOW.  Oyve.  I don't want to go there yet!  :-)

 

Tetanus Vaccine

One of my favorite blogs is written by Kelly at Generation Cedar.  That woman is constantly passionate and interested in issues and I love it.  I visited her this morning and HAVE to share her latest entry with you.  Here's a snip:

Reports have been widely revealed that a population control “program” in some countries has been implemented–unbeknown to its citizens– which laces a free tetanus vaccine with an abortifacient level of hCG hormone.  In a nutshell, young women are being given a vaccine–repeatedly–that makes them infertile or causes multiple miscarriages.

Go to Generation Cedar to read more.

High Hopes

We are all hung over here this morning from a visit with friends that we had last night.  The kids played in the pool for hours.  Lydia can barely move this morning.  Henry and Jack are spaced out to Little Bear on Noggin, Ben is stil sleeping and Sophia is asleep in our bed.  She was crying early this morning so Darin brought her in with us.  I think she fell back asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.  I stayed with Sophia until Darin left for work.  When I came down, he had finished cleaning the kitchen from last night and since the kids were in the pool all night, our house is still Company-Clean.  I just love that.  It's a rare thing around here these days!  I have become very adept at stepping over the train track and doll house toys in the dark.

Ben was such a big help to me last night.  He's of the age where he prefers to hang out and listen to all the adult chatter rather than play with all the kids.  He helped me wrestle Sophia from the table and everyone's plates and cups.  She was constantly drawn to all that fun.  She has also discovered the water in the toilet bowl.  sigh.  ;-) 

Back when Ben was a little guy I had high hopes brought on by the occaisional teen boys we would run into who were so sweet to him.  They would play with him, have fun conversations with him - you know, just generally be Real People - not Freaky Teens.  I always hoped and prayed that Ben would turn into one of those Real People.  So far, so good.  ;-)  He is such a good big brother to Henry and Sophia.  So SWEET to them and at least once a day Henry will say to Ben, "Ben, let's spend some time together."  And then Ben will wrestle around with Henry and all will be right with the world. 

There really is so much good to look forward to as our kids mature.  I feel as if Darin and I are at the very beginning stages of reaping the harvest of the things we have sown as Ben is coming into his own as a young adult.  Of course we're a long way from done, but I'm starting to get real optimistic.  ;-) 

 

Pregnancy Update

I've decided that I really don't know my husband as well as I thought I did.  I mean, WHO has actually been with me on the other side of the bed?  Who is this stranger that I eat meals with, watch movies late at night and go to Marble Slab with on date nights?????  For a little background...

Lydia wants us to have all the girl's names end in "ia" since that's how she and Sophia's names end.  We didn't do that on purpose.  It just worked out that way.  We really considered it, but after awhile, Darin and I agreed that we didn't want to fence ourselves in with something like that.  So we've been going back and forth over girl names for this baby (because really, I think it IS a girl.  If it's a boy - sorry, Boy! ;-).  For every 100 names I read out to Darin, he might say yes to one of them.  Well.  For a joke, I read out "Beatrice." 

HE LOVES IT.

He wants to name our daughter Beatrice, and I'm left wondering if I really ever knew him.  He's so passive/agressive....we will probably end up calling her Beatrice.  Oh.  More.  He said we could call her "B.D."  I have nothing else to say.  God bless us, every one.

I'm 16 weeks along now.  Next month we will find out if this baby is a boy or girl!  Can't wait for that!

I looked at maternity swim suits today.  Oyve.  They are so low-cut and I'm so VERY modest.  ;-)  It kills me that I never learned to sew, and now am stuck with not enough time to learn to sew. 

When I went for my monthly check-up with my OB, I tried to explain my overwhelming exhaustion to him, but I'm not anemic (the only time I'm not anemic is when I'm pregnant.  Weird) so he basically told me to buck up.  Waaaahhh-ha-haaaaaaaaaa.  I just want to not be so exhausted.

Darin and Ben are off at a birthday party-type deal today.  They are doing an outdoor Ropes Course.  God bless them.  It's 103 today.  I loaded up Lydia, Jack, Henry and Sophia and we went to the grocery store.  What a crazy trip!  It took us two hours, two carts and a stop at the Starbucks there in Target before we made it through. The cutest thing was when Henry, who is 3, asked, "Can I ride on the cart like a fireman?" I let him ride inside the cart like the Captain of all the firemen.  ;-)  While we were making our way through the store, I heard someone say, "She's got four little kids with her here at the grocery store and she's pregnant with another one!"  That just makes me grin from ear to ear and feel so blessed.  I wish more could experience it!

