Foto Friday- our newest fur ball

My kids bought a little albino fur ball bunny with their money this week and I just had to make you smile! She is the cutest little thing! Have a great weekend!

While I was away...

I decided to make a quick kitchen run while my boys were playing quietly in the living room. Everything seemed to be going fine while I was away.

Then I entered the living room and saw this...

















...and then this!












Wonder what happened? :)

Priceless!

What is it like being in a large family?

-sleeping past dawn? NO WAY! You're lucky if you make it UNTIL dawn!
-getting as much breakfast as you can possibly eat? No, not unless some of the others don't eat all of theirs!
-getting anything short of a homemade meal? Not often!
-get away without taking an afternoon nap or quiet time, nope!
-having juice, pop, kool-aide, or anything else but water or occasionally milk to drink? Don't think so! -sitting down to a quiet table for meal time? Are you kidding?! Way to much to talk about!
-brand new clothes? Yes, if a tag from Goodwill or a pulling them out of a grocery bag because somebody set it on your porch means they are new. Does the phrase, "New to you," come to mind?
-own room? Not! And if you did have your own, who would pray those scary dreams away or hide under the covers during storms with you?!
- own bed? Yes, IF you decide you want to be that lonely and not WANT to have a little sibling crawl into bed with you!
-playing by yourself? Who would want to do that anyway?:)
-looking for help with your school work? Take your pick! Lots of people have been there, done that!
-watch TV? IF you can find something on the 3 channels we get and who has time anyway?
-feeling left out and alone? NO POSSIBLE way!
-bored? Better not say you are, mom WILL find something for you to do!
-have to answer dumb questions from other people about how your life is because you are from such a large family? Constantly!
-good at communicating with ALL ages? Of course! You HAVE to learn how otherwise you will get ate alive!

-life is always perfect? Hardly, but the joy of sharing your life with many others day in and day out is simply put...PRICELESS!

Army bound?

Every once in awhile, I feel like there is a chance MAYBE the little things I am trying to teach my children is getting through. Responsibility, independence, and some evidence of order. Well, yesterday I was yelling, I mean gently calling to my child, to get downstairs. He had been up there quite awhile and to my experience, a four year old that is out of view and quiet is usually NEVER a good thing! No answer. So I decided to get my energetic, okay, lazy self up and check on him. And there right before my eyes, my angelic, never in trouble, adorable little boy was...are you ready for this, sitting on his floor with his clothes all in a row, FOLDING them and putting them in his drawer. Now don't get me wrong, this is something I have been teaching him to do for at least 2 years now, but usually with my direction. Nope, not this time! He looked at me with those big electric blues and said to me as I stepped into the doorway, "Mommy, I dust could not ake it aaannnyyymore! My cothes ere evywhere!!" AAAHHHH music to my ears! I will admit, I'm not sure what he meant because a couple hours ago I had just helped him put them away in his drawer but who am I to stop a neatness gene in him! It may be the only child I have that has it! I better enhance it and appreciate it while I can! (This is also the child who makes his bed every morning AND must get dressed the minute he wakes up!) Either he's going to be in the army someday, or he is just getting in practice to be a really good husband! This is what I call a "camel moment". Those days when you wonder if anything is getting through and then one moment something happens, such as my 4 year olds desire to be organized for a minute. I use these times to get me through the times when I want to throw my hands in the air and scream, (I mean quietly whisper), "who are these children and why are they calling me MOM!"

Today, I will gladly acknowledge he is mine! Tomorrow, we will wait and see!:)

 

 

 

Not "my child" Monday

These are some things that I have endured that teach me humbleness and to laugh. Although sometimes not right away!:) Clink on the box above to see more "Not Me's"!

It was not my children who ALL got the stomach flu this past week! No, not all 10 kids were regurgitating everywhere! My oldest daughter DID NOT sit on the couch moaning that she did not feel good and I did not tell her she better go up to the porcelain throne in case she "might" throw up! It was not her that decided she would be okay and she WAS NOT sitting 12 inches away from me and NOT the porcelain throne when she decided to lose her dinner not all over her lap and not all over the couch and no way was the entire family in the same room and they would have never had to witness the whole thing! They did not immediately cover their noses and did not all gasp at the same time yelling ewwwwww it stinks! I did not have to clean it all up! That would have been way to gross and I would not have been gagging myself when I was not scrubbing and scrubbing the upholstery! Febreeze surely WOULD have worked! No, not with the stomach flu, I guess! Surely I cleaned it up while happily singing, "This is The Day The Lord Has Made." I was not angry while I was doing it, that would be a BAD mother!

