Don't ask me how I had time to sit down and write this blog post because I have no idea! In fact I will probably forget that I even wrote it today and have to sit down and re-read it tomorrow because that is just what my mind has been doing recently! Nathan asked me the other day a question about something and I replied, "I don't remember!" He was shocked and said, "what has happened to my wife, you usually remember EVERYTHING!" This is true, I have the worlds best memory-until I had my sixth baby that is. Matter of fact it was until I was pregnant for my sixth baby, yes, that was when my short term memory took a huge hit. I went to take Baby Dumplin' to her six week check up and our pediatrician, whom we've gone to since Pumpkin was born, asked me what her name meant because she knew we picked names by their meanings, I had to shamefully admit to her "I don't remember!" I couldn't believe it! But I guess that is what happens when you have so many children. First it's your figure, then it's your mind! lol
This week was our first week of homeschooling for this year. We are doing 2nd Grade, 1st Grade and Preschool. Usually the first week or two is super exhausting, chaotic, and crazy with trying to get on a schedule, and everyone learning what they are supposed to do with each subject. This year seems even more chaotic than last year since I now have more of the younger kids dominating than I do older kids. They have been taking over the house!! At the end of the school day there are clothes pulled out and strung from one end of the house to the other, dishes piled to the ceiling from all the cups they keep taking out of the dishwasher and filling with water, toys thrown around the floor, and there is always that one REALLY bad thing that they do that just sets you over the edge. Yesterday it was my two year old. She somehow got a hold of an ink pen and poked holes in their little tinkerbell table and chair set. but not only did she poke holes, she also had to pull out the stuffing and rip the largest hole she could in the chair so that it could no longer be used. I've been keeping them occupied with Play dough for most of our school day but if I don't really watch them they will run through the house and take it with them, dropping pieces all over the place.
On top of the little kids being disobedient and destructive, every one of them (baby included) have been whinny, tired, and have been crying constantly! Since we moved into the new house, for some reason, we have been having a hard time getting everyone to bed at the normal 7:00pm bedtime. We've had so many extra things to be done around here, it seems we start a project and by the time we look up it is after 9:00!! So everyone has been tired and cranky, whinny and fussy all week! It's not like they will sleep in or anything, I could put them to bed at 2am and they would still be at the end of my bed at 6:45am on the dot yelling "daddy, hungry!!!" So getting them to bed on time is extremely important if I want them to be their chipper selves the next day! So this week we have been striving to get our schedule back and in the process of doing that we have had to make time for lots of correction, and training!
We are in a season right now where ALL our kids are learning new things, not just in school but here in our new home. There are many new rules and chores that are being learned and implemented at the new house that were similar yet different at the old house. Hobble-Bobble (4) has chores now for the first time. While it is going to be very helpful once she learns how to do her chores the correct way it is taking some time to teach her how to do these things correctly. Pumpkin, and Little-Bear also have new chores here they didn't have at the other house that they have had to learn how to do- and still learning. Rules here are similar but there are more of them because there is more space and it's a different environment. Our school room, which we love by the way, is now more of a classroom environment than it was at the old house when we did school at the table. Now we have to learn how to sit in our seats correctly, and how to wait our turn for mommy's help with our work. Pumpkin is having a little bit of a time adjusting to the fact that she is now in 2nd grade and has to do school till almost 2:00 now, while Little-Bear is finished by lunch time and Hobble-Bobble is finished after only an hour. They see the little kids playing with play-dough and they want to be in on the fun! I can understand that but they will also get to have plenty of fun once we get further into our school year! We are just trying to create a new normal for everyone right now and that has to take precedence over unpacking and even laundry at the moment. At the end of the day if I let the chores of the house come before the discipline/correction, and education of our children I have failed them as a mother.
This has been so hard for me to finally give into! It seems that in the last few years I have become somewhat OCD when it comes to having the house cleaned up. I'm not talking about scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush clean but mostly I need everything in it's place! I'm sure if any of my family are reading this they are going, "WHAT?! YOU!!" Yes me! LOL Nathan has finally rubbed off on me after all these years! My philosophy on cleaning has changed drastically over the years! When we first got married I didn't feel that cleaning was important, spending time together was most important!! Then I realized that I needed to keep things cleaned so I can spend time with my family and not worry about the house, now...well now you will find me up cleaning all day long from morning till night trying to keep things cleaned up and decluttered! It seems the more children we've had the more I have felt the need to keep things cleaned up and keep the house cleaned so we can breathe! HOWEVER, the more kids we've had the WORSE the house has looked and the MORE I have found myself cleaning! Since being in the new house it has been a little easier to keep things straight but also harder in other areas. In the old house I felt like I had to constantly move things around, organize things, clean things in order to make the house not so suffocating. Here it's not suffocating but I'm so used to doing that at the old house that if something gets messy here I start to panic until I get it together! I've always panicked as well when people come over. I used to rush and clean everything spotless top to bottom but I'm starting to realize that there is no purpose to doing that for other people! I need people in my life who understand that I have to put my kids first, their needs first and that is more important than keeping a home to where you can eat off the floor at all times. I've come to the conclusion that if people want to judge me by the fact that there are dishes in my sink and laundry that needs folded on my couch then they probably shouldn't be a part of my life. It is okay to put aside the daily chores of the home in order to take time to teach your children how to act properly, how to have compassion for someone, how to treat their sisters with respect, how to react to certain situations correctly that is what parenting and being a mom is all about.
With that said, I have three baskets of clothes waiting on me and a pile of dishes I need to get too!
"While I realize most people keep these things to themselves I believe my life is not a normal life. I believe that my life belongs to God and that every single thing that I go through He wants to use to help someone else, and He wants to use it for his glory." I am a Wife, Homeschooling Mom to Five , College Student, Daughter, Sister, Friend, and most Importantly Follower of Christ.
Showing posts with label Our Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our Family. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
A man full of love...
I've never witnessed a more loving, caring, hands-on father and husband in all my life! My husband does not get enough credit for all he does around here that is for sure, and I tend to take his love, patience, gentleness, and thoughtfulness for-granted most of the time. I pray, however; that God will help me to stop doing that and that I will continue to notice the little things he does daily to show our girls and myself so much love and affection.
Let me start by telling you the things that my husband does NOT do!
He does not go out to clubs or bars with friends and leave me home to take care of our children till the wee hours of the morning.
He does not look at other women lustfully whether it be in person or on television, but instead turns his head or turns the channel quickly in order to honor me.
He has NEVER mentioned anything about wanting a divorce, or separation with any argument we've ever had no matter how difficult the argument was.
He has never taken up for someone else over me, I always come first he is always on my team.
He has never given me the silent treatment or let a disagreement go into another day without telling me he was sorry or trying to make things right.
He has never treated our children or myself like we are a burden, or that he cannot stand to be around us.
He does not lounge on the couch all day, or go out and play a sport all the time and ignore his family.
He does not have hardly any alone time.
He does not expect me to keep our home spotless at all times.
He does not just sit on the couch and watch me do all the cleaning.
He does not try to control me, or tell me where I can go or when I can do things.
He does not talk badly about me to others.
He does not keep things from me.
My husband does however;
Tell me everything
Trusts me with our finances
Helps me with chores around the house
Spends almost all his free time with me and our children
Changes diapers and gives baths
Play wrestles with the girls and hugs them and reads to them
He watches My Little Pony, endures hours of the girls playing beauty parlor with his hair, and even tolerates occasionally being called "princess daddy."
He gets up in the middle of the night and helps me change sheets that have been puked on or peed on, and give baths and medications at 3am.
He takes care of me when I am sick
He once took care of all 6 of us when we were all puking but him, washing out puke buckets, and washing bed sheets one right after another.
He is the first one up with our children in the mornings and closes and locks our bedroom door so that I can rest and won't be disturbed.
He gets up in the middle of the night to refill milk cups
He makes them breakfast and even starts school with them some days.
He puts the girls to bed every night and prays over them.
He makes me feel like I'm the only woman in the world he is even interested in talking to
He makes me feel like I am still beautiful to him after 6 babies and being together for 10 years.
He never neglects to tell me the house looks good, or my dinner was good, or I look beautiful today.
He still holds my hand when we are in public, still opens my car door, still flirts with me like the fist day I met him.
He prays with me before we go to bed at night and talks to me about my fears, hopes, and dreams.
He has taught me about God and leads me spiritually
He listens me to vent about things over and over again and never complains.
He does repairs around our home
He still takes me out for dates.
He sticks up for me even to family when he thinks I'm being wronged.
He puts God first, me second and our children third.
He goes shopping with me and helps me pick things out that look good on me.
He is my best friend without a doubt!
I'm sure there are many other things I could list about this amazing man. God
did not disappoint when he gave me my husband that is for sure! I cannot express to the world how grateful I am for Nathan and the the things he has given me in life. He has taught me about what true love is. Not only has he demonstrated true love to myself and our children but he has been able to teach us how deep the love of God is through his own examples. I could never be a mom of this many children without having him as a partner. People always tell me how they do not understand how I do it with this many children or how they are just amazed by how much I accomplish in a day with this many children, but the only reason any of that is possible is because I have an amazing husband who does just as much (if not more) that I do in order to keep our home running smoothly and our children raised up in the way of the Lord. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is truly my best friend!
Thank you Lord for blessing us with this man, please give us all a long life with him and help us to mirror his self-less, loving character to one-another.
Let me start by telling you the things that my husband does NOT do!
He does not go out to clubs or bars with friends and leave me home to take care of our children till the wee hours of the morning.
He does not look at other women lustfully whether it be in person or on television, but instead turns his head or turns the channel quickly in order to honor me.
He has NEVER mentioned anything about wanting a divorce, or separation with any argument we've ever had no matter how difficult the argument was.
He has never taken up for someone else over me, I always come first he is always on my team.
He has never given me the silent treatment or let a disagreement go into another day without telling me he was sorry or trying to make things right.
He has never treated our children or myself like we are a burden, or that he cannot stand to be around us.
He does not lounge on the couch all day, or go out and play a sport all the time and ignore his family.
He does not have hardly any alone time.
He does not expect me to keep our home spotless at all times.
He does not just sit on the couch and watch me do all the cleaning.
He does not try to control me, or tell me where I can go or when I can do things.
He does not talk badly about me to others.
He does not keep things from me.
My husband does however;
Tell me everything
Trusts me with our finances
Helps me with chores around the house
Spends almost all his free time with me and our children
Changes diapers and gives baths
Play wrestles with the girls and hugs them and reads to them
He watches My Little Pony, endures hours of the girls playing beauty parlor with his hair, and even tolerates occasionally being called "princess daddy."
He gets up in the middle of the night and helps me change sheets that have been puked on or peed on, and give baths and medications at 3am.
He takes care of me when I am sick
He once took care of all 6 of us when we were all puking but him, washing out puke buckets, and washing bed sheets one right after another.
He is the first one up with our children in the mornings and closes and locks our bedroom door so that I can rest and won't be disturbed.
He gets up in the middle of the night to refill milk cups
He makes them breakfast and even starts school with them some days.
He puts the girls to bed every night and prays over them.
He makes me feel like I'm the only woman in the world he is even interested in talking to
He makes me feel like I am still beautiful to him after 6 babies and being together for 10 years.
He never neglects to tell me the house looks good, or my dinner was good, or I look beautiful today.
He still holds my hand when we are in public, still opens my car door, still flirts with me like the fist day I met him.
He prays with me before we go to bed at night and talks to me about my fears, hopes, and dreams.
He has taught me about God and leads me spiritually
He listens me to vent about things over and over again and never complains.
He does repairs around our home
He still takes me out for dates.
He sticks up for me even to family when he thinks I'm being wronged.
He puts God first, me second and our children third.
He goes shopping with me and helps me pick things out that look good on me.
He is my best friend without a doubt!
