Official Announcement

We're having another baby! Yep, Baby #9 will be here in April, Lord willing. We're 12 weeks along and I'm finally starting to feel better. I still can't take my vitamins yet, even at night, but I'm hoping that'll change soon too.

I ran into a lady at Sams today and struck up a fun conversation. She had this tiny 5 week old baby boy. My babies are not tiny anymore by the time they are 5 weeks old but this one had had the stomach virus and was still only 8 pounds. Anyway, she said she found a great help, not a cure, but a help for morning sickness. She kept peanut butter by the bed and ate a heaping tablespoon of it before she got up. She said it stabilized her sugars and actually worked. I don't need to do that now, but I will try it next time. If anyone reading this tries it, comment me and let me know if it worked. I've actually been sicker in the evenings so I don't even know if that would apply to me.

Most of us are hoping for a girl so Baby Girl will have a playmate. CT wants a boy b/c he wants an official sized family soccer team. We're thinking of the names Lindsey or Elijah.

I've gained 2 pounds so far and can not wear my favorite pants. I guess I'll have to find a new favorite.

I have a new doctor. This was really stepping out for me b/c I've been with the same one for so long and he has delivered most of my babies. It was time for a change though and I really like my new one. Since I'm so old (37) he actually does fewer tests instead of more! What a refreshing change.

Since I hate being pregnant, I've found ways to pamper myself only when I'm pregnant. That gives me things to look forward to. This is what I've come up with so far....
Buying whatever juice I want in the grocery store, even if it's not 100% juice. I love Welch's Passion Fruit. Juice is our (after the kids go to bed) snack.

Real popsicles...not juice ones. I like Blue Bell Bullets. I wish they would sell only green ones.

Sonic ice.

Herbal tea baths. My sweet friend made this for me after Baby Girl was born and , oh it was so nice. I'm going to ask her for the recipe and keep it made up in the refrigerator.

Before Baby Girl was born I bought 2 new books at the Christian book store and saved them to read in the hospital. I didn't even take them out of the sack. It was fun to finally get to break them out. I'll do that again.

That's it, but I'm trying to think of more. Any ideas?

YIKES!

I'm wearing a t-shirt and jeans and sitting on the floor. All of sudden I feel something crawling up my back! I smacked the back of my shirt and could tell immediately that there was a big bug there. It felt like the size of a quarter! Here's the best part...when I hit it, it went down the back of my pants! You know that little gap in the back of your jeans when sit on the floor and lean forward? Just the right size for a bug to fall into!

I start doing the crazy dance trying to take my pants off. I'm jumping up and down and brushing off everything making double sure he's not on me but I don't see anything on the floor or in my pants either. I turn my pants upside down and shake them out and a big camel cricket jumps out at me!! AAEEOOOOWWW!

Do you know what those are? I had never seen one until we moved to AR. They are crickets that have long legs like a spider and can jump in every direction. They actually jump AT you to attack when you're trying to kill them! They are quite scary and can make you look like a fool with a fly swatter.

This is funny. I took the little boys to the grocery store today. They were a little more rowdy than I would've liked. As we're standing in line, I had to say things like...

"Don't touch that."
"Stop licking your brother."
"Stand right here and don't move."
"no!"

The lady behind me thought we were a great show. She told me that she once had little boys but now they are grown. She said she always looked forward to 8:00. I told her that I did too! Then she said..."But I think I'd put them to bed at 7:00!" LOL!

Homeschooling

Homeschooling is hard.

I am teaching the little boys to read. My 3yo is catching on very quickly. My 5yo is doing well but it is not as easy for him. Since we are reading from the same book, I teach them together. Today I almost made 5yo cry. It is nothing new for one of my children to cry about school, but for him to cry really struck a soft spot in my heart.

When I saw 3yo doing so well and surpassing him, it made me want to push 5yo a little harder. He didn't actually cry, but his eyes turned blue underneath like they do when he is about to cry. I felt so bad. I can't do that. The beauty of homeschooling is allowing them to learn at their own pace. That can be hard.

From now on, I will teach them separately. I think that'll help. Sometimes I wish I could just be their mom and not their teacher. I would just play with them, and love them, cook them yummy foods, correct them when needed, and read to them. But I definately don't want to be separated from them all day every day. Then there wouldn't be time for all that anyway.