Potty TRAINING???

Last Friday, exactly one week ago, Henry decided that he would no longer wear a diaper.  We were sitting at lunch, and I was looking right at him when I literally saw his lightbulb moment.  His face brightened a bit and he said, "Mama, I'm going to start going potty on the toilet and wear big boy underwear!" 

I wasn't about to waste a minute.  We got right up from the table and went to the bathroom.  He went potty, and we headed up the stairs to my bedroom to get down the storage bin of 2T-3T clothes and we dug out some big boy underwear.  He has been wearing them ever since with not a bit of trouble.  I forgot to put him in a pull-up for his nap on Tuesday, but he woke up dry!  So now he takes his nap without a pull-up.  And this morning, the one week anniversary of his big decision, he showed up in mine and Darin's room with a dry pull-up.  We are amazed.  :-)

With our first three, I pushed potty-training on them and it was a difficult process.  I decided that with Henry, I was going to let him tell me when he was ready, and man, it worked! 

Peace in the house, and less diapers to buy!

Personality

I used to love to take personality tests.  I liked having the things I thought about myself confirmed.  Looking back, I realize it was just a form of self-absorption and a way for me to excuse my character flaws by quoting my test results to anyone who had a problem.

Then God's Word became real to me and I realized that God does not give personality tests.  He gives character-improving tests so that we can resemble Him.  The Fruits of the Spirit are not just a laundry list of what the perfect person looks like, but really, a description of the person that God can teach us to be if we submit to His teaching/rod of correction/leading.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Baby Machine

An acquaintance told me that I am a "Baby Machine."  She said, "You know what I mean." 

Well, I sorta know what she means, but I just can't go all the way with her line of thinking because the LAST thing I feel like these days is a Baby Machine.  I am exhausted and queasy even now, into the Second Trimester.  I'm struggling! 

I'll bet I'm not the only Mom of a large family who struggles during pregnancy.  There's this strange perception of Mom's of large families out there.  We are Baby Machines - pregnancy is easy - and we can really "crank 'em out!" 

First to the "cranking them out" believers.  Labor still hurts, no matter how many children we already have.  Well.  I do have to put a disclaimer in here.  My last labor was literally pain-free.  You can go HERE to read about it.  I mean, it was every woman's dream!  At least it was my dream delivery.  You see, I showed up to be induced, was already dilated to a 4, so went ahead and asked for an epidural right way and got it. 

Ooooo - that leads to another common misperception of Mom's with large families.  We do not all give birth at home, in our bathtubs.  It sounds really groovy and all, but that route is just not for me. 

Back to the Baby Machine/pregnancy is easy for you thing....pregnancy is a marathon for anyone.  I have had great pregnancies.  I might have even felt like a Baby Machine every now and then.  But I have also had difficult pregnancies.  Just like every child is different, so is every pregnancy. 

What it boils down to is that I don't choose to continue to have children because it's easy for me.  I do it because children are a blessing from the Lord.  It's worth it to go through anything that comes up during a pregnancy, knowing that no matter what, my husband and I are being blessed by God with a new life to care for.  Children are not a nuisance, or a drain on my "me-time."  They are interesting, funny, insightful, challenging, they grow my character as I strive to be a good parent, and most of all, a BLESSING from God.  Our culture believes otherwise, but I'm not buyin' it.

P.S. I found that really nice picture frame HERE.

The Duties of Parents #3

Love this next point that J.C. Ryle makes in his sermon on The Duties of Parents.  Very Charlotte Mason-like.  :-)

Hint #3. Train your children with a lasting conviction in your mind, that most of it depends on you. Grace is the strongest of all principles. See what a great change grace effects when it comes into the heart of an old sinner—how it overturns the strongholds of Satan—how it throws down mountains, and fills up valleys—makes crooked things straight—and newly creates the whole man. Truly nothing is impossible for grace.

 Nature, too, is very strong. See how it struggles against the things of the kingdom of God—how it fights against every attempt to be more holy—how it keeps up an unceasing warfare within us to the very last hour of life. Indeed, nature is strong.

