"I be twoooo!"

FULL OF:

 cuteness
boyish charm
kisses
love

YOU:

Fill the house with giggles

love to climb on and in EVERYTHING

have a crib tent because of it

don't like to talk much yet

but always get your point across

love blueberries

give kisses to your baby sister ALL the time

are terrrified of our peanut butter jar

would be outside ALLLLL day if you could

are not scared of anybody

still take 2 naps a day

have a blue bunny you sleep with

love to take baths

love to play ball

follow whatever your many brothers do

get into trouble because of it

have us wrapped around your little finger

WE:

are so blessed to have you in our family!

thank God for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OUR SWEET BOY!

 

Birthday's

There is NO way around it!  We celebrate lots of birthday's during a year! 

I have lots of people ask how we afford it. 

 The parties, gifts, cakes, and more importantly how do we keep their day special! 

With 4 birthday's alone this month, I thought it would be good to share some idea's we do to keep birthday celebrations to a minimal cost but still keep our sweet blessings from God, feeling special!

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•  We don't have parties with their friends, just family members
•  We have a special plate that ONLY the birthday child gets to use on their birthday
•   I make cupcakes or a cake for them from scratch with them choosing which flavor they want
•   I take them out for lunch ON thier special day to a fast food restaurant of their choosing and their buddy gets to come along
•   They get one gift from us or $20 that they can go shopping with (They don't get much during the year from us except at garage sales or Christmas so $20 is a BIG deal!)
•   They get to choose a meal of their choice for dinner with all the fixings and of course get to use their special plate
•   Dad prays a blessing over them before their birthday meal  (They LOVE this time!)
•   To start the day off in a great way!  My parents (their grandparents)  ALWAYS calls them first thing in the morning and sing Happy Birthday to them!  (You could use somebody else in your family or do it yourself using somebody elses phone)
•  I don't always do this, but I have gotten balloons to set in their room when they wake up in the morning!  (I have to many young children at this time and balloons scare me because of choking on them!)
•   I always write a love letter to them each year and save them in an envelope to give to them when they have their own baby! I always include the things they have done that year and the things that I love in them as I watch them grow.  ( I have not been able to give these to them yet but someday when I become a grandma!  :) 

I would LOVE to hear of some things you do to make your child's day EXTRA special!

scattered thoughts...

==I LOVE rainy days! 

==It is pouring right now with rolls of thunder in the back-ground

==Boys are busy VERY early in the morning

==Boys are busy EVERY moment of the day!

==But it is so fun having them around!

==The early morning paper route we are doing is getting OLD for my hubby!

==The older kids help, but go back to bed

==Not my hubby!  He is TIRED very early in the evening

==I gave up TV

==I now enjoy listening to sermons from Jack Hayford and R.C. Sproul after the kids go to bed

==Any suggestions for some other good preachers?

==Pandora is one of my favorite new finds on the internet

==I have a weakness for doughnuts

==My husband brought some home this morning after the paper route
==I want to eat WAY more than I should

==I only ate one

==...so far! :)

==Have to wash diapers this morning

==Should of done that yesterday when the sun was out

==Going to our state homeschooling conference this weekend with my husband

==I strongly urge you to go to one if you homeschool

==It is so hard to get everything in order to leave

==But always worth it

==Wondering why I am sitting on my computer when my head is spinning with everything I need to do

==The baby went 10 hours last night!

==Out of 12 babies, she is the most content and easiest I have ever had

==After pumping for 10 weeks, she is finally nursing from me!

==Of course AFTER I bought a new double breast pump

==I hate the heat and we have had record breaking temps this week

==Today, I LOVE the cool air coming in my screen door

==I found a wooden doll house someone was getting rid of, for FREE

==I can't wait to finish it... someday

==It is probably worth about $150 before I decorate it

==I just remembered, I took it out of the van and now it is getting rained on!

==AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGG!==

Okay,

Now, I must get going and on with my day!

Enjoy your weekend!

 

In need...

I have been, for a very long time, in need of a refreshing rain of peace from my Heavenly Father!

It's been rather dry in my soul...

Not wanting it that way, it just has been...

Life gets hard sometimes and things just get in the way!  

The path I am on right now, gets me weary at times...

Lots of waiting, wondering, guessing, and not able to plan!  (That is hard for me!)

But...

God sees all! 

He knows what I need!

I just have to give it to Him and not keep it to figure out on my own!

And at just the right time...