Honey got the WASA business and the first day to shoot team pictures was today. We got everything ready last night and loaded into the car. We made plans with the kids and were all ready at 6:30 am. As we were getting into the car....BOOM! Thunder, lightning, huge storm! Well, there went that. Now we must use the make-up day that we scheduled....the Saturday that we were hoping to go away somewhere together. Rats. #5's game was cancelled as well as every other game scheduled for today. I guess the good news is that CT's game was already rescheduled to tomorrow b/c of the Hog game so his soccer game wasn't cancelled. He plays in Sugar Creek tomorrow.

It rained tons. Our downstairs started leaking...again. We've battled this leak for about a year now. We've had 5 diffent guys come out to look at it and no one knows what it is. It seemed to stop for awhile, we thought. But now it seems that it was probably leaking in a place we didn't notice. So the carpet was wet and Honey pulled out a drawer under the computer area. Water was standing underneath there! There doesn't seem to be water coming from above as the walls are not wet nor show any water damage. So we've already had a plumber, 2 contractors, 2 irrigation guys, and the builder of the house come look at it. No one has any idea at all...except that they are all in agreement that it is not coming from above. Now it will be a foundation man. I hope to get to the bottom of this mystery, but I'm afraid of what it will cost and the work it will mean.

Aunt Bea

Have you ever envied someone else's life? In my eyes, Aunt Bea has the perfect life. I noticed it last night while watching Andy Griffith.

She sends Opie off to school with no second thoughts. It's a good place and Ms. Crump is a good attentive teacher. There is no worry about bad influences and besides, Opie is always a good boy.

She has the rest of the day to do neat things like cook whatever yummy dinner she wants for her family without having to think about how long it will take. She has plenty of time to bake cookies and pecan pies for Opie when he gets home from school. She looks great in an apron.

There is no one in her house all day. She can make it noisy or quiet, whichever she prefers at whatever given moment. She can clean and organize her house the way she likes it and no one will move anything. That means it is ALWAYS clean!! Her Blue Willow china are her everyday dishes.

Because she has so much time, she can go to lunch with Claira whenever she likes and it is very simple. She can walk to the market when she is out of sugar for her pie. There is a friend to greet and visit with at every corner.

This has become my favorite show. I love Aunt Bea. My life is as different from hers as any life could be. And though I would not change that, it is nice to daydream........

A New Noise In the House

This has been a big year for 3yo. He is definately the over-achiever of the bunch. He has learned to swing himself, ride a 2-wheeler, swim underwater, read a little, and now he has learned something new. He can whistle!

A couple of nights ago at the dinner table, Honey was trying to show the little boys how to do it. They couldn't, so instead of whistling they would make a high-pitched noise with their mouths that sort of sounded like it. They tried to fool the dog, but Joey didn't buy it.

Tonight, out of the blue, #6 started whistling! His big brother thought he was blowing a whistle and asked to do it too! What a surprise! I had him stand up in front of everyone to show off his new skill. His sisters were impressed. So was I.

Yesterday, I had quite a run-in with my 3yo son. #6 is a tough fellow.

He decided that he was NOT going to make his bed. #2 is his buddy and is in charge of over-seeing his chores. I heard him arguing with her and then throwing a fit in his room. I go in and find out that it is over making his bed. I went in, spanked him, and told him to make his bed. Thinking we were done, I left the room. I was wrong!

About 5 minutes later he was throwing another loud fit. This time I went in and gave him a big speech about obeying his sister and obeying Momma. I spanked him again.

5 more minutes passed. I walked in to check his progress and found him complaining that it was too hard and he couldn't do it. Speech #2 was about being a sluggard vs. being a diligent man. I spanked him again. He assured me that he was the diligent man and was going to make his bed. I relieved my daughter and told her that I would take over the rest of his chore time.

5 more minutes passed. He's crying loudly in his room, bed still not made. I spank him again. Speech #3 was about being a good steward and taking care of everything God has given us. I was running out of ideas. I wanted to tell him that if he was unwilling to take care of his bed then he would lose his bed and have to sleep on the floor. I decided that that wouldn't work though b/c my kids love to sleep on the floor, in the closet, under the coffee table....anywhere that is not their bed. Soooo after considering a minute, I decided that he would lose his special blankey and pillows and would only be left with the big blanket on his bed. He didn't like that idea.

5 more minutes passed and I check his progress. Still a messy bed! Now I was really stumped. I thought the blankey/pillow idea would have changed his mind. I guess he didn't believe me. I spanked him again and told him to take all his pillows and his blankey to the couch. That did it! Praise the Lord! I had run out of speeches. My little son hugged me, and said he was "so sorry" and MADE HIS BED!!! Oh thank you Lord!