But after nature and grace, undoubtedly, there is nothing more powerful than education. Early habits are very important. We are made what we are by training. Our character takes the form of that mold into which our first years are cast. It has been said, that, "Education has a tremendous effect on men's opinions and thinking habits. What children learn in the nursery, will be displayed throughout their lives."—Cecil.We heavily depend on those who bring us up. We get from them a taste and a bias which clings to us most of the days of our lives. We learn the language of our mothers and fathers, and learn to speak it almost without thinking, and unquestionably we catch something of their manners, ways, and mind at the same time. Time will tell, how much we all owe to early impressions, and how many things in us may be traced back to the seeds sown in the days of our infancy, by those who were around us. A very educated Englishman, has gone so far as to say: "That of all the men we meet with, nine out of ten are what they are, good or bad, useful or not, according to their education"—Locke

And all this is one of God's merciful arrangements. He gives your children a mind that will receive impressions like moist clay. He gives them a disposition at the starting-point of life to believe what you tell them, and to take for granted what you advise them, and to trust your word rather than a stranger's. He gives you, in short, a golden opportunity of doing them good. See that you do not neglect such an opportunity. Once you let it slip, it is gone forever.

Beware of that miserable delusion into which some have fallen—that parents can do nothing for their children, that you must leave them alone, wait for grace, and sit still. These parents would like their children to die the death of the righteous person, but they do nothing to help them live a righteous life. They have great hope, but they receive nothing. And the devil rejoices to see such thinking, just as he always does over anything which seems to excuse laziness, or to encourage neglect.

I know that you cannot convert your child. I know that they who are born again are born, not of the will of man, but of God. But I also know that God specifically says, "Train a child in the way he should go," and that He never gave a command to men and women which He would not give them the grace to perform. And I also know that our duty is not to stand still and dispute the command, but to go forward and obey it. It is only when we move out in obedience that God will meet us. The path of obedience is the way in which He gives the blessing. We only have to do as the servants were commanded at the marriage feast in Cana, to fill the water-pots with water, and we may safely leave it to the Lord to turn that water into wine.

Miss Mouth

Sophia.  Give me those Leggos!  Oh my goodness.  How did you fit all those in your mouth? 

Give me ALL the Leggos.  Yes.  That last one. 

She wanted to keep the Leggos.  She's not happy with me.  Awwww, Sophia.  Give me a smile.

There.  That's sort of a smile.  :-)  I'm forgiven. 
Now who left the Leggos out????!!!!!!

She's Hired

I'm kind of excited.  Since Ben is out earning the big bucks with all the yard work stuff this summer, Lydia has gotten the itch to "have a job."  God bless her.  She wants to mow lawns, too.  But she's just about to turn 11, and just doesn't have the stamina for that kind of stuff yet.  Darin and I did not want to discourage her, so we thought about what she could do here at the house that we could pay her weekly for.  After all, *I* need the help!  I don't want to send her off to some other family when I could use a helping hand.  :-)

The three things that I can never keep up with are laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, and doing school with Henry, our 3 year old.  He sees Ben, Lydia and Jack doing school and wants to do it, too, and asks me every day if we can do school together.  I just don't have the extra minutes!  I've done a few lapbooks with him, but find it hard to be consistent.  So here comes Miss Lydia.  We are going to pay her $15 per week to do some schoolwork with him.  Should be less than an  hour each day. 
I do struggle a little bit with the need to do everything myself.  I mean, I want to be the one to do schoolwork with Henry!  But this will be good for Lydia.  She's such a natural with the littles and I know she will do very well with Henry and earn every penny of her salary.  And my time will come. 

Of course I'm making all the plans for Lydia.  With the older three, I used Readywriter for Handwriting Readiness.  But ya know, that costs $$$, so I thought I would do a Google search to see if I could come up with some free printables instead.  I found some printables as well as some good tips on Handwriting Readiness that should be a lot of fun for Henry and Lydia to work on together.  Here are those links:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/handwriting_readiness.htm

http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/redines.htm

http://www.otworks.com/otworks_page.asp?pageID=711
Activities suggestions for working on strength for fine motor skills

http://members.tripod.com/~imaware/fmotor.html
More fine motor activities

The More the Merrier

Gretchen, the woman who interviewed me for the Quiverfull article she was writing for a paper in the Middle East, told me she would let me know when the article was written and posted.  She never did, so I went online tonight to see if I could find it.  I did.  I didn't really like the article.  To me, it's just another instance of someone not "getting it."  Anyway, here ya go....

More the merrier for Christian movement

Gretchen Peters, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: April 26. 2009 10:38PM UAE / April 26. 2009 6:38PM GMT

DENVER // When the author and conservative Christian sage Nancy Campbell advises her followers to “be fruitful and multiply”, she means it.

Mrs Campbell, a mother of six and a grandmother to 34, is a leading light in the Quiverfull community, a growing conservative Christian sect that calls on its adherents to forgo birth control and produce large families.