I'm sure there are many other things I could list about this amazing man. God
did not disappoint when he gave me my husband that is for sure! I cannot express to the world how grateful I am for Nathan and the the things he has given me in life. He has taught me about what true love is. Not only has he demonstrated true love to myself and our children but he has been able to teach us how deep the love of God is through his own examples. I could never be a mom of this many children without having him as a partner. People always tell me how they do not understand how I do it with this many children or how they are just amazed by how much I accomplish in a day with this many children, but the only reason any of that is possible is because I have an amazing husband who does just as much (if not more) that I do in order to keep our home running smoothly and our children raised up in the way of the Lord. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is truly my best friend!
Thank you Lord for blessing us with this man, please give us all a long life with him and help us to mirror his self-less, loving character to one-another.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Dad is doing better.....
So many times this week I've found myself asking, "God why do you trust me with so much during the times that I feel so weak?" It seems every time I feel like "okay I've got this thing" in life, that things twist and turn down another unexpected path. I believe I should have a doctorate in chaos by now and a Masters in dealing with stress! lol God has done so much in my life the last two weeks I just don't even know where to start.
Being a mom of five children 6 years old and under, life can be overwhelming at times. I think the last year has been a bit more overwhelming because we were just getting used to having baby number four when baby number five came along. At times I feel like "okay we got this thing." but then the kids change, life changes and everything is out of my control! There is no rule book for having a large family. I know some people think I am crazy for having so many children, and even more crazy for wanting more, but in the midst of the worse day we could have, is the best days of my life. Sure I may get frustrated, I may even complain a bit but I wouldn't change the course of my life for anything. There has never been a day when I have wished that I had a smaller family! Now, I have had days when I thought, "was I crazy for wanting so many children?" But never would I want to go back to not having them, and nor would I feel like I would not want more children.
I've spent the last two weeks trying to teach my girls a valuable life lesson. On October 1st, I received a call that my dad was in the ER. My father has struggled with heath issues for the last six years so when he is in the ER it is usually because of something major! My first priority in life then changes, making sure my mother is fed, and taking care of herself emotionally and physically, as well as making sure I am there for my dad goes to the top on my list. I have the most supportive husband ever and we are always on the same page with these things, so the first thing he said when he found out about my dad was, "GO!" And that is what I did for the last two weeks!
My girls have this amazing connection with me, yet it is frustrating at times. My oldest really has a hard time when I am not around more than a day. She begins acting out and being not quite herself. When she was younger she would protest my being gone by pooping all over the floor...not that she is older it's more of an attitude change. She gets upset and angry and treats her sisters and Nathan badly. After a week of being in the ICU with my parents my dad was starting to stabilize and I was able to start being home earlier. At dinner I asked her "why have you been acting this way, are you mad because mommy hasn't been here?" She said "YES!" So I was then able to explain to her that while my family is my first priority, when papaw gets sick or if mamaw got sick, we need to put our wants and needs aside to help them! My family is healthy, and while with me gone it may turn to utter chaos, the most important thing is being there for the ones you love when they are in need. Sometimes we may not always WANT to do things, but doing the right thing is more important than doing what we want! If I were sick like papaw, I would want my children to be there for me, loving on me, taking care of their dad, making sure I knew that I was not in this by myself...and that is what I need to do for papaw. This was a huge lesson for the girls to learn how to put others before themselves!
I also realized that there needs to always be that one thing that I tell my children, that when I am gone they can look back and remember "mom always said.....". So the last several weeks when we have our talk time I have made sure to include, "the most important things in life is to love God with all your heart, strive to be a Godly woman, and always remember that what we want to do isn't always as important as what the right thing is to do." I pray that with this written on their hearts they will always think of this before they make decisions.
So 13 days later my dad is finally going home today! It was a long, exhausting and emotional journey for all of us, but God was faithful and answered our prayers! There was a period of time last week we did not think he would come out of this! When I was in 3rd grade I remember my dad was diagnosed with an obstructive lung disease. I was so scared he would die!! I remember praying every night before bed "Lord please let my dad live to see my graduation!" In June of 2000, my dad was sitting in the gymnasium of my High School watching me walk the line to get my diploma! Then my prayer became "Lord please let my dad live to see my children!" In February 2006, May 2007, June 2009, August 2010, and September 2011 he was there to hold my new born baby girls in his arms! Since I know we are not done having children I know that that prayer is still valid! But it has changed again recently, "Dear Lord please let my dad live to see me graduate college, see how my children turn out, and hold his great-grand babies!" I believe that God will answer my prayer!
I am finishing up my last week of American History class this weekend, and spending time getting my house back in order from the chaos, my kids back in order with their behaviors, and our sleep schedules back on track before my new classes start next monday. I am so thankful for the life lessons that God allows us to teach our children whether they will be painful, happy, shocking or sad. I'm thankful that God continues to teach me and deal with my heart in the midst of situations like this, I pray that he can use me to help others see things in their own hearts that they need to deal with as well. We should never stop seeking to be a better person, we should always continue to learn from what we go through, get back up on our feet (no matter how long it takes) and teach others to do the same from what we went through!
Huge thanks to everyone for praying for my family these last 13 days.
Being a mom of five children 6 years old and under, life can be overwhelming at times. I think the last year has been a bit more overwhelming because we were just getting used to having baby number four when baby number five came along. At times I feel like "okay we got this thing." but then the kids change, life changes and everything is out of my control! There is no rule book for having a large family. I know some people think I am crazy for having so many children, and even more crazy for wanting more, but in the midst of the worse day we could have, is the best days of my life. Sure I may get frustrated, I may even complain a bit but I wouldn't change the course of my life for anything. There has never been a day when I have wished that I had a smaller family! Now, I have had days when I thought, "was I crazy for wanting so many children?" But never would I want to go back to not having them, and nor would I feel like I would not want more children.
I've spent the last two weeks trying to teach my girls a valuable life lesson. On October 1st, I received a call that my dad was in the ER. My father has struggled with heath issues for the last six years so when he is in the ER it is usually because of something major! My first priority in life then changes, making sure my mother is fed, and taking care of herself emotionally and physically, as well as making sure I am there for my dad goes to the top on my list. I have the most supportive husband ever and we are always on the same page with these things, so the first thing he said when he found out about my dad was, "GO!" And that is what I did for the last two weeks!
My girls have this amazing connection with me, yet it is frustrating at times. My oldest really has a hard time when I am not around more than a day. She begins acting out and being not quite herself. When she was younger she would protest my being gone by pooping all over the floor...not that she is older it's more of an attitude change. She gets upset and angry and treats her sisters and Nathan badly. After a week of being in the ICU with my parents my dad was starting to stabilize and I was able to start being home earlier. At dinner I asked her "why have you been acting this way, are you mad because mommy hasn't been here?" She said "YES!" So I was then able to explain to her that while my family is my first priority, when papaw gets sick or if mamaw got sick, we need to put our wants and needs aside to help them! My family is healthy, and while with me gone it may turn to utter chaos, the most important thing is being there for the ones you love when they are in need. Sometimes we may not always WANT to do things, but doing the right thing is more important than doing what we want! If I were sick like papaw, I would want my children to be there for me, loving on me, taking care of their dad, making sure I knew that I was not in this by myself...and that is what I need to do for papaw. This was a huge lesson for the girls to learn how to put others before themselves!
I also realized that there needs to always be that one thing that I tell my children, that when I am gone they can look back and remember "mom always said.....". So the last several weeks when we have our talk time I have made sure to include, "the most important things in life is to love God with all your heart, strive to be a Godly woman, and always remember that what we want to do isn't always as important as what the right thing is to do." I pray that with this written on their hearts they will always think of this before they make decisions.
So 13 days later my dad is finally going home today! It was a long, exhausting and emotional journey for all of us, but God was faithful and answered our prayers! There was a period of time last week we did not think he would come out of this! When I was in 3rd grade I remember my dad was diagnosed with an obstructive lung disease. I was so scared he would die!! I remember praying every night before bed "Lord please let my dad live to see my graduation!" In June of 2000, my dad was sitting in the gymnasium of my High School watching me walk the line to get my diploma! Then my prayer became "Lord please let my dad live to see my children!" In February 2006, May 2007, June 2009, August 2010, and September 2011 he was there to hold my new born baby girls in his arms! Since I know we are not done having children I know that that prayer is still valid! But it has changed again recently, "Dear Lord please let my dad live to see me graduate college, see how my children turn out, and hold his great-grand babies!" I believe that God will answer my prayer!
I am finishing up my last week of American History class this weekend, and spending time getting my house back in order from the chaos, my kids back in order with their behaviors, and our sleep schedules back on track before my new classes start next monday. I am so thankful for the life lessons that God allows us to teach our children whether they will be painful, happy, shocking or sad. I'm thankful that God continues to teach me and deal with my heart in the midst of situations like this, I pray that he can use me to help others see things in their own hearts that they need to deal with as well. We should never stop seeking to be a better person, we should always continue to learn from what we go through, get back up on our feet (no matter how long it takes) and teach others to do the same from what we went through!
Huge thanks to everyone for praying for my family these last 13 days.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Joy of the Lord.....
So last night I was so excited for my husband to go on his men's retreat with the church today that I could not sleep at all! I tossed and turned all night long! I went through my list of things I needed to wash for him, pack for him and put together for him to take, and I racked my brain on how his back is going to be comfortable in those horrible mattresses on the bunks there. I prayed all night asking God to give him relief from his pain while he was on his trip. All this week he has had major back pain and started having muscle spasms in the upper part of his back. He ended up at the doctor and was put on yet another medication. I really felt this was a spiritual attack since God knew Nathan really needed to get away and be refreshed and spend time with him. But we pushed through with prayer and he left for his retreat this afternoon.
While I was up last night I also read a bit in my new book I just got. "Created to be his Help Meet" by Debi Pearl. The chapter I read last night was on having the Joy of the Lord. This is really something I struggle with badly. When Nathan and I first met I was a fire cracker! I was happy, joyful all the time always laughing and smiling, and now seven in a half years later life has taken some of that joy away. I still feel joy in my heart, we have a great life together and are very blessed, however; I just don't take the time to make that joy end up on my face much. I am SUCH a "martha" now days. It's been so hard for me the last few months to just sit down and enjoy time with God, or just be joyful in things. I've felt like our lives have been on this strict time table and my motto has been for the last six months, "I just have to get this finished!" But nothing ever is finished, there is always more to do every minute of my life! This book made me realize that I want to be a gentler person. I was to speak gently to my children and not harshly, I want to discipline them with a gentle spirit and not in anger. I want to be a gentle wife for my husband, I want to be a good happy inviting person overall.
So that was my goal this weekend while Nathan was gone. We (me and the girls) will be praying for him while he is there, and also praying that God will help us have the joy of the Lord for when he gets back.
Already tonight I have had several tests! The minute Nathan walked out of the house I decided to start prepping the kitchen to make dinner for me and the girls. I put something up on the counter and before I knew it the HUGE jar of pickles that was sitting there fell onto the floor and shattered to pieces!! Normally, because Nathan is such a through person, he is the one who cleans up broken glass. I can never get it all picked up and fear I will leave some behind and the girls will get hurt. So I picked up all the large pieces but because of the pickle juice all over the place I could not get the smaller pieces.....so I laid towels down all over that part of the floor to soak up the juice...and that's where they stayed......... now I'm not sure what to do. If I pick up the towels they could have glass all over them so do I throw them away?? UGH!!
So then I took the girls outside to play for a while. They had a blast. While we were out there I decided to try an experiment. I spoke Pumpkin's name very gently and quietly and she immediately turned and said yes? I was surprised! So I tried Hobble-bobble's name, and again she looked at me and said "yes mommy?" again shocked!! So Little Bear was the big test since she can ignore me a ton! And she looked right at me and said "yes?" WOW!! So I waited a few minutes and tried it in a harsh tone. First Pumpkin....she just kept jumping and didn't respond. Then Little bear...again kept jumping and no response....and lastly Hobble-bobble...still no response!
So as we try to change our hearts this weekend and our voices, and our faces ;) please keep our family in your prayers!! I want nothing but joyfulness coming out of my children's lives, and I want my husband to be excited to come home to a joyful, pleasant wife!