He had to take a nap without his blankey and pillows. At the dinner table he was telling Honey about it. When Honey asked him why he lost them he said "I was fighting wif Mommy." He had to go to bed last night with only the big blanket. Although he was sad, he handled it well. I was sad for him too.

If you've never had a fight with a 3yo, I would advise against it. They are formidable opponents!!

Our Garage Sale

Honey had to go into work at 6am Saturday. On his way to the car he noticed that our next door neighbors were having a big garage sale and were already set up. He ran back into the house and rallied everyone out of bed to get busy and put our junk out too.

Now even though I decided against the g-sale (I hadn't told Honey that yet), it now sounded like a pretty good idea since the neighbors already put out signs and the ad in the paper. At this point, our stuff wasn't even tagged. The girls came upstairs wondering how in the world this was going to happen. We got busy fast. We didn't have tables, so we started carting out the coffee tables, piano bench, ironing board, etc to use for tables. It worked.

It turned out to be a fun time. My kids had a great time at the neighbor's sale looking through all their junk. CT bought me a pretty glass bell for $1 as a surprise plus a cute frame for Baby's picture. MTT bought herself 3 new shirts. Even today they were still telling me of all the neat things she had that I hadn't noticed. Other people's stuff is always more exciting than your own.

We put it up about 12:30 with a grand total of $70. It's not much, but considering all we had was junk, I guess it's ok. The kids even made a $1 tip carrying stuff to someone's car. They were glad to add it to the pile and to know that their dollar was the one to take us over the edge to the $70.
Later that day, my son said "That was just about the funnest thing I've ever done!"

Well on my way to the tub, I stopped by the pantry to try to get some inspiration for tomorrow's breakfast. All of a sudden a mouse!!! ran out at me!!! I was stuck. My laundry room is in the back of my kitchen. In order to leave I have to go through the kitchen where the mouse ran. See my dilemma? If I go in the kitchen where the mouse is he could run out at me again. Oh, this is no good. I thought of going through the garage to the front door but the front door was locked. My son is at soccer practice. If he were home, I would make him "guard the way" for me in case he ran out. I stood there for a minute but decided that if I don't leave soon the mouse might come out anyway thinking the coast was clear. At least now he may be scared too and is hiding. I mustered up my courage and ran at top speed out of the kitchen! I called my girls into the laundry room to take every box of crackers, oats, beans, etc to the freezer....(they aren't afraid of mice and thought it was funny).

Honey, I want a cat!

I'm tired, I don't feel good, and I have a messy house that I just can't stay on top of. I know this is just a season but it sure seems long sometimes.

Joey (and Willow) got out again but my neighbor brought him home before we knew he was gone. This time the kids left the gate open that Honey closed. The gate situation is weird, we'll have to talk about that with the kids. I'm glad for good neighbors.

I was going to have a garage sale this weekend but I thought better of it. How can I have a garage sale when I can't even stay on top of the regular stuff? Tomorrow I will take it all to Thrift Town and be glad to be done with it.

I forgot to remind my child with cereal duty to make cereal. We're out. We don't have many eggs, and I just can't think of what to have for breakfast tomorrow.

I need to go soak in the tub and think these things over......

Lost and Found

We are still dog-sitting Willow. The kids went out to play in the backyard and discovered that the gate was open and the dogs were gone! Now Joey is such a good boy that he will stay in the yard even with the gate open. Willow is an explorer and saw her chance. Joey followed.

The big kids rode their bikes around the block looking for him. A friend of ours stopped by and he looked too. No Joey. I got in the car and drove all around but still no Joey. I started praying for him. He is not street smart and he is such a handsome guy than anyone would want him as their own.

I called the Humane Society and after describing them in detail she said I just needed to come in and look. This was a big disappointment. I don't exactly live close to the HS and I had a soccer game to be at in less than an hour. I called Honey from the car. He was at the soccer fields taking pictures of other teams. He offered to come home but there was really no point. There was nothing else to do. I was so frustrated driving to the HS. I was mad at Willow for leaving, mad at Joey for following, and mad at the HS lady for not being more helpful.

When I arrived at the Humane Society I walked through the whole kennel of sad looking dogs and adorable puppies. There were 11 other dogs that I wanted to bring home, but no Joey. At this I was just ready to cry. I think the lady could tell b/c she was being extra nice to me calling me "hon" and all. She gave me lost reports to fill out. I left them with her and headed to the game.