“Psalm 127 says children are the heritage of the Lord,” she said, quoting the biblical verse that gives the Quiverfull lifestyle its name: “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, are sons born in a man’s youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.”

Mrs Campbell, a New Zealander who lives in Tennessee, believes US society, where the average couple bears just 1.8 children, has strayed far from God’s intended path.

“Contraception and limiting family size has not strengthened the family, which was the strength of our nation,” she said in a telephone interview. “Now I think many people are opening their eyes, opening their hearts and seeing what is right for families.”

READ MORE

Nostalgic

I've just been struck in a big way lately about the variety of ages in our family.  Ben, our oldest, will turn 14 next month.  Contrast that with our 3 and 1 year old who are still taking naps, sitting in my lap to read books and exist to go outside to swing.  I guess the thing that is drawing my attention to our age differences is Ben.  I guess I knew it would happen eventually, but it seems to be happening all of a sudden.  He's "growing up." 

First, he's started doing school on his own.  That was a big deal for me because I really enjoyed all of us learning together.  But the apron strings are still slowly disintegrating because

Second, he will be playing football this fall.  This adds something new to his schedule.  Not just football, but a challenge.  He's going to be tired.  Practices are from 6:30 -8:30 A.M.  We are not morning people.  ;-)  The challenge comes when he has to decide to responsibly take care of his chores and schoolwork in spite of being tired or sore.  This, to me, is another sign of growing up.  I pray that he shows himself equal to the challenge, and

Third, Ben has some summer work mowing lawns, and one job in particular will take him out of the house twice a week from 8-11 A.M.  It's a great opportunity for him with one of our neighbors who just needs someone to work alongside him to get the yardwork done.  This is a great neighbor-man so we're glad for Ben to spend time with him.  The thing about this summer work is that this will make Ben's schedule different from the rest of our schedules.  Even though he has been doing his own studies this past year, he has been doing them at the same time that the rest of us do school.  Now Ben is going to have to rearrange and fit things in differently.  So now, maybe when we're ready to go outside for a little playtime, Ben might have to stay in and finish a science experiment, or math, or something.

Sigh.  It's just weird.  Today was his first day working with our neighbor, and I wasn't the only one wondering what was going on!  Henry, our 3 year old, kept asking, "Where's Ben?"  It was weird not to have him here.  Then when Ben got home, even though we explained where Ben was a thousand times, Henry still asked Ben, "Where WERE you?" 

I couldn't help but think of the little time we have left with Ben here at home!  What will Henry think when Ben leaves to pursue  his own life?  He'll be so young and have many years left here with Darin and me.  What a hard day that will be.  I can just hear Ben now, "Don't cry, Mom!"  ;-)  

Ripe Fruit

A couple of snippets from Spurgeon in his sermon Ripe Fruit:  We always look back at the 1800's as an innocent, better time.  But I see here the same struggles we deal with today in the church.

“What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit." Micah 7:1

The nation of Israel had fallen into so sad and backsliding a condition, that it was not like a vine covered with fruit, but like a vineyard after the whole vintage has been gathered, so that there was not to be found a single cluster. Not one righteous man could be found, not one to be trusted or found faithful to God. The whole state had become like a field that has been closely reaped, in which nothing remains but the stubble; like a vineyard that has been completely stripped, in which there remains no vestige of fruit. The prophet, speaking in the name of Israel, desired the first ripe fruits, but there were none to be had. The lesson of the text, as it stands, would be that good men are the best fruit of a nation, they make it worth while that the nation should exist, they are the salt which preserves it, they are the fruit which adorns it and blesses it. Pray then for our country, that God will continually raise up a righteous seed, a faithful band, who, for his name’s sake, shall be a sweet savor unto God, for whose sake he may bless the whole land. But I mean to apply our text in another connection, and use it as the heading of a discourse upon ripeness in grace. I think we can all use the words of Micah in another sense, and say, “My soul desired the first ripe fruit.” We would not be merely the green blade; we desire to be the full corn in the ear. We would not merely show forth the blossoms of repentance and the young buds of struggling faith; but we would go on to maturity, and bring forth fruit unto perfection, to the honor and praise of Jesus Christ. This morning, then, I speak about ripeness in grace, maturity in the divine life, fruit ready to be gathered. The church wants in these days of flimsiness and timeserving, more decided, thoroughgoing, well-instructed, and confirmed believers.