While I was up last night I also read a bit in my new book I just got. "Created to be his Help Meet" by Debi Pearl. The chapter I read last night was on having the Joy of the Lord. This is really something I struggle with badly. When Nathan and I first met I was a fire cracker! I was happy, joyful all the time always laughing and smiling, and now seven in a half years later life has taken some of that joy away. I still feel joy in my heart, we have a great life together and are very blessed, however; I just don't take the time to make that joy end up on my face much. I am SUCH a "martha" now days. It's been so hard for me the last few months to just sit down and enjoy time with God, or just be joyful in things. I've felt like our lives have been on this strict time table and my motto has been for the last six months, "I just have to get this finished!" But nothing ever is finished, there is always more to do every minute of my life! This book made me realize that I want to be a gentler person. I was to speak gently to my children and not harshly, I want to discipline them with a gentle spirit and not in anger. I want to be a gentle wife for my husband, I want to be a good happy inviting person overall.
So that was my goal this weekend while Nathan was gone. We (me and the girls) will be praying for him while he is there, and also praying that God will help us have the joy of the Lord for when he gets back.
Already tonight I have had several tests! The minute Nathan walked out of the house I decided to start prepping the kitchen to make dinner for me and the girls. I put something up on the counter and before I knew it the HUGE jar of pickles that was sitting there fell onto the floor and shattered to pieces!! Normally, because Nathan is such a through person, he is the one who cleans up broken glass. I can never get it all picked up and fear I will leave some behind and the girls will get hurt. So I picked up all the large pieces but because of the pickle juice all over the place I could not get the smaller pieces.....so I laid towels down all over that part of the floor to soak up the juice...and that's where they stayed......... now I'm not sure what to do. If I pick up the towels they could have glass all over them so do I throw them away?? UGH!!
So then I took the girls outside to play for a while. They had a blast. While we were out there I decided to try an experiment. I spoke Pumpkin's name very gently and quietly and she immediately turned and said yes? I was surprised! So I tried Hobble-bobble's name, and again she looked at me and said "yes mommy?" again shocked!! So Little Bear was the big test since she can ignore me a ton! And she looked right at me and said "yes?" WOW!! So I waited a few minutes and tried it in a harsh tone. First Pumpkin....she just kept jumping and didn't respond. Then Little bear...again kept jumping and no response....and lastly Hobble-bobble...still no response!
So as we try to change our hearts this weekend and our voices, and our faces ;) please keep our family in your prayers!! I want nothing but joyfulness coming out of my children's lives, and I want my husband to be excited to come home to a joyful, pleasant wife!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Meningitis, Rabies, Strep....lessons from God...
My last post was only 13 days ago and so much has gone on since then, it feels like it's been over a month at least! So last I wrote Pumpkin wasn't feeling well, she had gotten bitten by our hamster and then the hamster died and she came down with a fever, vomiting and sore neck. After trying to make her comfortable all night long, she was still screaming in pain from her neck and stomach. I waited till 8am and called our pediatrician to get an appointment. The earliest they could get her in was 11am, but she was laying on the floor and had endured pain all night long I didn't think I could make her wait any longer. So I put her in the car and took her to Patient First.
When the doctor came in she asked me what was going on. I told her she had gotten bit by the hamster on Thursday, the hamster was dead Friday morning, and Pumpkin came down with a fever friday night. She was vomiting, had a high fever, pain in her neck, and stomach pain. The doctor asked what the hamster died from, I told her the pet store told us "wet tail." So she said she would go research it and get back to me. She was gone about five minutes when she came back and told me that she thought Pumpkin may have gotten meningitis from the hamster. She did not examine her at all, did not look in her throat, did not look in her ears, did not feel her neck nothing! She then gave me a note and sent us to the ER.
Once at the ER, the first thing they did was ask her to touch her chin to her knee, which she did, and they said she wouldn't be able to do that if she had meningitis so that was ruled out. So then they said their main concern is that she could have rabies!! WHAT!! Pumpkin had tons of scratches from the kitten on the tops of her hands, and they started questioning me about the kitten. They wanted to know if it had it's shots yet. I told them we actually had an appointment this morning but we ended up there instead. So they started saying that we need to give her shots for rabies. They said that if she was exposed to it, they can only treat it within the first 10 days and after that there is nothing they can do for her. So I started panicking a bit. But as I stood there and prayed asking God what to do, it dawned on me that I too had cat scratches on my arm and I wasn't sick! If we did the rabies shots for Pumpkin it would be like 15 days of shots! So I told them I was pretty sure it wasn't rabies because I would be sick too!
They ended up calling the health department because they said they have to report animal bites. They said that they were going to come and get the cat and keep him for a while to make sure he didn't have rabies. I asked why they reported the cat because it wasn't a cat bite it was a hamster bite. They said the health department wasn't worried about the hamster, just the cat scratches. FINALLY they stopped worrying about the animals and actually examined Pumpkin. They felt her neck which had lumps all around it and she had puss on her tonsils. She ended up testing negative for strep, but they said it was strep because of the symptoms.
I was pretty angry that they had me in fear all day long that my child was dying from meningitis and rabies, when if they had checked her in the first place they would have found out that she was just sick with a virus.
By the time I got home the health department had been here, they dug up the hamster and took it for testing. They said they weren't worried about the cat at all! When I got inside the house I gave Sweet-pea a hug to discover she had a fever! And later that night I ended up at Kid med with her and Goobies.
As usual they all passed it around and were sick for about a week or two. They had ear infections and were all on antibiotics. I asked the doctor when I was there, if this could be happening so much this year because maybe I'm not cleaning something good enough? He said they are all inner ear infections and cannot be caused from any type of germ, it if from their ear tubes not developing correctly yet.
So, last week was my last week of summer classes. I really enjoyed my bible and evangelism class. I learned two important things in those classes that have already really helped me quite a bit. #1: being humble is always viewing everyone else as better than you. #2 trusting the Holy Spirit to work, will usually result in better results than if we do it ourselves.
I think having a large family has really made me insecure. I always feel the entire world is always waiting to pounce on me. We've had so many rude comments about the size of our family, and feel like people are just waiting to prove that I'm a bad mother for some reason. I feel even more pressure to make sure they are clean, well dressed, well educated, and well loved because I feel like people think that large families like ours neglect their children. I have problems with thinking that people are always trying to think they are better than me, or that they think they are more spiritual than me. Not that I think I am more spiritual or better than them, but it makes me feel like I have to strive to be even better, if that makes since. So, if I can just think that everyone IS better than me, then it makes things so much easier, and takes so much more pressure off!
Also this week I've learned a great lesson on giving my problems over to God and trusting him to take care of things. Nathan and I have been looking for a new house. We are planning to rent our our house and buy a new one. We were not sure we would be able to qualify for a loan to do this but after applying and giving it over to God, we DID!! We found a house that would be perfect for us, but then the house would not qualify for the type of loan we have to get for our situation. So we are still looking. Also last week was the last week of my summer classes. I worked day and night, and into the mornings trying to finish up 3 weeks in 3 classes. My professors had extended the courses till Sunday but I still finished on Friday! Saturday I saw that my Evangelism professor gave me a ZERO for my discussion board because she said she could not accept late discussion board work. I was so shocked seeing as how she told me that she removed the due dates for all my assignments and just keep her informed on my progress. When I messaged her about it she said that she would give me a 70 for the misunderstanding but that's all. She ended up forwarding the issue to her supervisor to make a decision. I prayed and gave it to God! Sunday She messaged me back and told me that since my final grade will be an "A" anyways her supervisor wasnt too concerned about it. I was so relieved! I too told her then I wasn't worried about it as long as I get an "A". So...I have finished two semesters so far with a 4.0 GPA!
Monday was the first day of my fall classes. This time I'm taking American History and another Math class. Things are going well for us right now and look to be on the upswing. We are very excited about the next few weeks! Pumpkin & Little Bear started Upword cheerleading monday. They LOVE IT! I can't get Pumpkin to take off her uniform! Nathan's parents are moving their Jewelry store into a new location downtown in the James Center on the 1st of September! We are very excited about that! And we are going on Saturday to look for some more houses. We are praying that the right house will come along. We are in desperate need of more space!! We have a 1,000 square foot house for the seven of us right now and really need something bigger! We are also getting things cleaned up and organized and ready to start homeschooling this fall, in about two more weeks! We are so ready to get back on a good schedule!!
When the doctor came in she asked me what was going on. I told her she had gotten bit by the hamster on Thursday, the hamster was dead Friday morning, and Pumpkin came down with a fever friday night. She was vomiting, had a high fever, pain in her neck, and stomach pain. The doctor asked what the hamster died from, I told her the pet store told us "wet tail." So she said she would go research it and get back to me. She was gone about five minutes when she came back and told me that she thought Pumpkin may have gotten meningitis from the hamster. She did not examine her at all, did not look in her throat, did not look in her ears, did not feel her neck nothing! She then gave me a note and sent us to the ER.
Once at the ER, the first thing they did was ask her to touch her chin to her knee, which she did, and they said she wouldn't be able to do that if she had meningitis so that was ruled out. So then they said their main concern is that she could have rabies!! WHAT!! Pumpkin had tons of scratches from the kitten on the tops of her hands, and they started questioning me about the kitten. They wanted to know if it had it's shots yet. I told them we actually had an appointment this morning but we ended up there instead. So they started saying that we need to give her shots for rabies. They said that if she was exposed to it, they can only treat it within the first 10 days and after that there is nothing they can do for her. So I started panicking a bit. But as I stood there and prayed asking God what to do, it dawned on me that I too had cat scratches on my arm and I wasn't sick! If we did the rabies shots for Pumpkin it would be like 15 days of shots! So I told them I was pretty sure it wasn't rabies because I would be sick too!
They ended up calling the health department because they said they have to report animal bites. They said that they were going to come and get the cat and keep him for a while to make sure he didn't have rabies. I asked why they reported the cat because it wasn't a cat bite it was a hamster bite. They said the health department wasn't worried about the hamster, just the cat scratches. FINALLY they stopped worrying about the animals and actually examined Pumpkin. They felt her neck which had lumps all around it and she had puss on her tonsils. She ended up testing negative for strep, but they said it was strep because of the symptoms.
I was pretty angry that they had me in fear all day long that my child was dying from meningitis and rabies, when if they had checked her in the first place they would have found out that she was just sick with a virus.
By the time I got home the health department had been here, they dug up the hamster and took it for testing. They said they weren't worried about the cat at all! When I got inside the house I gave Sweet-pea a hug to discover she had a fever! And later that night I ended up at Kid med with her and Goobies.
As usual they all passed it around and were sick for about a week or two. They had ear infections and were all on antibiotics. I asked the doctor when I was there, if this could be happening so much this year because maybe I'm not cleaning something good enough? He said they are all inner ear infections and cannot be caused from any type of germ, it if from their ear tubes not developing correctly yet.
So, last week was my last week of summer classes. I really enjoyed my bible and evangelism class. I learned two important things in those classes that have already really helped me quite a bit. #1: being humble is always viewing everyone else as better than you. #2 trusting the Holy Spirit to work, will usually result in better results than if we do it ourselves.
I think having a large family has really made me insecure. I always feel the entire world is always waiting to pounce on me. We've had so many rude comments about the size of our family, and feel like people are just waiting to prove that I'm a bad mother for some reason. I feel even more pressure to make sure they are clean, well dressed, well educated, and well loved because I feel like people think that large families like ours neglect their children. I have problems with thinking that people are always trying to think they are better than me, or that they think they are more spiritual than me. Not that I think I am more spiritual or better than them, but it makes me feel like I have to strive to be even better, if that makes since. So, if I can just think that everyone IS better than me, then it makes things so much easier, and takes so much more pressure off!