After the game, and dinner out of the way, Honey took the little boys to drive around and search some more. The girls and I prayed for them to bring Joe home. In a few minutes the phone rang. It was the HS lady saying an officer just brought in both dogs! YIPPEE!! She said that they were closed but that they would wait for us in the back. If we came right away they would waive all fees.

Joey was so tired when he got home. He crashed in the laundry room and didn't move. He wouldn't even raise his head when we talked to him. He finally got up at 2:30 this morning to go outside. Poor guy. This morning he is back to his same old self and was wrestling with 2yo in the family room. It's nice to have him back!

Hum, I don't know what is wrong with this thing but I can't seem to do colors anymore. Honey, can you fix it for me? Black is boring.

I LOVE this weather. It is so perfect! It sure makes soccer games easier. This is my favorite time of the year. Fall is actually my favorite, but I like the cool time before the fall b/c I like the feeling of knowing that fall is coming and will be here for awhile. Once Halloween passes, it seems like it all goes so fast and then it's winter. Why doesn't summer go by that fast?

Vacation is good. I think I could live on vacation. Honey is gone to story time with everyone except #3. Baby is taking a nap. #3 jumped on this chance to be home alone with me and is setting up a big game. I think we're playing Money Matters. It's sort of like Monopoly. He's a big game player and I'm just about the only one who likes board games besides him. That's our special thing to do together. Even when he was little he was hard to beat. He's a lot more competitive than I am. Now it's nearly impossible to win a game against him!

Honey is on vacation ALL week! It is so good. We aren't going anywhere but plan to do lots of stuff here at home. Tomorrow he is planning on taking everyone to see CARS. The little boys have never been to the theatre before so they will love it. It is also #5's first soccer practice of the season. He's so excited and has been counting down the sleeps until Tuesday.

#1 wants him to take her driving.
The boys want to go fishing but the trolling motor is broken so that might not happen.
If it warms up everyone will go swimming. They love it when Dad swims.
We may set up a photo shoot with some new stuff we got.
There is a field trip to the radio station that we plan to go to.
Honey may take the boys to story time and take pictures.
My big girls and I will go to the big consignment sale.

This weekend is the big Dawg Daze tournament here in town. That is always fun! Honey will stay for most of the day taking pictures (and hoping to sell some).

I think it'll be a fun week.

Christmas Lists

The kids and I sat down together the other day and made Christmas lists. My 3yo's list is so cute. Here it is...

candy
chocolate cake
action figures

He's so easy to please!

The interesting one is my 10yo son's list. There are things that are mature in nature, as well as things that reflect the fact that he's still a little boy.
On the top of the list is a Bowflex (!) and most of the list is made up of soccer or training equipment. There are also cute things like a spy night scope and a distress signal....what in the world is THAT!

My oldest daughter has very mature things on her list like a cd player with headphones and flair jeans.

#2 is very practical. She wants white shirts and socks!

#4 wants dance lessons and a new lamp for her headboard.

I've never kept Christmas lists before but I think I will save them from now on. It is such a cute reflection of who they are right now. When my 3yo is 10 he can laugh that he used to want candy, chocolate cake, and action figures.

My Quiet Time Today

Isn't it funny how when God is dealing with you on some particular issue, everywhere you turn it seems it has something to do with *that*? I have trouble with unforgiveness. I can hold a grudge for a long time. I can build a wall very quickly to shut out someone for as long as I wish. I also have the terrible tendency to re-wind what was said over and over in my head to remind myself of why I am mad and thus, justify my unforgiveness. Ugly, I know.

I have been going through that this week. And since I do not have to deal with this person much, there has been no hurry to change anything. However, and this is a big one, it has occupied much of my thoughts. I wake up in the night thinking about it. I think about it whenever there is a quiet moment during the day. I hasn't made for a good week.

I was actually crying over it the other day in the bathtub as I was thinking how displeasing my attitude must be to God. How could I be so unforgiving when I have been forgiven so much?
I am reading Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund. As I was reading in the bathtub, I came across this sentence.." (we are) slogging over miles of life, one step at a time, one decision at a time in choosing our course, suffering anything, and arriving gloriously at our destination." Well I'm certainly not going to arrive gloriously anywhere with all this extra baggage!

To be honest, I did pray about it but my heart wasn't in it. Since I don't see this person much it is easier to think I'll just get over it. I think I'd rather walk away from a mess than clean it up.