It was not my 18 month old child who came to me with slobber running down his chin while he was chewing on something. I did not pull that something out of his mouth only to find a piece of old, been chewed many times, and with dog hair alllll over it, piece of gum! And he did not cry because he wanted it back in his mouth! My kids would know their chewed gum goes in the garbage, right?! Or DID they put it in the garbage and my 18 month old get it out of there! Things that make ya go HMMMM! I would certainly have my eye on that little guy and know every move he makes!

My 6 year old did not pull the fire alarm while we were eating at a restaurant! I did not pick a quiet place in the corner to escape the stares so I could nurse the baby in a half private area. The ENTIRE restaurant did not totally turn their heads in synchronized rhythm to the shrieking sound over in the "private" corner while I had JUST started to lift my shirt up to nurse. It was not one of those alarms that you have to turn off with a key and we did not have to wait for the manager to walk ALLLL the way from the front to the secluded corner in the back to turn it off! My brother did not stand up and yell across the restaurant, "Shows over, false alarm! Everyone is okay!" We did not leave a half hour later and the whole restaurant did not turn their heads to watch us leave!

Can you come up with anything your kids did that maybe embarrassed you? You are not alone!

Foto Friday

Glad my week ended up better than it began! Have a great weekend!

Be still and know

The other night I was holding my 8 week old as he was crying and getting very impatient to eat. He had about 30 minutes until it was time. Because I am his mom and I know what is best for him, I knew he needed to wait. If I fed him too early, he would either not eat enough to make it until his next feeding, get a tummy ache, and the worst would be that if I would give in all the time, he would think that every time he cries, I feed him. Not a good way to teach discipline! Which by the way, is important to them even as a tiny baby! It is the basis for life~ So as I was holding him, I gently said to him in that high pitched voice that I so often speak to him in, "Don't you know even if you did not cry, I know what you need! I am your mommy! I know you want to eat, and I will feed you when it is time."

Now I know he had NO clue what I was saying. But a thought crossed my mind, that is how it is with God and me! I cry and whine about all the things I think I need and want. The truth is, even if I said nothing, He knows exactly what I need and when I need it! The great thing is that He does want to hear what I have to say, just as when my baby cries, I understand that he is trying to tell me something and so I try to comfort him, but in MY way! God will and does listen to me, but ultimately He will do what He knows is best for me!

So I guess what he was trying to say to me, "be still and know that I am God!" Just as my little one can be still and know that I am mom! :)

 

Two words...

Okay, so here it is. This weekend did not go as I had planned! Why? You may ask. Or you may not, but here it is anyway... summed up in 2 dreaded words from a mommy of 11 kids...STOMACH FLU!

You may not prefer me to go any further in fear that I may give too much detail, but I think if I have suffered so much, why not spread the joy! :)

I thought I would include just for sympathy sake from my blog friends, (you are sympathetic, aren't you?) Some of the things I did not accomplish because of the visit from the worst enemy of a large family, Mr. Stomach Flu:

I was not able...

-to clean ANYTHING! (Really, that is NOT true! My carpets are spot cleaned better than ever and I think our bedding smells fresher than it has for a long time!)

-cook anything with flavor OR color in fear that at any given time, one more child would begin to make that familiar moaning sound followed by the next familiar sound! (Need I say more?!)

-get any sleep! (Just for a side note~ this whole thing started the night that my 8 week old decided to sleep the whole night for the first time, so I COULD HAVE had a great nights sleep minus the regurgitation every half hour from my other children!)

-spend much time with my husband unless it involved cleaning up carpets and changing bedding together. We did get a pretty good system going!

-to go to our state fair to watch my oldest compete in her first fiddling contest, we figured fried foods on a stick would not go well with Mr. Stomach Flu!

-to gather things for our families garage sale this coming weekend, (although the thought crossed my mind to put some price tags on my children's forheads a couple times!)

Things I was able to accomplish...

-not getting Mr. Stomach Flu myself

-everything that God wanted me to! After all, taking care of my family is the one and only thing God intended for me to do this weekend! (I just would have liked to have done it a little differently! :) Maybe a day at the park, a picnic, the fair...)

As my grandma always used to say, "This to shall pass!" And for that I am truly thankful!

Foto Friday...Brotherly love!

May they always be in awe of each other! In a loving way that is! Not an awestruck, "I can't believe my brother did that", sort of way!:)

 

 

Have a great God-filled weekend friends!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER!!!

To my mother, my friend!


Mother, thank you...

...for loving me when I was an unlovable teen
...for giving me everything you had when you felt like you had nothing to give
...for showing me how to love others
...for showing me how to forgive others when they treated me wrong
...for never leaving me when others left you
...for allowing me to grow by making my own mistakes
...for trusting me
...for believing in me when everyone else was putting me down
...for making me laugh even when I did not think I wanted to!
...for listening to me when you needed somebody to listen to you!
...for being an awesome grandma to my children

...for the most important thing a mother could ever show, the Love of Jesus!

