God's promise

Here is another unexpected foto for my Foto Friday! We had a storm move through this evening and this was the beautiful remnant over our home. It is a reminder of God's awesomeness! Enjoy! He painted this for you!

 

Works for Me Wednesday

Today is "Works for Me Wednesday". I have a very inexpensive way to remove wallpaper. Get a spray bottle and add about 1/4 cup water to about 2 Cups of fabric softner. Mix well. Spray on the wallpaper you would like to remove and let sit for a few minutes and simple begin pulling away old wallpaer. It's that simple! I used Downy, I am not sure about the generic brands. They are pretty watery to begin with so if you choose to try the off brands, I would not add water. It not only works on regular walls, but it also removed old wallpaper from tile with ease. It leaves the room smelling good too!:) I would make sure you have a drop cloth down if working around carpet. Unless you get fabric softner on the bare wall, there is no need to clean walls except for what you would normally do anyway since the fabric softner sticks to the old wallpaper and not to the wall. Have fun!

"Not Me Monday"

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


Here is my contribution for "Not Me Monday"

I do not have 7 boys! Surely God knows I could NEVER handle that many bodies full of testosterone under MY roof!

It was not me who witnessed everyone fleeing from the park when we showed up in our 15 passenger van because people thought it was the "Shock and Awe" of '09 in our town. I would never have caused others to run for their lives just because MY family was invading! And if that were true, I would never have stayed in my van for a few extra minutes to hideout making sure no-one could see it was ME who was in charge of the WHOLE clan!

It is not me who does not like animals that has 3 hamsters, 10 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs, 1 cat, and a dog residing in our home! I could not handle the mess!

It is not me who just witnessed my 15 month old son putting a dirty wipe in his mouth that feel out of a dirty diaper on the way to the trash! I would have seen that drop! Then I would be inclined to call the poison control center to make sure he would be okay! (After I fainted!)

I did not take my 15 year old son to get his driving permit! I AM NOT old enough to have a child driving! That would mean in the next half of his life, I would be old enough to be a grandma! Nope, not me!

It is not me who let my 10 year old keep 2 caterpillars in her room ALL winter long in a plastic box wtih dirt while they "hibernated". Then I would go to bed every night wondering if they had escaped!

I know I did not find my 8 year old sneaking a fruit snack and handful of crackers to bed one night and he DID not hide the crackers under his pillow! Then there would be crushed crackers all over that would fall down to his brothers bed because they share a bunk bed! And I did not find the cracker crumbs and a fruit snack in his brothers hair in the morning ground into his scalp and stuck to his hair. My dear sweet boy, would not go behind by back like that!

And SURELY I am not pregnant with my 11th child! I am sure God knows that is too big of a responsibility for me! And if that were true, thank goodness He knows that for me that is too big of a responsibility but with Him, all things are possible!

Women of Faith

I spent this weekend with my mom and oldest daughter at a WONDERFUL women's conference called Women of Faith . I have been going each year for the past 11 years and this year was just as incredible as it always is. Some years I have gone, I have had definite issues I have been dealing with and knew God was going to reveal things to me. Other years, I went thinking I had it all together only to find out that there were issues He wanted to bring to the surface. I have learned that there are ALWAYS things I need to have brought into light, it is just at times, I am to preoccupied to really closely listen. Not real cool, huh?! Well, this year, was one of those years I thought I was going to go to listen to God's word and enjoy just being with Him. Which I did! BUT that was not all God had in store for me! We worshipped with Steven Curtis Chapman Friday night and He told of the pain and heartache him and his family has been through this past year after losing there 5 year old daughter. He said he has never understood the sovereignty of God more and never questioned it more. He was so humble. He also sang a song that God used to stir my heart. It is called Heartbeat. First God used it to reassure me of the value of being a mother, hope you enjoy it also. Then He used Sheila Walsh to show me some other things He wanted to remove the veil from my heart and help me overcome. I can't really share quite yet what that consists of because He is still working on me, but I will be sure to share when I am ready and have more answers. I will give a hint, it is about letting go and letting God! Something I struggle with. So through the tears and the laughter, God renewed my spirit and gave me the desire to once again begin another time of cleansing. I strongly advise any woman that has a chance to attend one of these conferences, to take a weekend and DO IT! It is a great time to come together with other women believers and soak in the love of Jesus! I am including a picture of me with Lisa Welchel (formally Blair on the 80's show "Facts of Life". It is a terrible pregnancy picture of me but oh well, I decided to eat my pride! ;) Have a beautiful Christ-filled day and remember, God is never finished with us until we see Him face to face!