Many an aged Christian is not an experienced Christian, for all his experience, though it may be the experience of a Christian, may not have been Christian experience of an advanced kind. An old sailor who has never left the river is not an experienced mariner. An old soldier who never saw a battle is no veteran. Remember it is in the kingdom of God very much as it is with God himself, one day may be as a thousand years. God can, as Solomon tells us, give wisdom to the simple, and teach the young man knowledge and discretion. Years with grace will produce greater maturity, but what I want to say is, that years without grace will produce no such maturity. The mere lapse of time will not advance us in the divine life. We do not ripen necessarily because our years fulfill their tale. Grey hairs and great grace are not inseparable companions. Time may be wasted as well as improved, we may be petrified rather than perfected by the flow of years.

Here it may be well to note that there is no reason why a young Christian should not make great advance towards this maturity, even while young. The Lord’s grace is independent of time and age; the Holy Spirit is not limited by youth, nor restrained by fewness of days. Young Samuel may excel aged Eli; a holy babe is riper than a backsliding man. Timothy was more mature than Diotrephes. Jesus can lead you, my youthful brother, to high degrees of fellowship with himself; he can make you to be a blessing even while yet you are young; I pray you aspire to the nearest place to Jesus, and like young John, lie in the Master’s bosom.

Truly, the aged have the help of experience, and in any case they deserve our reverent esteem, but let neither old nor young imagine that the merely natural fact of age has any influence in the spiritual life. God’s work is the same in old and young, and owes nothing to the merely natural vigor of youth, or equally natural prudence of age.

The church needs in these days of flimsiness and timeserving, more decided, thoroughgoing, well-instructed, and confirmed believers. We are assailed by all sorts of new doctrines. The old faith is attacked by so-called reformers, who would reform it all away to ruin. I expect to hear tidings of some new doctrine once a week. So often as the moon changes, some 'prophet' or other is moved to propound a new theory, and believe me, he will contend more valiantly for his novelty than ever he did for the gospel...They may muster a troop of raw recruits, and lead them whither they would, but for confirmed believers they sound their bugles in vain.

Children run after every new toy; any little performance in the street, and the boys are all agog, gaping at it; but their fathers have work to do abroad, and their mothers have other matters at home; your drum and whistle will not draw them out.

For the solidity of the church, for her steadfastness in the faith, for her defense against the constantly recurring attacks of heretics and infidels, and for her permanent advance and the seizing of fresh provinces for Christ, we want not only your young, hot blood, which may God always send to us, for it is of immense service, and we cannot do without it, but we need also the cool, steady, well-disciplined, deeply-experienced. hearts of men who know by experience the truth of God, and hold fast what they have learned in the school of Christ.

May the Lord our God therefore send us many such; they are wanted.

Appley Goodness

The first trimester has followed me into the second trimester and I'm struggling with food. Nothing seems good to me.  But I have settled on an afternoon snack that I can stomach.  An apple with peanut butter and chocolate chips.  MERCY!  It's good.  :-)  Chase it down with a glass of freezing cold milk, and I'm in Heaven!  Now if I could just work out breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You can see Jack giving rabbit ears to the peanut butter.  That boy can't let a picture go by without doing something silly in it.  Kinda like his Mom, I guess.  ;-)

Mama's Kisses

I love having so many different ages in the house.  Our kids our 13, 10, 8, 3 and 1.  We're missing the fun 4-6 age, but that's a whole other story that you can read HERE.

Yesterday our 8 year old came into the house from the backyard pouting and limping.  He came over to the couch and sat down next to me, making little whimpering sounds.  I took the bait.

"What happened?"
"I hurt my knee." I investigated.  It was this little thing, the size of a pinprick. 
"How did you do that?"
"I don't know."  I held in my giggle.
"Do you want me to kiss it?"

And here is where he melted my heart.  He did that thing where he tries to hide his smile but doesn't really succeed because he's so happy he just got what he really wanted.  SWEET!  I kissed his knee and he said, "You don't know.  That really helps me."  Then he got up and went back outside.

OH MY GOODNESS.  That boy knows how to melt his Mama's heart.  :-)

Eighth Grade

Eighth grade has been a real eye-opener for us this year.  In anticipation of high school, Darin and I decided that this would be the first year that Ben would do his own History and Science studies.  Before now, the oldest three and I have done all that together.  It was real hard to let Ben go!  That time we all spent together in the afternoons doing experiments, narration and reading engrossing read-alouds has always been special to me.  I mean, what Mama doesn't want her family to all be together?  :-)

But in honor of Ben growing up (way too fast!) we set him up with Sonlight American History and Apologia General Science.  I gave him the schedules, a good punch in the arm and an "atta boy" talk and sent him off.  Over the years, I have read countless homeschooling moms write about how their older kids learn on their own and they have never seemed concerned or upset over the results.  I didn't think I would have had any issues either.  Then Ben took his first science test and bombed it.  It was bad.  I was in shock!  He's a smart kid!  What was he doing FAILING a test?