Also this week I've learned a great lesson on giving my problems over to God and trusting him to take care of things. Nathan and I have been looking for a new house. We are planning to rent our our house and buy a new one. We were not sure we would be able to qualify for a loan to do this but after applying and giving it over to God, we DID!! We found a house that would be perfect for us, but then the house would not qualify for the type of loan we have to get for our situation. So we are still looking. Also last week was the last week of my summer classes. I worked day and night, and into the mornings trying to finish up 3 weeks in 3 classes. My professors had extended the courses till Sunday but I still finished on Friday! Saturday I saw that my Evangelism professor gave me a ZERO for my discussion board because she said she could not accept late discussion board work. I was so shocked seeing as how she told me that she removed the due dates for all my assignments and just keep her informed on my progress. When I messaged her about it she said that she would give me a 70 for the misunderstanding but that's all. She ended up forwarding the issue to her supervisor to make a decision. I prayed and gave it to God! Sunday She messaged me back and told me that since my final grade will be an "A" anyways her supervisor wasnt too concerned about it. I was so relieved! I too told her then I wasn't worried about it as long as I get an "A". So...I have finished two semesters so far with a 4.0 GPA!
Monday was the first day of my fall classes. This time I'm taking American History and another Math class. Things are going well for us right now and look to be on the upswing. We are very excited about the next few weeks! Pumpkin & Little Bear started Upword cheerleading monday. They LOVE IT! I can't get Pumpkin to take off her uniform! Nathan's parents are moving their Jewelry store into a new location downtown in the James Center on the 1st of September! We are very excited about that! And we are going on Saturday to look for some more houses. We are praying that the right house will come along. We are in desperate need of more space!! We have a 1,000 square foot house for the seven of us right now and really need something bigger! We are also getting things cleaned up and organized and ready to start homeschooling this fall, in about two more weeks! We are so ready to get back on a good schedule!!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Update...
I have been itching to get on here and update the last few weeks, but I have been so bogged down with catching up on my school work that everything has been neglected! It amazes me how just ONE week of being sick and missing college classes can turn into a HUGE problem! Here I am one week away from the end of the 8 weeks and I have three more weeks to catch up on before next friday! I gotta say that I used to be so critical of people who were going to college. I watched a lot of my friends who were married with a couple kids, push themselves so hard to get such great grades that they neglected their families, and ended up in divorce. I remember swearing that would never be me...yet...here I am using every waking minute and even the nights to catch up on my work. On a normal week, I could do house work, homeschooling and all the normal every day things and then start school around 7pm and finish around 12am, and it never interfered with anything. But I get sick ONE week and I'm killing myself in order to get caught up! I kept telling Nathan that it was so important to me to get A's. For one thing we are paying for this and I'm not about to put my family in debt for no reason! And secondly, my grades in high school stunk!! I recently found an old report card and showed it to Nathan, he was completely shocked at the F's and D's I had on there! I don't know what it was about high school, I think back then I just didn't have the motivation to make something out of myself like I do now.
So here I am 5am, and yes I'm still awake. Tonight I am on night duty with Pumpkin, we've had an eventful couple of days. So...a few weeks ago we decided to take in a kitten who was abandoned in a parking lot. Our friends who found the kitten said they thought he was about 4-5 weeks old. He was really little! So the Friday before we got him I took Pumpkin to the pet store to get some supplies and we stopped to look at the hamsters. I just couldn't walk away they were so pitiful! So we got one and named it Penny. Well Penny only lasted about 7 days. We woke up this morning and found that she passed away and was laying in the corner of her cage. We took her back to the pet store and they said she had a bacteria infection called wet tale. The night before this happened Pumpkin had just finished eating her dinner and stuck her finger in Penny's cage. Penny bit her finger so hard (smelling the food) that she started bleeding! We put alcohol on it and wrapped it up and then today it looks like it has already almost healed up.
All day today Pumpkin has been telling me she has a headache in the back of her head. I gave her some Ibuprofen this afternoon and then she didn't complain anymore the rest of the day. At bedtime she still seemed fine. Then around 1am she got up crying that her head was hurting! Her neck and the back of her head was really hurting. I went to rub the back of her head and she was burning up! She had a fever of 101.4. I immediately gave her some elderberry (a new remedy that I have discovered recently that helps boost their immune system) and liquids. After a few hours of crying that her belly and head hurt, she finally vomited. She has been miserable since. Nathan and I prayed over her and he went to bed and I am up monitoring meds, temps, and vomit! I can't say I'm a little worried that she may have gotten something from the hamster bite, so I'm hoping she will be better when she wakes up but we are going to be making a doctor appointment first thing in the morning.
So other than that life has been super busy as always. Nathan and I have been looking at houses again. We are not in a hurry but we would LOVE to rent out our house and buy a bigger house so we can fit better. We have our eye on a house right now, we went and looked at it last weekend, we decided that we didnt' feel peaceful about it...then we couldn't stop talking about it. When I looked it up a week later the price had dropped!! So I called my realtor and we are going to look at it again on Saturday! I feel like it has potential, I love the outside of it but I still feel like we will grow out of it fast. I also am a little weary of the location, it's further out and not sure it's a great area! So just pray that we make the right decision.
Well I must sign off Pumpkin is up again and her fever had gone up. Poor baby is so miserable. As always pray for us! We can use it the next week or so!!!
Well I must sign off Pumpkin is up again and her fever had gone up. Poor baby is so miserable. As always pray for us! We can use it the next week or so!!!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Catching up with an update!
Wow so almost a month of me being silent on the blog! This must not happen again! ;) I am beyond happy that the month of Haties, Oh, I mean June, if finally over! Looking back I feel like ti flew by but yet in the midst of it, it felt like it would never be over! We did get through that crazy 30 days of birthday's, uncelebrated anniversaries, homeschool convention, two weeks of 4 classes that overlapped instead of just 2 classes like normal, and SICK KIDS!! However, we are still battling sick kids!
All five kids, as well as Nathan and I have had ear infections, sinus drainage, sore throats, croup, and lots of sleepless nights! Seeing as how my kids do not go many places except the swimming pool which is so loaded with chlorine to kill germs I can smell it from my car, I'm pretty convinced that it is a result of this bipolar weather we've been having. Every-time it has gotten hot, then dropped down in the 70's, my kids are sick the next day! People have told me for the last several years to go out and get an air purifyer! They tell me that if my kids have allergies (which is what it seems like it is) then that is the way to go! So I went out the other morning to lowes and bought a new vacuum with a hepa filter. This sucker is like a space ship! First of all I've never spent over 60.00 on a vacuume (maybe the reason we have to buy one every 6 months) so I feel like this thing should be able to take me to the moon and back! It's an electrolux from lowes. Since it was on sale I didn't feel that horrible for paying so much, but in reality I have paid this much in prescriptions in the last three weeks so hopefully this will help lower that cost; not to mention I better not have to buy another vacuum the rest of my life! While I LOVE how it pulls the carpet up and the carpet feels so clean after, it does give my arm an amazing work out since it's heavy a sin!
I also decided that while it's great that when I vacuum we can reduce the dust being thrown into the air, we should also reduce that at all times anyways! So I bought us an air purifyer. So far I love it! I can't say I've seen many results so far as sickness from it yet (I'm hoping that is because we've already inhailed whatever we have), but hopefully it will help with later viruses and allergies! It does make the house smell fresher, which I love!!
So I believe this is our last week of Swimming practice. Pumpkin will have her last meet on Monday, and then they have championships next week, but I don't think Pumpkin will be able to go to those. I will not miss getting up at 7am and running her to the pool every day, but I know she will miss it dearly!! Swimming has become her favorite thing to do! She would be at that pool swimming all day long, every day If I let her! But I'm looking forward to everyone getting well and us being able to enjoy the pool during the day instead of having to lay around the house and get well!
Normally I will only let the girls do one thing at a time so far as an extra curricular activity. Little Bear has been talking about how she wants to be a cheerleader, and so has Pumpkin! Usually in the fall Little Bear does dance, but this year the dance schedule does not really go with our schedule so I think we may take a break from it. I've been looking into Upward cheering. It starts in late August/Oct, and I think it will be great that it is something the girls could do together finally! They love the though of doing things together but they have never found something they both enjoy together! Pumpkin wasn't much of a ballet person, and Little Bear doesn't like swimming much, so hopefully this will be a happy medium!
I've been working a lot on school the last few weeks with having so many classes that have overlapped! It was a huge challenge but I did it! I did whine and complain about it quite a bit but I pushed through and got everything done! I just pray that I get a good enough grade on my English essay to keep an A! I was 1 point away from a B when I turned it in so it will either help me a lot or hurt me a lot! Yes a B isn't bad but I really would LOVE to keep my straight A status I've been able to accomplish as of right now. If I'm going to pay all this money for an education, I'm going to get smart not just get the diploma! I also feel like I need to prove to myself that I am smart and can do anything I want! I've always had so many doubts about myself so far as my intellect, and I'm ready to change that! Right now I'm taking an Evangelism class, Bible Class, and Math Class. The Math has been a challenge for me so far! I have really had to work on this class a lot in order to maintain the A I have in there. It has been frustrating and challenging and I can't wait to be done with the next 2 math classes I have to finish after this one! My evangelism class has been pretty easy so far! I can finish my work for this class in a few hours and I have an A so far. I have been looking forward to the end assignment which is to lead someone to Christ! I just hope that God will lead me to someone who will be willing to listen! Bible has been my favorite! I have learned so much about reading the bible that I didn't realize before! I feel like my eyes have been opened to so many things, and I am looking forward to really getting into more of my bible classes!!
So while my main major is in Religion right now, I have been eyeing the paralegal degree. I found out by one of my advisors that when you get a BS in something, there are so many electives that you have to take for that degree that you can actually get an entire degree in something else just with the electives! So that is what I'm planning! I still have to call and confirm that it can be done the way I've planned but by the time I graduate with a BS in religion I will also have a BA as a paralegal! Why not kill two birds with one stone!
My goals with what I'm going to do with my degree have changed a lot since I first enrolled! I origionally wanted to go so that I could eventually go to nursing school. After checking into nursing school I realized that there would be no way for me to do that AND be a full time homeschooling mom that I want to be. Being a mom to my girls is way more important than school to me. Maybe in a few years we will be able to take more nursing courses online and it will become possible for me to do this but right now it's not. Then I thought...Of course...Business! That would help me with anything I decide to do! But for me...business is boring! I would absolutely HATE it! I have to do something I want to learn about and I'm passionate about. The first thing I'm passioate about is GOD! I love God, and there is nothing on earth I would love more than to understand and know the bible front and backwards, and be able to defend my faith with actual historical facts, and just to know exactly what to say anytime of the day in order to show someone that Christ can change their lives! and #2, fighting for the rights of Christians! It's funny because when Nathan first went to college he went with the idea that he would be a lawyer. (he still could be) His reasoning was to fight for the rights of Christians! I believe that with a bible degree, and a paralegal degree I will be able to help fight for Christian rights, or even accomplish my dream of building a women's shelter since I will have the knowledge of law that I will need in order to help these women with the legal system!
Everyone one around me just complains about how horrible this world is becoming, how Obama has destroyed America!! While I can't say I'm an Obama fan at all, I can say it's not all his fault! Why aren't these people coming against him!? Why aren't these people fighting to hold up our constitution? Instead they are sitting back, complaining that he has ruiened our country! I don't see these people in protest, or getting involved with the up coming campaigns to get him out of office! Maybe there are some who are doing this, but not enough!! If I have one gift that God gave me it's the ability to stand firm on his Word! I have never been great at standing up for myself when people come against me, but come against my God and see how bold I get! But whatever I end up doing I do not want to do it for a job, but as a ministry! I don't want to be just any paralegal or person with a bible degree...I want to make a difference, and start a ministry that will help change lives! I just have to figure out what that is!
Well I'm signing off for now. I just finished reading the last book of the Hunger Games tonight after almost four months of trying to finish! I liked the ending a lot, the rest of it was hard to get through it was very slow compared to the rest of the books, but I did love the ending. I'm starting my new book today that has been waiting patiently in my Kindle for months. "Boundaries: when to say yes, How to say no." Definately something I need to learn about!! So well...by for now, i'll be back soon I promise!!