You are truly an example to me of what it means to love others unconditionally and how Jesus loves us! You have always made me feel I am here on this earth for a reason and that God has a special plan for me! You will never know how much that has meant to me! I love you and thank you for not only being my mother, but my best friend!

I Love you!

The oldest kids plan and cook

From the time my kids were able to help pour things in a bowl with ease, I have had them helping me in the kitchen. I always thought it was important to teach them to cook. I never made a meal once until I got married! By the grace of God, I have learned to cook and bake and enjoy it very much. But occasionaly it is a blessing to not have to worry about a meal. So...part of our home education is once a week, the oldest 3 must plan a meal. That includes a budget that I set, ingredients, perparation and the dreaded clean up! (Which is nothing new, because they have meal clean-up every night anyway!) Last night my oldest son and oldest daughter decided to chip in together and make a meal with dessert.

On the menu:

Grilled pork chops marinated in sesame terriyaki sauce
Hot dogs on the grill and brat burgers
Homemade french fries
Corn casserole
Grapes

And for dessert...
Fruit Pizza (our family's favorite!)


Won't he make a good husband someday?!

 

A wife and mother in the making!

 

Grilled chops anyone?

 

The table is set!

 

I highly recommend doing this with your children! It is a great feeling of accomplishment for them and it encourages them independence once on their own. I also teach our younger children to thank them excitedly which just adds an added blessing to everyone!!

Where arrreeee you...

I lost my 18 month old for awhile...we called his name...nothing...called his name again...nothing...and then the door slowly opens...and...

 

...there he was...

 

...oh, if only he were not so stinkin' cute! It makes being a responsible, consistent, parent reeeaaalllyyyy hard! :)

 

Foto Friday

Before the heat wave comes, we decided to have a picnic and some fun at the park! Enjoy your weekend, blog friends!

In Memory...

Today I have a favor to ask! In memory of Savannah, today would you take a few minutes to pray for those of you who know people who have lost children.

The parents of Savannah, dear close friends of mine, are remembering 2 years ago today when she went home to be with Jesus. I have never had to go through this kind of pain and NEVER want too. I have watched the pain it causes and seen the sorrow and brokenness it causes.

I cannot imagine walking in the door of the home that she once walked through but will never walk through again

Passing the bedroom she once slept in but will never again lay her head on HER pillow

Going to the store that she always went to with YOU and never being able to buy her that outfit she couldn't keep her eyes off of

Seeing her favorite color but not being able to watch her smile in delight,
Christmas without buying her a gift

When her birthday comes and you remember the first time you held her in YOUR arms knowing now that although now she is in Jesus arms YOU will never hold her again in yours

Seeing somebody that would be her age and wondering what SHE would be doing

And I will never comprehend the pain going to that grave sight and seeing my child's name on the stone and knowing I will never again see her this side of heaven!

When you lose a spouse, you are a widow or widower,
When you lose your parents, you are an orphan,
There is no name for it when you lose a child!


Today, Willie and Roland, I think of you and want you to know I am lifting you up in prayer into Jesus loving arms, and know that He is holding Savannah also!

To my dad- I know when my sister, Gail died, you too felt all these things. You were so strong for mom, my brother and I as you walked through the deepest pain of your life! Thank you for holding US up when YOU needed to be held! You were so selfless! Thank you for showing us to look to Jesus and reminding us that this life is just a vapor in the wind and we have a greater hope that soon, we will see her again! I love you!

Savannah's mom has started a blog in memory of her, check it out here www.savannahshope.blogspot.com

One-handed

One of the arts of motherhood is how to do things with baby in tow!

Things I can do one-handed while holding a baby:

1. Paint my toenails and my fingernails
2. go the bathroom
3. cook an entire meal
4. get dressed
5. play bowling on the WII
6. my make-up
7. vacuum
8. type (not real speedy)
9. write thank-you notes
10.change the next to oldest diaper
11.eat (have dropped my share of food on the poor sweet things head!)
12.fold laundry
13.sort laundry
14.drive (just kidding) Did I get your attention?!
15.sleep ( I know, you can suffocate them! So far I have taken naps with all 11 and we have never had a problem! :)
17.dust
18.grocery shop
19.eat ice cream
20.make cookies

Time goes too fast!
I must hold this little one while I can.
So for now, things may be messier,
And it would be easier to do these things with 2 hands,
But all too soon this scrumptious baby will be all to big to carry in my arms
So I will continue to work while I can,
With my baby in my arms!

 

Let me know of some things you have learned to do one-handed!