We had a talk.  He needed to make sure he was studying before the test and paying attention to what he was reading.  "Ok, Mom."  All right, then!

He failed the next test.  SO.  It finally occurred to me that the poor boy did not have any study skills.  He didn't know how to take notes or study for a test.  Honestly, I don't remember being taught how to do those things in public school.  Do you?????  It's just what we did?  Who knows.  So we have turned the focus of this year from it being the first hurrah of study on his own to using the curriculum we picked out for him as a means to teach him how to take notes, study for a test, and most important of all, how to be disciplined enough to get it all done as it should be done.  It's been a struggle because he doesn't like to take notes or study (I do remember THAT from public school ;-)

These are the things we've done to encourage study skills:
1) I have taken my own notes so he can compare his notes to my notes and see what he's missing in his notetaking.  He has a tendency to want to write as few details as possible.  I've really had to stress to him how his notes are the key to successful test taking. 

2) There have been days when I have had to stand over him to make sure that after he finishes the assignment for the day, that he goes back over the previous day's notes for review.  It takes five minutes and the benefits are huge.

3) Pop quizzes!  Oh, how I used to hate those things.  For one thing, I hate surprises.  For another, how embarrassing for my teacher to see how little I was paying attention - for the most part.  LoL  Ben's scores on these little quizzes have slowly improved.  I think he might be getting it!

4) Narraton.  This little Charlotte Mason gem of an idea is still effective.  I don't tell him when I'm going to ask him to narrate.  He just has to be ready when I do ask.

5) Expectations.  Darin and I have laid out our expectations for the quality of Ben's work, and we expect for him to follow through.  Falling down on our expectations is the quickest way to raise a lazy, unmotivated boy who will struggle in life with these character issues.

Pregnancy Update

The poison ivy is practically gone, and I'm so glad.  All that's left on my arms are dark red patches, a few scabs and lots of dry, flaky skin.  No more steroids.  No more antibiotics!  I was still nursing Sophia (17 mos.) and had to wean her cold turkey because of the steroids.  I hid the Boppy in the closet so it wouldn't remind her but she found it yesterday and brought it to me, so excited and saying, "Da! Da! Da!"  That's her all-purpose word for just about everything.  I said, "Do you want to eat?"  She said, "Mmm-hmmmm!"  So we assumed our positions and she gave it a try.  It took her about 3 seconds for her to come to the conclusion that it was never going to be the same.  She got up saying something like yuck.  I asked her if she wanted to eat more and she shook her head and ran off.  Waaah.  :-)

I think the steroids helped me with the nausea I was having.  All last week I felt fine!  I thought it was because I was nearing the end of the first trimester, but after finishing all the medicine, my upset tummy has returned.  Seems the one thing I crave is milk.  It helps soothe things a bit, but talk about Dragon Breath!  Tic Tacs are a daily staple, along with the milk.  ;-)

Anyway, I had a first appointment with our new OB this week.  It was really hard to switch doctors even though I knew it was the best way to go.  My old OB delivered all our other five babies, so the familiar was hard to give up.  But after the first visit with Dr. Cummings I have no regrets!  For one thing, it turns out we go to the same church!  Best of all, he is excited for our 6th baby and is not interested in inserting himself or any unnecessary procedures into the pregnancy.  He said he doesn't expect to hear from me at all.  He's just going to let God do His thing, and we'll see each other once a month!  How cool is that?  My other OB was constantly wanting to do this test or that.  I spent all my time saying, "No. We're not interested in that." while she gave me those "how dare you endanger your baby" sort of looks.  So, peace.  Sigh.  It's nice.  :-)

I wasn't sure, but I had thought all during the month of April that I was pregnant, but had a negative test at the beginning of the month.  This has happened with  me before with all our girls(!).  When Dr. Cummings was checking me out, he mentioned that he thought I was either further along than 7 weeks, or was carrying twins.  I quickly assured him that I thought I was further along.  ;-)  So we made a sono appointment for later that day.  Jack, Lydia and Sophia went with me and we got to see our sweet little babe for the first time!  The baby measured at almost 12 weeks, so I WAS pregnant during April.  I'm so excited!  Here I am already in the 2nd trimester.  I just can't wait to meet this new little one. 

