Just a little update-the good and the bad

For those of you who let me know I was in your prayers yesterday, thank you! Just to give you a little update. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic yesterday because I was getting sicker and sicker. Yes, more coughing! It is a very strong antibiotic so he said after 1 dose I should notice a difference. I took the first dose at about 2:00 yesterday afternoon and by 5:00 last evening I think every fluid in me started to drain. (Sorry about the graphic details!) About 7:00 I noticed I was not coughing near as much which is what my torn muscle needed! I went to bed early and only woke up 1 time coughing for about 5 minutes. For 5 nights before that I was up every hour for an hour coughing non-stop. So quite a change. I rested quited peacefully! As I sit here now, I have been coughing some, but the cough is different. So, the good news is I feel better and my coughing has subsided the bad news is my muscle is still causing extreme pain. But half the battle is being won!
Thank you for remembering me and keep praying for healing! It is working!

"Works For Me Wednesday"

This is my frugal tip for the week for "works-for-me Wednesday". Hope it can save somebody a little cash! You can read other helpful hints on www.wearethatfamily.com

We homeschool, and I cannot afford to by workbook after workbook, so I tear the pages out of a workbook and use a 3 ring binder with plastic page protectors and insert the workbook pages into them. They use dry erase markers and a paper towel to do each page. This works great for little ones since they can do the same pages over and over and you can pass down the book child to child. This is also a money saver for those who do not homeschool for at home fun. It works great in the car if your children are taught to only write ON THE PAGES, not the car seats! ;)

The joys of the 3rd trimester of pregnancy

I know age makes a difference when carrying a child! When I was 22, pregnant with my first child, NOTHING bothered me. I was as swollen as the Good-year Blimp, had pimples everywhere, my feet grew in width as much as I grew in girth (which was alot, I gained 56lbs with my first), and I was oblivious to it all! I walked around in a cloud with with anticipation for the coming week and just could not wait to see what pregnancy held in store for me! Well, now 15 years later and on my 11th living child, (14th pregnancy however)my ignorance is replaced with wisdom of what is to come. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the joy of carrying a child and helping God with a miracle! I never get over the wonderful feeling of a little one kicking, hiccupping, turning and growing inside of me. Hearing the heartbeat is something that nobody but a mother can exaplain the joy it brings! However, I am now in my 3rd trimester and reality of the coming final weeks has approached me. Hopefully you will find this reality, not a complaint! For now, my feet have not swelled, I have recieved a few pimples off and on, and I am actually losing weight rather than gaining it (the doctor is not alarmed by the way), and now the cloud I walk around in is only filled with anticipation to hold my little one in my arms, not in my aching belly! Here is the problem. I have gotten a TERRIBLE cold in the past week and have coughed so much that I have somehow pulled a muscle, maybe torn it, in my abdomen. It is like a knife slicing me open in one small area to the right of my belly button. The doctor said because of the stage I am in the pregnancy (30 weeks), it will not totally heal until after the baby comes because the baby is only going to get bigger in the coming weeks furthermore,stretching my abdomen muscles that much more. So, the plan of action is no lifting, and no strenuous activivity. Not really an option for a mother of 10 other children! So my pregnancy bliss has some pain involved. I know it is not life or death but 9 weeks of this kind of pain may do me in! I DO know I have a family doctor who can heal me! God! If you could please pray for me this week for my body to be touched and for this pain to subside, I would greatly appreciate it! I have seen others ask for prayer on their blogs, so I thought it might be a good idea for me. I really right now need my cough to go away. And then the muscle to heal. It does not matter what the doctor says on this earth, I know my heavenly doctor can do things I could never imagine. I also know when I hold this little one in my arms, this will all be worth it! I am truly thankful for the gift of being able to carry this sweet child for God. I just am in need of some healing! Thank you for listening to me and lifting me up in your prayers! Also, if you know of anyone else who has had this happen, please let me know. It would be of interest to me know how everything turned out. Have a great day filled with the joy of the Lord! I will keep you posted!

Devotional from Anne Graham Lotz

I have been putting Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham's daughter) a lot on my blog lately. They have spoken to my heart lately and thought you might take to heart today's devotional as I did. I thought the point was so simple and so profound. Enjoy!

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV

One of the pictures in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is of a man bending double from his waist, sorting through a can of garbage, carefully extracting the little bits of tinsel he finds there. Behind him is standing an angel who is offering him a solid gold crown studded with precious jewels, but the man is so engrossed in the garbage he never notices the angel.

When we get to heaven, will you and I be ashamed of our preoccupation with "garbage" in this life-garbage that prevented us from dying to our desire for it, turning around, leaving it all behind, and reaching out for what God wanted to give us? Why is it that we seem to cling so tightly to what we want, and in the process lose what God wants us to have? God wants us to have power and blessing and glory. But you don't obtain it by adding Jesus to your life-He has to be your life!

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz

AnGeL Ministries Website


*We have read 'Pilgrims Progress' AND 'Little Pilgrims Progress' to our kids at our family reading time in the evenings and I STRONLY recommend it to everyone! It can be found in book and bible stores or on amazon.com

My "bookends"

Just a picture for my Sunday blog. This is the youngest and the oldest of our family. (For a couple more months anyway!) I just love the tenderness and love that comes through a teenage boy when there are little ones around. It is truly a blessing to witness! Have a HAPPY SUNDAY!

 

How to tell you have kids

1. There is peanut butter all over the peanut butter jar, on the cupboard, and the lid is missing and nobody knows where it is!

2. The jelly jar has jelly everywhere but IN the jar, there is jelly on the cupboard, and the lid is missing and nobody knows where it is!

3. Your car windows on the inside look like they have been painted with peanut butter and jelly after you just cleaned them 24 hours ago!

4. Your vehicle now consists of more than 4 doors.

5. You go grocery shopping and FILL your cupboards and somebody complains there is nothing to eat.

6. Your toothbrush is never where you put it last and it is ALWAYS wet.

7. You have a back-up toothbrush for times when you just are not sure where it has been.

8. Your furniture has a very "cozy" look to it and you have only had it for a year or two and you no longer have a coffee table because it takes up too much play space.

9. You now have a colorful speckled look to your dining room carpet because of past "playdough time".

10. You tell your husband you are going to the bathroom to go "potty".

11. You ask your husband if he went "potty".

12. Your cat is treated like a slinky.

13. Your cat used to stay in the house all the time and since your toddler started to walk, suddenly it enjoys the great outdoors.

14. Your new vacation spot has become a campground.

and last but not least....

15. You look at your life and wish you could push pause because you realize things are for a short moment and you don't want them to pass!

Motherhood is not easy. It is a constant demand on your "self". You have no time to be selfish and even if you wanted to be, nobody would let you anyway! If you have been chosen to this great calling, enjoy it, appreciate it, savor it, and most importantly thank God for the privilege and the opportunity to care for something He created and entrusted you with. It is truly an honor to raise little ones for Him!

Baby Easter bunnies

We have new baby bunnies at our house that were born last week right before Easter. They will ready to sell in 5 weeks if anyone is interested! :) They are adorable!

 

 

 

"Laughter Lives Tuesday"

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

My Laughther Lives entry was said to me by my 6 year old, the comedian of the family.

I was talking to my kids about the woman who gave everything she had to God. She only had one coin left and she gave it...I then asked my kids what could they do for God if they did not have any money to give to Jesus.

My 6 year old spoke up very seriously with his hand on his forehead as if contemplating very hard, "Well, I guess I would have to walk the plank mom!"

So I guess he is going to be a sailor or in the navy or something on a boat to make his money!