All five kids, as well as Nathan and I have had ear infections, sinus drainage, sore throats, croup, and lots of sleepless nights! Seeing as how my kids do not go many places except the swimming pool which is so loaded with chlorine to kill germs I can smell it from my car, I'm pretty convinced that it is a result of this bipolar weather we've been having. Every-time it has gotten hot, then dropped down in the 70's, my kids are sick the next day! People have told me for the last several years to go out and get an air purifyer! They tell me that if my kids have allergies (which is what it seems like it is) then that is the way to go! So I went out the other morning to lowes and bought a new vacuum with a hepa filter. This sucker is like a space ship! First of all I've never spent over 60.00 on a vacuume (maybe the reason we have to buy one every 6 months) so I feel like this thing should be able to take me to the moon and back! It's an electrolux from lowes. Since it was on sale I didn't feel that horrible for paying so much, but in reality I have paid this much in prescriptions in the last three weeks so hopefully this will help lower that cost; not to mention I better not have to buy another vacuum the rest of my life! While I LOVE how it pulls the carpet up and the carpet feels so clean after, it does give my arm an amazing work out since it's heavy a sin!
I also decided that while it's great that when I vacuum we can reduce the dust being thrown into the air, we should also reduce that at all times anyways! So I bought us an air purifyer. So far I love it! I can't say I've seen many results so far as sickness from it yet (I'm hoping that is because we've already inhailed whatever we have), but hopefully it will help with later viruses and allergies! It does make the house smell fresher, which I love!!
So I believe this is our last week of Swimming practice. Pumpkin will have her last meet on Monday, and then they have championships next week, but I don't think Pumpkin will be able to go to those. I will not miss getting up at 7am and running her to the pool every day, but I know she will miss it dearly!! Swimming has become her favorite thing to do! She would be at that pool swimming all day long, every day If I let her! But I'm looking forward to everyone getting well and us being able to enjoy the pool during the day instead of having to lay around the house and get well!
Normally I will only let the girls do one thing at a time so far as an extra curricular activity. Little Bear has been talking about how she wants to be a cheerleader, and so has Pumpkin! Usually in the fall Little Bear does dance, but this year the dance schedule does not really go with our schedule so I think we may take a break from it. I've been looking into Upward cheering. It starts in late August/Oct, and I think it will be great that it is something the girls could do together finally! They love the though of doing things together but they have never found something they both enjoy together! Pumpkin wasn't much of a ballet person, and Little Bear doesn't like swimming much, so hopefully this will be a happy medium!
I've been working a lot on school the last few weeks with having so many classes that have overlapped! It was a huge challenge but I did it! I did whine and complain about it quite a bit but I pushed through and got everything done! I just pray that I get a good enough grade on my English essay to keep an A! I was 1 point away from a B when I turned it in so it will either help me a lot or hurt me a lot! Yes a B isn't bad but I really would LOVE to keep my straight A status I've been able to accomplish as of right now. If I'm going to pay all this money for an education, I'm going to get smart not just get the diploma! I also feel like I need to prove to myself that I am smart and can do anything I want! I've always had so many doubts about myself so far as my intellect, and I'm ready to change that! Right now I'm taking an Evangelism class, Bible Class, and Math Class. The Math has been a challenge for me so far! I have really had to work on this class a lot in order to maintain the A I have in there. It has been frustrating and challenging and I can't wait to be done with the next 2 math classes I have to finish after this one! My evangelism class has been pretty easy so far! I can finish my work for this class in a few hours and I have an A so far. I have been looking forward to the end assignment which is to lead someone to Christ! I just hope that God will lead me to someone who will be willing to listen! Bible has been my favorite! I have learned so much about reading the bible that I didn't realize before! I feel like my eyes have been opened to so many things, and I am looking forward to really getting into more of my bible classes!!
So while my main major is in Religion right now, I have been eyeing the paralegal degree. I found out by one of my advisors that when you get a BS in something, there are so many electives that you have to take for that degree that you can actually get an entire degree in something else just with the electives! So that is what I'm planning! I still have to call and confirm that it can be done the way I've planned but by the time I graduate with a BS in religion I will also have a BA as a paralegal! Why not kill two birds with one stone!
My goals with what I'm going to do with my degree have changed a lot since I first enrolled! I origionally wanted to go so that I could eventually go to nursing school. After checking into nursing school I realized that there would be no way for me to do that AND be a full time homeschooling mom that I want to be. Being a mom to my girls is way more important than school to me. Maybe in a few years we will be able to take more nursing courses online and it will become possible for me to do this but right now it's not. Then I thought...Of course...Business! That would help me with anything I decide to do! But for me...business is boring! I would absolutely HATE it! I have to do something I want to learn about and I'm passionate about. The first thing I'm passioate about is GOD! I love God, and there is nothing on earth I would love more than to understand and know the bible front and backwards, and be able to defend my faith with actual historical facts, and just to know exactly what to say anytime of the day in order to show someone that Christ can change their lives! and #2, fighting for the rights of Christians! It's funny because when Nathan first went to college he went with the idea that he would be a lawyer. (he still could be) His reasoning was to fight for the rights of Christians! I believe that with a bible degree, and a paralegal degree I will be able to help fight for Christian rights, or even accomplish my dream of building a women's shelter since I will have the knowledge of law that I will need in order to help these women with the legal system!
Everyone one around me just complains about how horrible this world is becoming, how Obama has destroyed America!! While I can't say I'm an Obama fan at all, I can say it's not all his fault! Why aren't these people coming against him!? Why aren't these people fighting to hold up our constitution? Instead they are sitting back, complaining that he has ruiened our country! I don't see these people in protest, or getting involved with the up coming campaigns to get him out of office! Maybe there are some who are doing this, but not enough!! If I have one gift that God gave me it's the ability to stand firm on his Word! I have never been great at standing up for myself when people come against me, but come against my God and see how bold I get! But whatever I end up doing I do not want to do it for a job, but as a ministry! I don't want to be just any paralegal or person with a bible degree...I want to make a difference, and start a ministry that will help change lives! I just have to figure out what that is!
Well I'm signing off for now. I just finished reading the last book of the Hunger Games tonight after almost four months of trying to finish! I liked the ending a lot, the rest of it was hard to get through it was very slow compared to the rest of the books, but I did love the ending. I'm starting my new book today that has been waiting patiently in my Kindle for months. "Boundaries: when to say yes, How to say no." Definately something I need to learn about!! So well...by for now, i'll be back soon I promise!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Update on my assault in the driveway....
So just a quick update about yesterday. I saw my neighbor outside today and wanted to go talk to her but was a little worried she would be upset with us; so I took a breath, prayed that God would give me the words to say and walked out the back door. When I looked up she was smiling at me and said "HEY!" (I was so relieved!) I said hello back and told her I was so sorry that we called the cops yesterday and that I said something to him but it just got under my skin and I can't let people talk like that about my family. She said, "oh no, you didn't do anything wrong at all I would have probably been even worse if it were me!" I also told her that I believe God doesn't waste anything and that if this happened to us because she needed to see his true colors then I would gladly go through it all over again for her! She said that that is exactly what it did, it really opened her eyes and she hasn't talked to him since. I also learned he had a lot to drink, and had two other altercations with people at other places before he came to her house and took it out on us. He has a lot going on in his life so we'll be praying for him that things will make a turn for the better for him!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Assaulted in my driveway.....
So today was suppose to be a great day! Nathan had physical therapy this morning and then I got the kids ready, and piled them all into the car once he got home. We went to vote, then headed to the Pediatricians office for a well baby check up for Goobies and Pumpkin. After their check up we drove the girls over to their swimming lessons and then headed home. Grandma was coming over to watch the kids tonight so that Nathan & I could go out on a date to celebrate out 7 year anniversary. (I was beyond excited!) We had planned to go to the Cinnebistro at Stony Point; the place you can watch a movie while you eat dinner! I've heard amazing things about it so wanted to try out something new. Anyways, so we pull in the drive way and his mom had gotten here before us. She was sitting on the steps and looked a little weary. When I got out of the car she asks us if we know the guy that is over next door to us? I told her we didn't have a guy next door but that he was a friend of the lady who lives there, but we've never met him or talked to him. She says that while she was waiting on us to get home she heard him outside saying, "His mom needs to kick his A** and make him get to work!" Then she heard him say, "I don't care if they hear me over there or not!" She said that she stood up and said, "excuse me, but are you talking about my son?" The man told her YES! He told her that sometimes he sees him walking with a cane, and then other times he isn't, and then he is in the backyard playing with the kids! She told him that Nathan has a back condition and the guy just went off on her!
As I'm listening to her tell me this I watch his truck drive past our house and into the drive way next to us. I'm standing on the drivers side of the car but still needed to get the baby out of the other side and was just in shock and furious at the same time that this happened! I walked around the car and he was looking out his window the entire time glaring at me, so I glared back at him. I got the baby out turned back around and he was still glaring at me! The kids were on the porch and the more I kept playing what he said over and over in my mind and thinking "how dare he say that about us and he has no idea what we've been through!" I couldn't hold it! I looked back and he was still looking at me so I said, "Do you have a problem with my family?" And he blew! He again started saying horrible things, cursing in front of my kids, talking about how he pays for us to live because Nathan probably is paid by the government and one day he has a cane the next day he doesn't etc.. Then he started cursing at me and Nathan stepped down off the porch and said, "DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY WIFE LIKE THAT, HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?" (the lady next door shook her head yes) He then kept going on and on about how he pays for our government assistance at which I replied, "we don't get paid a cent from the government!" And he just kept going...so ...I told Nathan...Just call the cops! So he did. Our neighbor felt we made a big deal by doing this but to me this was not a huge deal because he was assaulting my family, myself and cursing in front of my children!!
When the cops got here they said we should come down to the station and file charges and get a warrant for his arrest. I told them I'd just like to have them talk to him and make him leave us alone because I don't want to have anyone arrested and have to go through all that but I just don't want him cursing in front of my family! So they went over and talked to him.
This put a little kink in our anniversary plans. We ended up not going tonight. I was so taken back by how evil people can be. I've never experienced things like what we've been experiencing this year and I'm really just taken back by how selfish people are in this world! I keep trying to figure out how someone who has never met us, never talked to us can spend their tuesday evening sitting on the porch talking about us badly! This man did not even care to know the truth of what is going on in our lives, what is wrong with Nathan's back, or what we've been through; he just wanted to group us into a group of other people who cheat the system and don't really have disabilities or maybe just take his own problems out on us. The fact is, Nathan is not drawing any form of disability. Could he? YES! But he doesn't want too! Does he walk with a cane? SOMETIMES, because after a long day of work, or when walking around shopping it hurts his back and the cane helps to take some of the pressure off. Does he play with his children in the backyard? YES, my husband is a great man who pushes through his own pain and stands for 30 minutes in the yard (sometimes longer) pushing our children on a swing or throwing a ball to them, or watering the garden! This man has no idea how hurtful it is to me to watch a grown man (nathan) squirm all night long flinching in pain, tossing and turning, too tired to wake up because he never sleeps well, but in so much pain he can't lay still. Does Nathan go to work? YES, but occasionally he has not been able to because of his pain, or because he had a period of time where he was getting his pain management under control so he could be at work. DOES AMERICA PAY OUR FAMILY TO LIVE? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! He should be ashamed of himself for assuming such things about people without asking.
I realize this man was probably going through some troubles of his own and needed someone to take it out on, so I hope that the fact that he ruined our anniversary tonight was enough to make him feel better. As for us, well, I'm still in shock that people I don't even know are making such horrible assumptions about my family, I'm happy I was brave enough to question him because I will not tolerate people saying horrible things like that to or about my family! I'm not angry at him (now), but I do feel upset that my kids had to hear such things being said about their father and mother. I'm sad that just because my husband has a condition that MOST people do not understand the severity of they are quick to judgement. But I'm praying this happened for a reason. I believe that God never wastes our pain and whatever reason he had for us to stay home tonight, feel threatened and hurt by this man I'm sure was worth the sacrifice of our date. I just pray that there can be peace and restoration between us and our neighbor after this incident. Maybe I shouldn't have called the cops, but at that time I was shaking, crying and didn't know how else to get him to stop. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to him, but that is my family! I don't know I keep going over and over it in my head trying to figure out why this happened and I have no good answers.
