Library Fun

The kids had fun taking a pic with a group of school kids who wanted to take a pic of them for a school project they were doing.

The Call

For those who like writers like C.S. Lewis and Paul(out of the Bible), you will love this book. It really is awesome. I must confess that I didn't read a couple of chapters but I did "skim" them. I am thinking about checking the book out again just to finish what I didn't really get into. This book is not one that you can read while tired! I really enjoyed it though. The concepts in this book are deep and might just make you think twice about the way you live. If you struggle to know what your "calling" from God is(apart from being called into his family), then you really should read this book! I am currently reading Romans as well and I must say that my belief in predestination/selection has grown stronger! It is a sad but humbling belief. Also, in the last chapters of Romans, Paul talks about the Israelites and Gentiles. In a nut shell, the salvation came to the gentiles to make the Israelites jealous. I have so much respect for them now! We were grafted into this family, unlike the Israelites. Humbling thoughts....

Refrigerator Repair to Repair the Repair....

Well, we have the Frig man coming out again today. He is supposed to replace a pan under our frig. Waiting patiently....

Simple and Delicious

It was awesome..simple but soo good!



I also made some whole wheat bread for the kids. They enjoyed that.

Beautiful Love Song

I thought this was a beautiful song! You don't find them like this anymore...

First attempt at a green shake

Well, this was my first attempt at making a green shake and it was REALLY good! It is 2 collard leaves, 1 banana, 1 pear, about a cup of young coconut water, 1 tsp pulp from young coconut(I think I could have left the coconut out completely), and a serving of raw hemp protein powder. I made this in the hopes that I can replace my Odwalla shake. They are pretty expensive.


Next we have lunch. This is the tortillas I was talking about. It has "sour cream" made out of sunflower seeds as well as some veggies. I have "chips" too.

What's "cooking"

I thought I would upload some pics on what I've recently "cooked". I am going 80-90% raw foods and so I have had to be creative! The first pic is of our beef jerky we made in the dehydrator.



Then we have "sour cream" made from sunflower seeds, lemon, salt, water.


Then I have a collard wrap(all raw) with some Bragg's marinated zuchini and onions.


Next is the wheat grass I am growing.Notice the dew on top of the leaf? Isn't that beautiful!


along with Amaranth.

Today I am having flax crackers as well as flax and avocado tortillas. I will get some pics up of those as well.

Falling Trees

Today we are supposed to have 5 trees taken down! I am not looking forward to hearing that scary crunch sound as they fall. Last week our neighbors had 15 pine trees taken down and one of them fell in our yard. It scared me to death! We are supposed to have the refrigerator man come by AGAIN for our leaking frig. It's not that bad but it could ruin the floor eventually. My sister came for Alex's b-day this weekend and it was so nice to see her. She seems like she is in a much better mood/spirit. I know that she is facing hard times right now but I honestly believe that God has a reason for it all. I love her dearly and wish I knew what to say to her sometimes. When I talk to people who are in rough spots sometimes I think I sound like this nieve and inexperienced fool! But I just want to share my heart and encourage. Maybe I will get better at that as I get older! LOL

On the positive side, I think we have found us a church! It's http://www.3rbc.com/. I really liked the sermon that he preached yesterday! If you want to read it, it should come up under the sermons link. They also had a visitors luncheon yesterday that was great! Toby and Summer stayed in the nursery, which was a big shocker. I think they really enjoyed it. I am taking the kids this Wed to see how they do. This week should be fairly busy but I am hoping to get more in the grove of schooling. Last week we did school but I had to leave out a couple of things because I didn't have the scanner.

Alex is One!!

Saturday was Alex's birthday. Here are the photos from that day...

Doctors appt

Here is a pic of the kids peaking out of their new play thingy. Well, today I had my first appt with a new doctor close by. He was VERY thorough to say the least! He suggested several things that I will not take(one of them being progesterone shots for preterm births) I figured my last birth lasted a while so hopefully this one will be even better! I really like him though. Today was a day of preparing for the weekend because we have Alex's b-day but I feel like I didn't get anything done! I hate those days where you run 90 miles an hour and look back and go, I didn't get anywhere, I can still see where I departed from. Oh well.