A refreshing rainstorm flooded my soul and cleansed my heart!

Nothing that I can really explain...

Just a reminder that He IS there and He DOES care and He has NOT forgotten me!

A reminder that...

Birds neither sow nor reap, and He cares for me MORE than He does those beautiful flying creatures!

How profound and yet so simple!

Yep, I am in need!

 And He found a way to provide a peace to let me know if He is for me, who can be against me!

He is also on your side! 

Ask for the rain! 

The kind you don't want an umbrella for!

Thank you for the rain, God! 

You have once again, been ever so faithful!

Help me to stay under your precious water of cleansing so that I will continue to see You, not my circumstances!

Just some pics

Not much time to blog lately but always time to share some pictures!

Lots of baby lovin' going on!

Using our armor to fight off the wicked one!

Holdin' baby bunnies too!

Just can't resist putting more pics of this little one in! 

( She IS as yummy as she looks!)

GOTTA LOVE dresses and bows!

Down but not destroyed...

Another job rejection for my husband came today.  This was my devotion for the day that reminded me of where I need to be with my Savior! THINK AS JESUS TAUGHT
"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 We think rightly or wrongly about prayer according to the conception we have in our minds of prayer. If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly. The blood flows ceaselessly, and breathing continues ceaselessly; we are not conscious of it, but it is always going on. We are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect joint with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life. Beware of anything that stops ejaculatory prayer. "Pray without ceasing," keep the childlike habit of ejaculatory prayer in your heart to God all the time. Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer, He had the boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. Have we by the Spirit the unspeakable certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when God does not seem to have answered prayer? "Every one that asketh receiveth." We say - "But . . . , but . . ." God answers prayer in the best way, not sometimes, but every time, although the immediate manifestation of the answer in the domain in which we want it may not always follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer? The danger with us is that we want to water down the things that Jesus says and make them mean something in accordance with common sense; if it were only common sense, it was not worth while for Him to say it. The things Jesus says about prayer are supernatural revelations. ~Oswald Chambers

Bra Straps...

I was at my oldest daughter's violin recital this past weekend and I watched a sweet girl walk in and sit down with her grandmother and mother.  As we sat and listened to the beautiful music being played, I noticed the grandmother slip her hand over gently and push her grand-daughter's bra strap under her dress because it was showing. ( Because in HER time, it would have never been proper for a young lady to be showing her bra strap!)  My how things have changed!  The young girl looked a touch annoyed with her grandmother but did nothing to the other shoulder which showed the other strap.  In fact, I was almost convinced that she intionally moved her arm so her dress would slip again to SHOW her bra strap! 

Now, I know it is a different generation but it grieves my heart so much that young ladies, (and some not so young) really have lost any sense of modesty!  Girls walk around in shirts that really leave nothing to the imagination.  Having 8 sons, one being 17, I realize the impact that half/dressed girls can have on a male!  We teach our boys to look away, resisting the urge to lust and stare but even a glance makes it very difficult for them!  If only the girls would realize that is so much better for them to keep themselves pure and simple visually!  Men ARE attracted to that even MORE!  Yes, men are attracted by sight but only physically and that will fade!  But attraction to purity and internal beauty last eternally! 

Having 3 girls, now 4, it is such a temptation to dress the way of what is "popular".  And finding clothes that even fit "normally" is a struggle sometimes!  (I'm glad the layered look is in because it takes many layers to cover up what some people would not cover!)  So, my girls have found a great way around showing bra straps and what the bra actually is supposed to cover under shirts!  Sometimes it is not easy and we have had some limit issues that have been addressed before they happen.  But this weekend, as I watched one generation correct another generation in what I feel has been lost, I knew I must continue to make sure my girls grow up knowing what is right and good in God's eyes.  Hopefully a conviction to dress in the way that would please their God!  I am SURE that does not include flaunting bra staps!

Spring has sprung!

Lots going on around here now that the weather has FINALLY turned from winter to summer!
(tomorrow is supposed to reach over 90!  2 nights ago we had the furnace running!)

Nothing better than sister's enjoying each other's company at a spring parade...

Lots of baseball!  (We have enough family members for an entire team!)

...more baseball!

...and MORE baseball!

Just watching the world go by in his little car!

The beauty of God's outdoor creation!

AND...

Still enjoying God's little creation He has blessed us with!

Hope you are able to begin enjoying this wonderful time of year!

Yes, SpRiNg HaS sPrUnG!