As I'm listening to her tell me this I watch his truck drive past our house and into the drive way next to us. I'm standing on the drivers side of the car but still needed to get the baby out of the other side and was just in shock and furious at the same time that this happened! I walked around the car and he was looking out his window the entire time glaring at me, so I glared back at him. I got the baby out turned back around and he was still glaring at me! The kids were on the porch and the more I kept playing what he said over and over in my mind and thinking "how dare he say that about us and he has no idea what we've been through!" I couldn't hold it! I looked back and he was still looking at me so I said, "Do you have a problem with my family?" And he blew! He again started saying horrible things, cursing in front of my kids, talking about how he pays for us to live because Nathan probably is paid by the government and one day he has a cane the next day he doesn't etc.. Then he started cursing at me and Nathan stepped down off the porch and said, "DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY WIFE LIKE THAT, HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?" (the lady next door shook her head yes) He then kept going on and on about how he pays for our government assistance at which I replied, "we don't get paid a cent from the government!" And he just kept going...so ...I told Nathan...Just call the cops! So he did. Our neighbor felt we made a big deal by doing this but to me this was not a huge deal because he was assaulting my family, myself and cursing in front of my children!!
When the cops got here they said we should come down to the station and file charges and get a warrant for his arrest. I told them I'd just like to have them talk to him and make him leave us alone because I don't want to have anyone arrested and have to go through all that but I just don't want him cursing in front of my family! So they went over and talked to him.
This put a little kink in our anniversary plans. We ended up not going tonight. I was so taken back by how evil people can be. I've never experienced things like what we've been experiencing this year and I'm really just taken back by how selfish people are in this world! I keep trying to figure out how someone who has never met us, never talked to us can spend their tuesday evening sitting on the porch talking about us badly! This man did not even care to know the truth of what is going on in our lives, what is wrong with Nathan's back, or what we've been through; he just wanted to group us into a group of other people who cheat the system and don't really have disabilities or maybe just take his own problems out on us. The fact is, Nathan is not drawing any form of disability. Could he? YES! But he doesn't want too! Does he walk with a cane? SOMETIMES, because after a long day of work, or when walking around shopping it hurts his back and the cane helps to take some of the pressure off. Does he play with his children in the backyard? YES, my husband is a great man who pushes through his own pain and stands for 30 minutes in the yard (sometimes longer) pushing our children on a swing or throwing a ball to them, or watering the garden! This man has no idea how hurtful it is to me to watch a grown man (nathan) squirm all night long flinching in pain, tossing and turning, too tired to wake up because he never sleeps well, but in so much pain he can't lay still. Does Nathan go to work? YES, but occasionally he has not been able to because of his pain, or because he had a period of time where he was getting his pain management under control so he could be at work. DOES AMERICA PAY OUR FAMILY TO LIVE? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! He should be ashamed of himself for assuming such things about people without asking.
I realize this man was probably going through some troubles of his own and needed someone to take it out on, so I hope that the fact that he ruined our anniversary tonight was enough to make him feel better. As for us, well, I'm still in shock that people I don't even know are making such horrible assumptions about my family, I'm happy I was brave enough to question him because I will not tolerate people saying horrible things like that to or about my family! I'm not angry at him (now), but I do feel upset that my kids had to hear such things being said about their father and mother. I'm sad that just because my husband has a condition that MOST people do not understand the severity of they are quick to judgement. But I'm praying this happened for a reason. I believe that God never wastes our pain and whatever reason he had for us to stay home tonight, feel threatened and hurt by this man I'm sure was worth the sacrifice of our date. I just pray that there can be peace and restoration between us and our neighbor after this incident. Maybe I shouldn't have called the cops, but at that time I was shaking, crying and didn't know how else to get him to stop. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to him, but that is my family! I don't know I keep going over and over it in my head trying to figure out why this happened and I have no good answers.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Baby #6 ????
Naaaaa.......Crazy last few days! So we had our first false alarm this week, we've never had quite an experience like this. Most people have two questions that they eventually ask us, (1) "are you gonna try for the boy?" and (2) "Do you use birth control?" Well here are those answers for the entire world to see.. (1) we have never tried for any child we have, they have all been given to us graciously, and (2) no we do not use the pill. These two things are very difficult for people to swallow because America is about convenience and it's never convenient to have five children in seven years! All my life I've heard about having "peace and quiet" and "relaxing" and "having ME time" and well...who knows maybe this is my way of being rebellious; with five children you don't get any of that, but it's still great!! So this week I was late...I began to get a little scared because I'm NEVER late unless.... So sent Nathan to CVS and took a test...it looked negative but I could see a light blue line that would make it positive. So...I took the second one...same thing but a little darker. So yes...I began to go pregnancy test nutty and bought like one of each type and took about 7 in one day! All the rest were negative!! 2 (lightly positive) and 5 negative! I just couldn't understand it! So I waited till the next morning and took another...negative...the next morning...negative!! It was making me crazy! So finally I was able to positively say this morning that we had two false positives and I pray that I never have to go through that again! What a horrible trick to play on people, especially when it's baby #6 and you have to start preparing right away because 8 people means: 12 passenger van, larger kitchen table, moving the kids into the master bedroom so they all fit in the house....it's a lot of preparation! I do have to say I did feel sad when I finally found out it was negative, even though life would be outrageously crazy if that did happen again so soon...well it would be outrageously wonderful too to be blessed with another mini-Cooper! They are all so great!! However having a little break is more than okay with me right now, but If God decides the time has come for #6 I will be more than thrilled!
So Friday was Hobble-bobble's 3rd birthday! That girl is just the sweetest kid ever!! She is obsessed with Veggie Tales; Larry Boy in particular! We are completely running out of Veggie Tales toys to get her for her birthday's and Christmas! Hopefully they will come out with more later. So this year for her...she doesn't get a huge party...we invited a few of our friends over next saturday for a cook out but other than that...we had cupcakes and gave her gifts as a family.
Friday was also the Homeschool Convention. It was awesome! The used book sale this year wasn't as great as the last few years but we did get more time to check out all the vendors this year and the last two years we have not. The girls really enjoyed it this year, they met a few homeschool children who were their age but in a family of 8 kids! They really liked the music booth where they could try out violins and instruments. Nathan and I bought a parent package from www.doorposts.com while we were there. It is amazing stuff! I've always said that If only I had a step by step program that told me how to discipline for what offense, I'd be great!! That is exactly what this is!!! I'm so beyond excited. It's a book that is split up by offense, when a child lies, steals, is selfish, disobedient etc.. you open it to that page and read scripture to your child about that subject and why it's not good to do. They also have a chart to put on the wall that tells the child what their consequences are for certain crimes. We started out doing this today, we still have to work out a few kinks with it but so far so good! By the end of the day it was "here comes mom and dad with the bible book again!" lol but they are getting it and we are able to discipline the way we've always wanted to through prayer and scripture, it's been great!
So today, we woke up early and cleaned up the house. The girls and Nathan helped me in the living room, and hallway, and then I started on the girls room while they ate lunch. When we were finished they all went down for quiet time while Nathan worked on tightening and replacing screws on the swing set outside, and I started packing for the pool. I laid out swimming suits, towels, cut veggies and fruits for snacks, filled up cups, packed a diaper bag, packed clothes and underwear for afterwards, made a bottle and found shoes. When we got to the pool I lathered the kids with sun screen and they were off!! Three hours swimming and we were headed back home to play outside! We ordered pizza and sat on the back porch an ate. Then Nathan and I laid on the trampoline while the girls jumped around us and we tried grabbing them and pulling them down on top of us to tickle. Once we got inside it was 8:30pm and I filled up the bathtub for all the girls, washed them, dried them and sent them to pick up toys in their room. We all then laid in Little Bear's bed together while I read a story to all the kids and then they were sound asleep!! We wore them out!!!`
Our week has been filled with so much that I haven't even made it to start on my school work that is due monday night by 11:59pm! I have two days but I'm SO exhausted!! Monday will be our wedding anniversary.....so we may have to put off our celebration till Tuesday instead. I'm so thankful that I've been able to have the last eight years with the love of my life! I could not have asked God for a better man! I'm so undeserving of him, yet thankful I have him!
~HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
So Friday was Hobble-bobble's 3rd birthday! That girl is just the sweetest kid ever!! She is obsessed with Veggie Tales; Larry Boy in particular! We are completely running out of Veggie Tales toys to get her for her birthday's and Christmas! Hopefully they will come out with more later. So this year for her...she doesn't get a huge party...we invited a few of our friends over next saturday for a cook out but other than that...we had cupcakes and gave her gifts as a family.
Friday was also the Homeschool Convention. It was awesome! The used book sale this year wasn't as great as the last few years but we did get more time to check out all the vendors this year and the last two years we have not. The girls really enjoyed it this year, they met a few homeschool children who were their age but in a family of 8 kids! They really liked the music booth where they could try out violins and instruments. Nathan and I bought a parent package from www.doorposts.com while we were there. It is amazing stuff! I've always said that If only I had a step by step program that told me how to discipline for what offense, I'd be great!! That is exactly what this is!!! I'm so beyond excited. It's a book that is split up by offense, when a child lies, steals, is selfish, disobedient etc.. you open it to that page and read scripture to your child about that subject and why it's not good to do. They also have a chart to put on the wall that tells the child what their consequences are for certain crimes. We started out doing this today, we still have to work out a few kinks with it but so far so good! By the end of the day it was "here comes mom and dad with the bible book again!" lol but they are getting it and we are able to discipline the way we've always wanted to through prayer and scripture, it's been great!
So today, we woke up early and cleaned up the house. The girls and Nathan helped me in the living room, and hallway, and then I started on the girls room while they ate lunch. When we were finished they all went down for quiet time while Nathan worked on tightening and replacing screws on the swing set outside, and I started packing for the pool. I laid out swimming suits, towels, cut veggies and fruits for snacks, filled up cups, packed a diaper bag, packed clothes and underwear for afterwards, made a bottle and found shoes. When we got to the pool I lathered the kids with sun screen and they were off!! Three hours swimming and we were headed back home to play outside! We ordered pizza and sat on the back porch an ate. Then Nathan and I laid on the trampoline while the girls jumped around us and we tried grabbing them and pulling them down on top of us to tickle. Once we got inside it was 8:30pm and I filled up the bathtub for all the girls, washed them, dried them and sent them to pick up toys in their room. We all then laid in Little Bear's bed together while I read a story to all the kids and then they were sound asleep!! We wore them out!!!`
Our week has been filled with so much that I haven't even made it to start on my school work that is due monday night by 11:59pm! I have two days but I'm SO exhausted!! Monday will be our wedding anniversary.....so we may have to put off our celebration till Tuesday instead. I'm so thankful that I've been able to have the last eight years with the love of my life! I could not have asked God for a better man! I'm so undeserving of him, yet thankful I have him!
~HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Potty training is not one of my strengths......
Gosh it seems like forever since I last posted, but it really was only a few weeks. We are in the middle of operation: "get through the first three weeks of June" right now and still chugging along!! Our busiest three weeks of the year! Little Bear had her recital on the 2nd, she did fantastic! She knew all her dance moves and looked beautiful on stage! I think her favorite part was getting to put on make-up and then getting flowers from daddy and grandma afterwards! She loved her flowers!!!
We left the recital right after her performance and rushed everyone back home. Grandma came and stayed the rest of the evening with the kids while Nathan & I dressed up (super) nice and headed to the Jefferson Hotel for my sweet neighbors wedding. I'm totally going to miss my neighbor Michelle across the street! She has been an amazing friend the last few years that she has lived there; but I am EXTREMELY excited that she has found the love of her life and is happy! Her wedding was beautiful! She was exquisite! I don't believe I've been to a wedding that fancy before in my life and it was the most fun I've had since my own wedding! It was nice to get out and have some time to dance, and have a nice dinner, and celebrate the beginning of her new marriage!