I feel SO pregnant right now because I tear up over the littlest things!  The kids and I watched the National Spelling Bee this week and evey time one of the kids misspelled a word, it killed me.  The kids would look over at me and say, "Mom!  Quit crying!"  LoL 

Poison Ivy

Well.  It's been weird around here the last week and a half.  Back on May 9th, our family got together with the rest of Darin's family for a photo session in a beautiful park close by.  We had a great time, but the entire time, Henry wanted to get and get over to the waterfall to play.  It was a busy day in that park.  TONS of people were there getting their pictures taken, and the waterfall was a hot spot.  Our photographer took us to a gorgeous bridge where we took most of our pics.  So we were finally done, and Henry and I braved the irritation of the other photographers to go stand on the edge of the waterfall for just a minute!  :-)  Henry had a leaf he wanted to throw in so he could watch it go down the falls.  He couldn't quite get it into the water.  It kept landing just short, in the weeds.  So I retrieved his leaf for him each time, until he finally got the leaf in.  Woohoo!  Success.  :-)

The problem is that I got poison ivy from that little jaunt by the water, and I don't just get poison ivy.  It gets me!  The last time I had it, it was on my legs, arms, face, stomach....everywhere.  I went to the dr. for it and she gave me a steroid pill.  I was back two days later and she gave me the pill AND a steroid shot.  My friend's neighbor thought that I was a burn victim.  The nurses at the doctor's office were afraid they would be the one asked to be my nurse.  When my doctor wanted me to get a blood allergy test, the phlebotomist (my next door neighbor!) was afraid to touch me.  God bless them all.  I would have been freaked out, too!  But just so everyone knows....it's a bloodstream thing.  The poison is passed around our bodies through our blood.  Not contact.   :-)

Anyway, after the shot and pill combo, I spent two days being wide awake, but the stuff was gone.  This time, it was only on my arms and a little tiny bit on my chest and stomach, so I thought I could handle it on my own.  I especially wanted to do this because I really didn't want to take drugs while pregnant.  I could just kick myself.  I tried just about every home remedy I could get my hands on, but ended up at the doctor's office on Wednesday afternoon with a low grade fever and infected poison ivy.  Waaaah!  So now I'm taking oral steroids for a week, an antibiotic for the infection, and have to take Claritin for 2 months.  My doctor said this will be a slooooowwww recovery and I believe her.  After two days on the antibiotics, I don't feel all that much better.  I am frustrated with not being able to do much!  Thank God that Darin was able to stay home today and help me take care of everything around here.  What peace of mind that brought!  It was also nice to have some meals stashed in the freezer that we've been able to use.  God is good.

Vision Forum Giveaway, Part 2

Naomi won!  She chose a copy of Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ (1 DVD & 2 CDs)

Naomi, I have sent your info to Vision Forum and know they will quickly get your DVD in the mail to you.  Enjoy it!  I also have a copy of that DVD coming in the mail to me, and can't wait to watch it.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...

Outside my window... I think the weather is finally going to clear up.  Our backyard has been a muddy swamp for a few weeks.  I’m ready for it to dry out so we can get back there and do some yard work we’ve been ready to get to.  This summer we are adding a new 10x10 storage shed we got for free!, a 23 ft. long by 3 ft. wide raised garden, and hopefully a wooden play structure that Darin will build.

I am thinking... that I am so excited to be pregnant.  I am amazed, and can’t believe we get to add another little personality to our home.

From the learning rooms...I have an increased sense of purpose.  I’m trying to hold myself back so we’re not doing school 24/7, but I can’t help thinking of how I’m going to feel by the time December rolls around – like a stuffed tick!  I always have good intentions to do school up till the bitter end, but usually can’t bring myself to function around my gigantic tummy by the time the last month of the pregnancy arrives.

I am thankful for...how God has provided for our family during a tight, financial time.

From the kitchen...I just really, really hate food right now.  ;-)  I struggle to make our weekly menus.  I’ve been asking the fam what they want for dinner and we’ve been eating a lot of pancakes and tacos.  LoL

I am reading...nothing.  Being at the beginning of this pregnancy, all I want to do is sleep. 

I am hoping... that I can bring myself to keep on keepin’ on when I need to.  I feel as if I could sleep all day!  ;-)

I am creating...creative ways to get in a nap here and there.

I am praying... for a good pregnancy, delivery and healthy babe.

Around the house...trying to keep my head above water.

One of my favorite things...a clean bathroom. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...will be visiting with some friends on Friday.  Otherwise, nothing!  We’re all grateful for that.  All of April and the beginning of May has been PACKED with so much.  We’re ready to chill out.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
I could just eat this boy up!

Go here to read more Daybook entries.