I have started working though My Utmost For His Highest again. Today his verse was in John 15. I started reading that chapter and this verse shot out at me. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever your wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7 That verse has always been a little confusing to me. Whatever I wish? Hum.... Well, I wish to be free from this bondage of unforgiveness! I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night and think about it anymore. I want to be gracious when I think of this person. I want to be done with this whole thing!!

It would seem that this should be easy. Just "get over it", right? And I thought of how I am supposed to "cover an offense with love when wronged or hurt". That's it! Perhaps my problem is not so much unforgiveness as a lack of love. That seems to be the root of so much. I read on....
vs. 17 "This is my command: Love each other. " He also says that He loved me before I ever even thought of loving Him. I do not have to wait for someone else, it can start with me! It is not conditional based on what someone else does. I can just love them anyway!

Ok, elementary I know, but it was a big revelation to me this morning and I feel a great weight lifted. There's more...vs. 8" This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." The thought that God would give *me* something that would be to the Father's glory is a precious thought. So, back to verse 7, I would say that love and forgiveness are what I ask for. The weight lifted when I realized that I don't have to get over it by myself, but that I can ask God to give me these things and it would be for the Father's glory.

Thank you Lord for this word this morning!

I took the little boys to the health food store yesterday. I like going in there. It has such an old-fashioned general store sort of atmosphere. My little boys like it too and were following behind me in a single-file row like little ducklings. I was enjoying looking at all the stuff I'd never heard of when I glanced back at the boys. My 2yo is carrying a big bag of organic oreos. Does he have good taste or what? A son after my own heart! He looks at me very seriously and says "I got this one," as though I had been looking for them all along. He was so cute that I had to buy them. I won't tell you what I paid for them, it was crazy. I don't think I can afford to take him again, his cuteness is too expensive!

Numba ates first "bites"

Well Numba 8 took her first "steps" away from the mommy milk factory recently. She took to it like she had been studying us for 8 months!

See her in her cuteness here: http://thetaggs.smugmug.com/gallery/1739446/2/90464924

The weather is so beautiful today. We've had lots of rain and now a cooler afternoon. August is so hot, dry and long. It's nice to have a reprieve.

It was perfect for #3's soccer game tonight. I think Baby was actually a bit chilly! We lost the game, but had lots of fun watching.

This afternoon we packed up the lunch boxes and headed to Honey's office to have lunch with him. I packed him leftover pizza but when he saw #1's egg sandwich, he talked her into trading. She is the expert egg sandwich maker. Honey offered her his leftover pizza and a dollar for trade. She took it and even threw in a peach slice too.

Baby starts fussing in her stroller so he picks her up to hold her while he eats. I think he had taken about 2 bites of the sandwich before she grabbed it and threw it to the floor! He was quite disappointed with that!! We all thought it was pretty funny. I gave him my pb&j but it just wasn't the same. I think he lamented over that sandwich all afternoon!

Here is a funny story that happened this weekend. It is one of those "you had to be there" stories but I'll try to tell it anyway.

My mom and grandmother came this weekend to visit and we went to Walmart yesterday. When we were walking out, I stepped on a gigantic wad of gum. It was HUGE! It must have been 5 or 6 pieces! I don't even know how anyone could've gotten it into their mouth. My shoe was so stuck that I almost stepped right out of it and it took an effort to lift the next step. As I was making my way to the car, I was dragging this thick line of gum though the parking lot. The more I tried to scrape it off, it worse it got. It was oozing up the side of my shoe and I was wearing flip flops!! It was a huge mess.

At this point I'm thinking I need a new pair of shoes. I mean I am at Walmart, right? My grandmother said it was ok and she would clean it off for me at the car. She was giggling the whole way. I don't really think my mom knew exactly what was going on b/c she was pushing the cart ahead of us with the kids. Sure enough when we got to the car I took my shoe off, my g'mother found some kleenex in the car, and started the gross job of cleaning my shoe. Is that LOVE or what?! I would never do that. In the meantime, Mom is having to unload the cart by herself and deal with the kids.

Grandmother actually did a very good job. I wouldn't have thought it could be done. Once in the car, my g'mother found a travel pack of baby wipes for her hands. She needed it. She gave me two and told me to use them on my shoe. No way!! Of course I didn't say that out loud but I guess she could tell by the look on my face that it wasn't going to happen. She took my shoe and finished it up with the wipes. Is she great or what?

Now Mom and the kids are asking what is going on and as we're trying to tell it, my grandmother and I are laughing so hard that we could barely speak. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. It really was SOOO funny....but I guess you had to be there.