On Monday, Pumpkin & Little Bear had their first swimming lessons! They were so excited to swim; Pumpkin did great! She went under the water, jumped in and kicked around on the kick board. Little Bear was a little more difficult but she is coming along slowly. She is so afraid to put her face in the water! So tonight after three days of lessons and her still having trouble, I filled up the bathtub and put her in it. I figured out that she didn't understand what they were trying to tell her about blowing air out under water and holding her breath. So I knelt down next to the tub, showed her how to hold her breath, showed her how to blow out, showed her how to blow bubbles and then before she knew what happened I closed my eyes and stuck my entire head under the water. When I came back up her eyes were HUGE! lol, she said, "wow mom your hair looks horrible!!" LOL! I told her that I wanted to show her how easy it was to go under water. She finally started putting her entire face under, and then a little more of her head. We aren't all the way there but we have made progress!! I came out of the bathroom my hair standing straight up and wet and my shirt soaked all the way down to my pants. Nathan was like, "what in the world are you doing in the bathroom!!" hahah!!
So over all today has been a great day! My friend Anya came over and watched the kids play outside while I got to clean up the kitchen. I'm so excited to have them coming over once a week or so to play and then go to the pool with us! Life will be so much easier once I have that little bit of extra time during the day to clean up without having to chase the kids around. She has been a lifesaver!
So the rest of the week, we are in double time still! Tomorrow we have swim lessons again, Friday we have the homeschool convention and Hobble-bobble will turn 3! Saturday...we are going to the pool and somewhere in between the next three days I need to go to the grocery, get Hobble-bobble a present, write my list of curriculum I'm looking for at the convention, and finish my school work!
I've also decided to put Hobble-bobble back in diapers! I knew it was too good to be true that she decided to potty train herself a few weeks ago!! She was doing great and then....her room started smelling like pee!! Her panties kept going missing, or she would go through like 10 pair a day!! We figured out that she would sit on the potty WITH her panties ON and then pee instead of taking them off!! THEN, it began...just like Pumpkin...she started peeing EVERYWHERE!! Our carpet sounds completely like pee! It's so nasty!! So we will be having a carpet cleaning SOON! So she is back in the baby diapers!! I'm also fighting with Sweet-pea because she is desperate to go potty like everyone else, but I forbid it!! She keeps taking her diaper off everytime she pees or poops in it! When she poops, she takes off the diaper, throws it over the gate into the kitchen, (yes with the poo still in it) and goes and sits on the potty....with poop all over her butt!! I'm cleaning pee and poo ALL THE TIME!! I HATE potty training!! So I think I may make a trip to Michaels and buy some pretty duct tape and secure these diapers already!!
So I'm off to finish out the week strong!! Till next time.....
On Monday, Pumpkin & Little Bear had their first swimming lessons! They were so excited to swim; Pumpkin did great! She went under the water, jumped in and kicked around on the kick board. Little Bear was a little more difficult but she is coming along slowly. She is so afraid to put her face in the water! So tonight after three days of lessons and her still having trouble, I filled up the bathtub and put her in it. I figured out that she didn't understand what they were trying to tell her about blowing air out under water and holding her breath. So I knelt down next to the tub, showed her how to hold her breath, showed her how to blow out, showed her how to blow bubbles and then before she knew what happened I closed my eyes and stuck my entire head under the water. When I came back up her eyes were HUGE! lol, she said, "wow mom your hair looks horrible!!" LOL! I told her that I wanted to show her how easy it was to go under water. She finally started putting her entire face under, and then a little more of her head. We aren't all the way there but we have made progress!! I came out of the bathroom my hair standing straight up and wet and my shirt soaked all the way down to my pants. Nathan was like, "what in the world are you doing in the bathroom!!" hahah!!
So over all today has been a great day! My friend Anya came over and watched the kids play outside while I got to clean up the kitchen. I'm so excited to have them coming over once a week or so to play and then go to the pool with us! Life will be so much easier once I have that little bit of extra time during the day to clean up without having to chase the kids around. She has been a lifesaver!
So the rest of the week, we are in double time still! Tomorrow we have swim lessons again, Friday we have the homeschool convention and Hobble-bobble will turn 3! Saturday...we are going to the pool and somewhere in between the next three days I need to go to the grocery, get Hobble-bobble a present, write my list of curriculum I'm looking for at the convention, and finish my school work!
I've also decided to put Hobble-bobble back in diapers! I knew it was too good to be true that she decided to potty train herself a few weeks ago!! She was doing great and then....her room started smelling like pee!! Her panties kept going missing, or she would go through like 10 pair a day!! We figured out that she would sit on the potty WITH her panties ON and then pee instead of taking them off!! THEN, it began...just like Pumpkin...she started peeing EVERYWHERE!! Our carpet sounds completely like pee! It's so nasty!! So we will be having a carpet cleaning SOON! So she is back in the baby diapers!! I'm also fighting with Sweet-pea because she is desperate to go potty like everyone else, but I forbid it!! She keeps taking her diaper off everytime she pees or poops in it! When she poops, she takes off the diaper, throws it over the gate into the kitchen, (yes with the poo still in it) and goes and sits on the potty....with poop all over her butt!! I'm cleaning pee and poo ALL THE TIME!! I HATE potty training!! So I think I may make a trip to Michaels and buy some pretty duct tape and secure these diapers already!!
So I'm off to finish out the week strong!! Till next time.....
Thursday, May 31, 2012
We have a date for surgery......
We've had a rough couple of days this week. Nathan got his last shot for a while on Tuesday which has caused him to not feel very good at all the last couple days. I don't know if it was the shot itself, the combination of the shot and his medication, or maybe he is coming down with the virus we've all had; but whatever it was he has not been himself.
Tuesday we packed up the kids and drove to St. Mary's for his last shot for a while. The girls and I waited in the car while he went inside. From the moment he got back in the car he was a mess. His back has been in so much pain he cannot move! Every time he has had a shot the next few days have been really tough pain wise. One of the side effects is that his pain will become inflamed and this time that has been an understatement. For two days, he has felt hot and cold, nauseous and restless, and has not been able to do anything. My mother in law has been coming over to help watch the kids when I have errands to run because he can't do it anymore which has made things pretty tough.
We also spoke with his surgeon's office Tuesday and they let us know that his surgery is scheduled for October 5th. It has been a little emotional for both of us to actually have a date now when it will take place, but then again it's a little bit of a relief that he will not have to be in so much pain for much longer. We will go back to Charlottesville in August for one last appointment before the surgery. We will get all the details of surgery day and accommodations for the girls and I then. They will also be taking a CAT scan of his spine then in order to plan out his surgery. But for now we are trying to keep him comfortable which has been proving to be more and more challenging every day!
I wish we would have re-scheduled his shot for next week instead of this week with all we have going on! Little Bear had recital photos yesterday, today is rehearsal, friday we have someone coming to give us a 2nd estimate on our fence for the back yard, and Saturday we will be running between recital and a wedding. His shot put a little kink in things, so far as, him not being able to keep the kids when we go to rehearsal, and photos, and the grocery store etc. But my mother-in-law has been a huge help. She picked up some milk for us last night and took her lunch break yesterday to be here with Nathan & the girls so I could take Little Bear for pictures. I've been really thankful to have her help!
So today Nathan will have physical therapy this afternoon, before we head to rehearsal for Little Bear. I'm praying that he will feel well enough to at least sit in the car with them while we are there! Meanwhile, I've been chasing Sweet-pea around the house all morning long trying to keep her diaper on her! lol This kid (21 mo) is determined to use the potty, and I'm determined she is going to wear the diaper! Ever since Hobble-bobble has been going potty, she has had to be a big girl too! She will pull off the diaper (poop and all) and sit on the potty until I come in a make her put on another one. Five minutes later I find that diaper laying in the hall and her sitting on the potty! lol I am just so scarred from potty training Pumpkin that there is no way it can be this easy with Sweet-pea!
On the upside, I received an email last night from Liberty University, that I have made the Dean's list!! My GPA was a 4.0 this past summer semester! This is HUGE for me considering I haven't even made honor roll since Elementary school, and it's been 12 years since I graduated High School! I never thought I'd actually be in college, let alone that I'd be on the Dean's list! I just hope I can keep my grades up that high throughout the next 3.5 years!
So with that here is hoping our day goes smoothly today!!
Tuesday we packed up the kids and drove to St. Mary's for his last shot for a while. The girls and I waited in the car while he went inside. From the moment he got back in the car he was a mess. His back has been in so much pain he cannot move! Every time he has had a shot the next few days have been really tough pain wise. One of the side effects is that his pain will become inflamed and this time that has been an understatement. For two days, he has felt hot and cold, nauseous and restless, and has not been able to do anything. My mother in law has been coming over to help watch the kids when I have errands to run because he can't do it anymore which has made things pretty tough.
We also spoke with his surgeon's office Tuesday and they let us know that his surgery is scheduled for October 5th. It has been a little emotional for both of us to actually have a date now when it will take place, but then again it's a little bit of a relief that he will not have to be in so much pain for much longer. We will go back to Charlottesville in August for one last appointment before the surgery. We will get all the details of surgery day and accommodations for the girls and I then. They will also be taking a CAT scan of his spine then in order to plan out his surgery. But for now we are trying to keep him comfortable which has been proving to be more and more challenging every day!
I wish we would have re-scheduled his shot for next week instead of this week with all we have going on! Little Bear had recital photos yesterday, today is rehearsal, friday we have someone coming to give us a 2nd estimate on our fence for the back yard, and Saturday we will be running between recital and a wedding. His shot put a little kink in things, so far as, him not being able to keep the kids when we go to rehearsal, and photos, and the grocery store etc. But my mother-in-law has been a huge help. She picked up some milk for us last night and took her lunch break yesterday to be here with Nathan & the girls so I could take Little Bear for pictures. I've been really thankful to have her help!
So today Nathan will have physical therapy this afternoon, before we head to rehearsal for Little Bear. I'm praying that he will feel well enough to at least sit in the car with them while we are there! Meanwhile, I've been chasing Sweet-pea around the house all morning long trying to keep her diaper on her! lol This kid (21 mo) is determined to use the potty, and I'm determined she is going to wear the diaper! Ever since Hobble-bobble has been going potty, she has had to be a big girl too! She will pull off the diaper (poop and all) and sit on the potty until I come in a make her put on another one. Five minutes later I find that diaper laying in the hall and her sitting on the potty! lol I am just so scarred from potty training Pumpkin that there is no way it can be this easy with Sweet-pea!
On the upside, I received an email last night from Liberty University, that I have made the Dean's list!! My GPA was a 4.0 this past summer semester! This is HUGE for me considering I haven't even made honor roll since Elementary school, and it's been 12 years since I graduated High School! I never thought I'd actually be in college, let alone that I'd be on the Dean's list! I just hope I can keep my grades up that high throughout the next 3.5 years!
So with that here is hoping our day goes smoothly today!!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
A Day in the Life of the Coopers
So Today I decided to do a day in the life of the Coopers...well...really me. It wasn't a completely typical day because today I had a mommy's night out; but you will get the idea! Some of you already saw most of the photos on my facebook page today but here they are in order and with more explanation.
So our day started at 6:45am. The kids were all 5 sitting on me, laying on me while I was still trying to catch that extra five precious minutes of sleep that would have made the entire day so much better! Nathan got up before me and took them to the kitchen to start their breakfast so that I could work on getting out of bed; I am NOT a morning person!! Once the kids were done eating Nathan got ready for work and I snuggled on the couch with all five of them...and some of them snuggled with each other.......
After about 40 minutes of television and snuggling so mommy could wake up, the television was turned off and all five girls went to their room to play until I was finished getting things together for school. My sister gave me a bag full of clothes she was getting rid of and in the bag was a huge soft furry robe, the girls stole it and Hobble-bobble sleeps with it as a blanket now it is so warm and soft. Anyways Pumpkin and Little Bear came out both in the robe saying they were two headed sisters! lol
Around 9:30am my sweet Goobies began getting tired and needed to go down for her nap.....
Then it was time to start school! The babies played with puzzles and colored pictures while Little Bear worked on reading a few more words and writing and Pumpkin worked on her letter to her penpal....