Vision Forum Giveaway

Vision Forum has come out with some new DVDs that look really good!  Check out the titles:
You May Not Take our Guns (DVD)
The Devolution of Law (DVD)
Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation (DVD)
The State of Parental Rights in America (DVD)
Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ (1 DVD & 2 CDs)

They all sound good!  I am personally most interested in The State of Parental Rights in America and Christianity and Science Fiction.  Am I the only one with kids who are neck deep into The Lord of the Rings?  Our three oldest walk around the house listening to the LoTR soundtrack on their iPods!  TOTAL LoTR geeks.  Ben, our oldest, wants to be a writer, and he is doing everything he can to emulate J.R.R. Tolkien.  He has read just about every book Tolkien has written, not to mention books and magazines about Tolkien. 

I just downloaded an audio copy of Christian History magazine that was devoted to Tolkien and we listened to it at night before bedtime.  It was kind of dry and I thought to myself, "I can't believe the kids are even getting any of this."  Come to find out, Ben has been all ears!  One of the things we learned about Tolkien was that he studied languages such as Finnish, Gothic, Old English and Welsh.  It was a passion for him.  The next day, Ben, who has been working on his own book, asked if I knew of an onlne translation site that could help him with a few words.  I teased him a little and reminded him that Tolkien STUDIED and KNEW languages, which is how he was able to create new languages.  There are at least two that he created that can mostly be used to actually communicate.  But it got Ben's brain working, and I hope that soon he will be encouraged to go beyond an online translator.

More than anything, I would like for Ben's work to mirror God's influence in his life and am grateful for any resource that will help him to understand his role in the Big Picture.  Vision Forum seems to think of everything!  ;-)

SOOOOOO.....would  you like to win one of the above titles for your family?  If so, please leave your name and email address or blog address so I can get in touch with you!  This giveaway will end at noon (CST) on May 15th.  Good luck!

I'm Pregnant!

Took a test last Friday night to make it official and all, but I was suspecting all during the month of April that I was pregnant.  As the month wore on, I became increasingly more tired and slow.  The biggie for me was the night we had breakfast for dinner.  I was working my way through my scrambled eggs and got to the point, about halfway through, when they just looked and felt rubbery and NASTY.  I have not recovered from that to this day.  ;-)

Darin and I are in a little bit of shock.  We've never really felt as if we have a "big" family before.  Other people we know have big families, but not Darin and me, eh?  Now with the upcoming arrival of #6 (late December/early January), we feel as if we're going to join the ranks of our friends who have big families.  Isn't that silly?  Maybe once he/she/Stephen/Claudia arrives, we'll decide that we still feel as if we don't have a big family. 

I'm excited about the new OB that I will be going to!  This is a guy who believes that women should have babies until their bodies are done.  What a concept!  I've been totally stressing out my old OB with every new pregnancy with the homeschooling/big family/she's-too-old-to-be-giving-birth- thing.  I didn't want to be responsible for any increased stress in her life, so I am just quietly slipping off to this new guy. 

Newspaper Interview, Part 8

The final installment of the Q&A from a newspaper interview for a newspaper called The National, which is printed in the Middle East.

What is your message to other women and other families about the lifestyle you have chosen?
I guess if I had to say anything to others about being a Quiverfull family, it would be that this lifestyle is one in which there must be a commitment made before jumping in.  A lot of ladies get romantic when they think about having babies.  Having babies is great.  I love being pregnant, giving birth, and breastfeeding….everything about babies.  But then the babies grow up.  It takes years for those sweet babies to grow up, along with lots of patience, discipling, hard times, and teaching.

What do you think is the biggest misperception about the life you lead? 
I think one of the biggest misperceptions about the Quiverfull movement in general is that all Quiverfull families have large families.  I know some couples who are Quiverfull but have no children.  Some have 1, 2, or 3.  I have a friend who has 7 children, but is not Quiverfull.  They just wanted a large family.  When they hit the number 7, my friend got her tubes tied. 

Another misperception is that we are all conservative, right-wingers.  As I mentioned before, this is not true.  Of course Darin and I are, so I guess we are contributing to the misperception.  LoL

Another misperception is that some men and women think they “could never do it.”  Anyone can have lots of kids and enjoy it.  It just takes us allowing God to renew our minds (Romans 12:2) to get away from what the world says about children being a burden.

Another misperception is that Quiverfull Moms and Dads are perfect parents.  We never lose our tempers, never get discouraged, and always know the perfect thing to say to our kids in every situation.  We are human, too!  We make mistakes, sometimes lose it and yell at the kids, get grumpy and wish for time away.  ;-)