 

Happy Anniversary

 

Today, I celebrate the best 16 years of my life! Thank you my dear, sweet, husband for your uncontional love and being such a great father to all of our beautiful arrows! I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Can't wait to see what God has in store for us next!

"Works For Me Wednesday"

This is my idea for "Works for me Wednesday"
I have 10 soon to be 11 children so inevitably thoughtout the day, kids will leave little things of theirs laying around. So in order to eliminate my nagging constantly to them, I use an inexpensive shelf from Wal-mart and they each have a labeled basket with their name on it. If I notice something laying around that they have forgotten to put away, I simply place it in their assigned basket and we have a pick up time before evening bible time that they must put the contents of their baskets away. 2 things to remember when using this system, make sure they are picking up the majority of their things immediately after they are done, and make sure the basket is not to big! Otherwise it becomes a lazy persons catchall! ;)

This is really useful in teaching little ones the job of tidiness and putting things away at the end of the day. It also keeps little things from gathering all over the house when there is a place to put them.

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"Laughter Lives Tuesday"

My 15 year old does not think it's funny that I am posting this on my blog, but I could not resist! Hope you enjoy it!
Have a laughter filled day!

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.

 

 

Rest, NO WAY!

Sore belly and all, I got some nesting instincts this weekend! Not a good time! I just could not sit around! I did not lift anything and I took breaks in between. I know in the coming weeks I will only get bigger and more uncomfortable so I figured I better got things done now!

Friday, we cleaned out the garage. All the kids helped. They were each appointed a task and had to complete it before they could play. We kept 2 rabbits (and as of 3 weeks ago, 8 babies) in there most of the winter and under their cages was a HUGE mess! So in order to clean that out, we had to clear EVERYTHING out first. They are now in their hutch OUTSIDE! It amazes me, how in one winter a garage can become a piling fest of gathered items! Mostly junk! Job was complete.

We are also in the process of turning our breakfast nook into a walk in pantry. There is no possible way we could sit at our 6X4 foot farm table anymore so we put in shelves and are in the process of attaching bi-fold doors. Not complete but should be soon!

Saturday, I started to sort through winter clothes. I HATE this job! It was one thing doing it for 1 or 2 kids, but 10 gets really complicated! (Well, the older ones do it themselves, but 7 is still a challenge!) I really have never found a good way yet. The last couple years, I put away the winter first and then get out the summer a day later. It keeps the mess at bay. I also have to get out baby clothes! So in addition to all the others, I am sorting through those also. That is always a joy for me! I can never believe how tiny everything is! It also helps with my nesting impulse and makes me more anxious to hold my little one! So as of today, boys winter clothes are put away with the exception of 2 pairs of pants and 2 long sleeve shirts for each left out for camping or unexpected cool weather. I always leave 2 pairs of shorts and 2 short sleeve shirts out at the end of summer for each child so they have something until I get the the Rubbermaid's of summer clothes out today or tomorrow. Job half complete.

Saturday, I also arranged my room. Okay, before you yell at me, my oldest son and hubby did that for me! I put all the stuff away and cleaned. I had to make room for the bassinet. We have a very small bedroom because we gave the master bedroom to our kids since they need the room more than we do. So there is only one way to arrange our room for a bassinet. We are also getting a dresser passed down to us so finding room for that for the baby clothes will be the next step. I have a spotless room now and room for the bassinet when decide to get that from the attic. Job complete.

Saturday, I also decided to sand and paint a dresser that was in pretty sad shape. It looks beautiful! I have to get new nobs which I plan to do today and I will post a picture of it this week. Job, completed Sunday evening except for adding nobs.

For now, that is all. I will be out of town next weekend for Women of Faith (It is a womens conference). My mom and oldest daughter will be enjoying ourselves and learning what God has for us. I can't wait! My cough is almost totally gone. My torn muscle is still terribly sore but only really noticeable when I turn quick or walk up the stairs. I am so thankful for that! Once again, thank you for your prayers! I am on the mend! Now making it through the next 6-8 weeks with not to much discomfort is the goal!