While they were doing their busy work...momma worked too! I printed, cut and laminated our new chore charts and hung them on the fridge so we could get started on them today.......
Then after school it was time for lunch. While I cleaned up and put the school stuff away, Pumpkin made peanut butter sandwiches for everyone......
While they ate I started dishes and laundry and explained to them what their afternoon chores were and we got to it.....
After starting laundry I began unloading and loading dishes into the dishwasher but was interrupted when Sweet-pea decided to get a stomach bug and vomit all over the floor!! So scrubbing the floor became my immediate priority (after her of course)!
Finally after an hour of trying to get the dishes loaded I had an empty sink!!!
Of course the relief of being finished with something didn't last long because when I came around the corner, into the living room I caught Hobble-bobble on the floor pouring out the baby powder all over the carpet! So again I went scrubbing the floor!
And then left what I didn't get up for the vacuum, when I got to it. So I then pulled out a few items to make some "respect" bracelets. I had been having a hard time with the older girls teaching them to have respect for us and doing what we say when we ask, so I got this idea from a fellow homeschool mom's blog called My heart is at home. We did ours a little different, we only have 7 beads and our bracelets actually say RESPECT!
Then before I knew it, it was already 1:30pm! The girls had finished their daily chores of emptying the bathroom trash, cleaning the bathroom sink, cleaning some of their room, and it was nap/quiet time. Sweet-pea goes in her bed, Hobble-bobble goes in my bed, and Little Bear and Pumpkin were on the couch and chair looking at books for an hour.
During this hour I took time to re-organize our homeschool cabinet since it was a mess! The kids get in there so often and pull things out and throw things in that it's just hard to find anything anymore...it was well overdue... before:
After:
After the big girls were finished with their quiet time they helped me pick up the living room, and I vacuumed the floor....
When I was finished it was 3:00pm and the babies were still sleeping so I got the big girls ready to go outside. As we were putting our shoes on to head out to play I hear coughing coming from Sweet-pea's room. I sprinted back the hallway and found her laying sleeping in her own vomit! It was in her hair under her head, in her ears so she ended up in the bath tub.....
And the big girls were sad because playtime outside had to be cancelled!! :(
But after the bath was finished, we pulled out a game and the girls all played "UNO MOO." Even Goobies got in on the fun!!
So as they played nicely I received a phone call and felt like I was able to take a minute to talk. I went into my room and was sitting on the bed. A few minutes later Sweet-pea came into the room acting upset and whinny. She pulled and yanked on me until I finally picked her up and sat her on my lap. And then...yep...she vomited ALL over me!! So I had another huge bag of laundry to add to my pile and another nice clean up session...
I finally got the kids settled down around 5:00pm with a movie. No one was vomiting, no one was screaming they were all quiet and watching a movie.
So I went outside and threw some hotdogs on the grill for them for dinner since I wasn't going to be home for dinner tonight....
While I waited for them to cook I let the dog out, and watered the garden.......
Then I told Pumpkin she could come out and water their garden.........
When we finished, I rolled over the hotdogs and went back inside for the remainder of the time they cooked. When I walked into the living room I saw Sweet-pea sitting on the floor naked trying to change her own diaper!! LOL....
Once I got her diaper back on her I was relieved to see Nathan come through the door!! We were ALL happy to see him!!
...but especially me because that meant I was able to finally take a shower!! So I took a shower, did my hair, make-up, got dressed kissed everyone goodbye and was out the door for mommy's night out with a friend from highschool and two other amazing mothers!! My friend won a mommy's night out at applebee's with three friends, and she picked ME as one of them!! I was so honored to go with her!!
Once I found the place over in the west end, we had a great time! We talked until almost 10:30 and then I was on a mission to get back home.....
Once I got home I talked with Nathan a few minutes and then went in to check on the babies. They were all sleeping soundly.....
And then I ended the night with checking facebook, and writing this blog at 12:54am!
My evening is completely different! I am usually on the computer after dinner working on my school work and then in bed by 12am! Or spending time with Nathan watching a movie. Anyways so this is a general typical day in our household...so if you were a fly on our wall today this is what you would have saw. Goodnight!!
So our day started at 6:45am. The kids were all 5 sitting on me, laying on me while I was still trying to catch that extra five precious minutes of sleep that would have made the entire day so much better! Nathan got up before me and took them to the kitchen to start their breakfast so that I could work on getting out of bed; I am NOT a morning person!! Once the kids were done eating Nathan got ready for work and I snuggled on the couch with all five of them...and some of them snuggled with each other.......
After about 40 minutes of television and snuggling so mommy could wake up, the television was turned off and all five girls went to their room to play until I was finished getting things together for school. My sister gave me a bag full of clothes she was getting rid of and in the bag was a huge soft furry robe, the girls stole it and Hobble-bobble sleeps with it as a blanket now it is so warm and soft. Anyways Pumpkin and Little Bear came out both in the robe saying they were two headed sisters! lol
Then it was time to start school! The babies played with puzzles and colored pictures while Little Bear worked on reading a few more words and writing and Pumpkin worked on her letter to her penpal....
While they ate I started dishes and laundry and explained to them what their afternoon chores were and we got to it.....
After starting laundry I began unloading and loading dishes into the dishwasher but was interrupted when Sweet-pea decided to get a stomach bug and vomit all over the floor!! So scrubbing the floor became my immediate priority (after her of course)!
Finally after an hour of trying to get the dishes loaded I had an empty sink!!!
Of course the relief of being finished with something didn't last long because when I came around the corner, into the living room I caught Hobble-bobble on the floor pouring out the baby powder all over the carpet! So again I went scrubbing the floor!
And then left what I didn't get up for the vacuum, when I got to it. So I then pulled out a few items to make some "respect" bracelets. I had been having a hard time with the older girls teaching them to have respect for us and doing what we say when we ask, so I got this idea from a fellow homeschool mom's blog called My heart is at home. We did ours a little different, we only have 7 beads and our bracelets actually say RESPECT!
Then before I knew it, it was already 1:30pm! The girls had finished their daily chores of emptying the bathroom trash, cleaning the bathroom sink, cleaning some of their room, and it was nap/quiet time. Sweet-pea goes in her bed, Hobble-bobble goes in my bed, and Little Bear and Pumpkin were on the couch and chair looking at books for an hour.
During this hour I took time to re-organize our homeschool cabinet since it was a mess! The kids get in there so often and pull things out and throw things in that it's just hard to find anything anymore...it was well overdue... before:
After:
After the big girls were finished with their quiet time they helped me pick up the living room, and I vacuumed the floor....
When I was finished it was 3:00pm and the babies were still sleeping so I got the big girls ready to go outside. As we were putting our shoes on to head out to play I hear coughing coming from Sweet-pea's room. I sprinted back the hallway and found her laying sleeping in her own vomit! It was in her hair under her head, in her ears so she ended up in the bath tub.....
And the big girls were sad because playtime outside had to be cancelled!! :(
But after the bath was finished, we pulled out a game and the girls all played "UNO MOO." Even Goobies got in on the fun!!
So as they played nicely I received a phone call and felt like I was able to take a minute to talk. I went into my room and was sitting on the bed. A few minutes later Sweet-pea came into the room acting upset and whinny. She pulled and yanked on me until I finally picked her up and sat her on my lap. And then...yep...she vomited ALL over me!! So I had another huge bag of laundry to add to my pile and another nice clean up session...
I finally got the kids settled down around 5:00pm with a movie. No one was vomiting, no one was screaming they were all quiet and watching a movie.
So I went outside and threw some hotdogs on the grill for them for dinner since I wasn't going to be home for dinner tonight....
Then I told Pumpkin she could come out and water their garden.........
When we finished, I rolled over the hotdogs and went back inside for the remainder of the time they cooked. When I walked into the living room I saw Sweet-pea sitting on the floor naked trying to change her own diaper!! LOL....
Once I got her diaper back on her I was relieved to see Nathan come through the door!! We were ALL happy to see him!!
...but especially me because that meant I was able to finally take a shower!! So I took a shower, did my hair, make-up, got dressed kissed everyone goodbye and was out the door for mommy's night out with a friend from highschool and two other amazing mothers!! My friend won a mommy's night out at applebee's with three friends, and she picked ME as one of them!! I was so honored to go with her!!
Once I found the place over in the west end, we had a great time! We talked until almost 10:30 and then I was on a mission to get back home.....
Once I got home I talked with Nathan a few minutes and then went in to check on the babies. They were all sleeping soundly.....
And then I ended the night with checking facebook, and writing this blog at 12:54am!
My evening is completely different! I am usually on the computer after dinner working on my school work and then in bed by 12am! Or spending time with Nathan watching a movie. Anyways so this is a general typical day in our household...so if you were a fly on our wall today this is what you would have saw. Goodnight!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
#3 is sick.....
So Tuesday we played catch up. I'm still catching up from when everyone was in the hospital a few months back believe it or not. What normal people with 2-3 children can do in one day, It takes me three months!! So Today I did lots of laundry, dishes, and cleaned up the living room twice! I did get the girls to clean up their rooms by making a game out of it.
After dinner I ran to the grocery store and got some snacks and a few things to get us through the week. When I got home I gave each kid a small pack of yogurt covered raisins to snack on before bed. As I was on the phone with my sister in the bedroom, Nathan comes back there telling me that Hobble-bobble threw up! When I came out to investigate, I realize that it wasn't much but she did. I proceeded to get the girls in bed and worked on some school work while Nathan played Skyrim. We headed to bed around 12:00 and I lied there watching a little tv and then read my book. Before I knew it Hobble-bobble comes around the corner with her hand over he mouth heaving! I jump up and push her into the bathroom and over the toilet and she vomits just in time to miss the floor. We clean her up and put her back in bed with some water; thirty minutes later I hear a really strange noise! I couldn't quite make out what it was but then I heard heaving and I ran into her room. She was laying on her back with vomit all over her face and her hand over her mouth!! And that is when panic set in! Thank GOD I was awake and heard her and was able to get to her before she choked on it! So Nathan helped run the bath and washed her while I stripped down her bedding, and made her a place on the couch for overnight supervision.
She is not running a fever but seems not to be able to keep anything down. Once I got her on the couch I gave her a little sprite and within 10 minutes she was vomiting in her bucket again! So I am all set up in our recliner with my book, and laptop taking the night shift again. I'm hoping she just ate something bad and it's not a virus that we will have to have run through everyone again especially this time of the year when we have so much going on!! Not a great time for everyone to get sick again! So I guess the plan is to keep watch overnight and we'll see how she is in the morning!
After dinner I ran to the grocery store and got some snacks and a few things to get us through the week. When I got home I gave each kid a small pack of yogurt covered raisins to snack on before bed. As I was on the phone with my sister in the bedroom, Nathan comes back there telling me that Hobble-bobble threw up! When I came out to investigate, I realize that it wasn't much but she did. I proceeded to get the girls in bed and worked on some school work while Nathan played Skyrim. We headed to bed around 12:00 and I lied there watching a little tv and then read my book. Before I knew it Hobble-bobble comes around the corner with her hand over he mouth heaving! I jump up and push her into the bathroom and over the toilet and she vomits just in time to miss the floor. We clean her up and put her back in bed with some water; thirty minutes later I hear a really strange noise! I couldn't quite make out what it was but then I heard heaving and I ran into her room. She was laying on her back with vomit all over her face and her hand over her mouth!! And that is when panic set in! Thank GOD I was awake and heard her and was able to get to her before she choked on it! So Nathan helped run the bath and washed her while I stripped down her bedding, and made her a place on the couch for overnight supervision.
She is not running a fever but seems not to be able to keep anything down. Once I got her on the couch I gave her a little sprite and within 10 minutes she was vomiting in her bucket again! So I am all set up in our recliner with my book, and laptop taking the night shift again. I'm hoping she just ate something bad and it's not a virus that we will have to have run through everyone again especially this time of the year when we have so much going on!! Not a great time for everyone to get sick again! So I guess the plan is to keep watch overnight and we'll see how she is in the morning!
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