We had a blast last night while Daddy finished up washing the walls(after stripping off the wallpaper). Here are some photos I took of the kids dancing. Excuse all the toys. We had to put them in the this room while we finished up the other one.

Lovely flowers

Here is a pic of the first blooms of the kids easter flowers that Grammy gave them. We have more blooming right now.

Hair and Vacuuming

Here's a pic of the girls playing hairstylist. Summer decided to do her own instead of Kaitlyn's.

For some reason my little's LOVE the vacuum. It is a family affair. They play chase the vacuum, Mom plays dodge the little children.

Father's day!!

Happy Father's day to all the wonderful men in my life! To my dearest husband, the most influencial and compassionate man I have ever met, I give you my love and devotion forever!! Thank you so much for your preserverence and love for our children. Thank you for leading our family and showing us our heavenly father every day by the way you treat us and love us. We cherish you!!

Today is the day!

Well, we are likely closing on the house today! We are waiting to hear about the water heater. We think the pilot light may be off so we couldn't get any hot water. We are supposed to close at 3 today and I am so excited! I have been sewing alot to try to keep my brain from obsessing too much with the house. I have really enjoyed it! I will upload some pics later. This weekend was alot of fun! We did our usual weekend routine but everyone was in better spirits because of the house. Alex started walking as well! He is our earliest walker so far. He took 2 steps and then realized what he had done. Now, he is taking 8-10!! That quick, I can't believe it. I have to say-YAY!!!! I know that he is growing up fast but in a way, I want him to. I love it when they are at this age but I really long to see who they "are". The time when their personality starts to really shine is so neat. Summer has taken a LOT longer than I would have liked, but, they are all different. She is a young 2. I don't even know if she will be potty trained in the near future. She really lets her emotions rule over everything-which is typical at this age. It's just that she is much more emotional than her siblings were at this stage. At this point, I am letting her be who she is. Sure, we are training her to learn to control herself but I am much more relaxed with her than I used to be. I guess it's because I have accepted that yes, I am going to hear her cry MANY times throughout the day so I am not supprised when it happens! Here's to the chaos of having many children!

There may be a delay in the getting the house

We found out yesterday that the plumbing is a bigger issue than first thought. Evidently the leak that we saw goes deeper than anyone expected. So, they will likely have to tear down the wall in order to get to behind the bathroom without going through the tile. I think I would rather them go through the tile-that way they have to replace it! LOL I am disappointed that things are going so slowly considering we were supposed to close on the 4th BUT I am soo glad that we are seeing these things now and not after closing! They say that we still could close on time but I am highly doubtful. I guess we will know something sometime this weekend. It is really frustrating. On the positive side, I was able to go through the house yesterday and look around to see what I might want to do with it. The new house is different than this one in that there are less rooms but the rooms are bigger. I think I am going to like having bigger rooms! I am excited in the fact that I get to keep my sewing supplies downstairs-yay! That way, when my insane body gets up at 4, I will have something productive to do. We were taking this week off from school but I am seriously considering starting back today just because I don't know what to do about the house. I really don't want to take unnecessary time off. I am thinking about it. I am so glad today is Thursday!

Yesterday was great! Jason didn't have to work so we just realaxed and had a good time. We went to look at refrigerators and decided to get a freezerless refrigerator and a seperate freezer. We are packed out right now in our current frig and it's 25 cubic ft! I hope this is a wise decision. I guess we will know in time. I am ready to start this week. We are not schooling this week because we need to continue to pack but I can't help wondering if thats not a good idea. The kids do so much better when we make time for that. Maybe I will do more crafty things with them this week. Yesterday I made something that was delicious! I took some wheat berries(dried) and put them in the crock pot for about 6 hours. I used it to feed the kids snack, desert, and we also used it in our dinner. We still have some left over that I am going to experiment with it today. Maybe I should get Kaitlyn to take some pics! That might doom me to failure though.LOL Here's to a beautiful Tuesday!

I don't have a name for this entry simply because I don't want to name it "update". how many times have I read that on a blog? Anyway, I have a couple of things to say to catch up on the last month. We will be closing on a new house on June 4th! I am extremely excited about this move! This best thing about moving to this new house is that we will be alot closer to Jason's work and family. I have given the piano a rest for the time. I have tried, fruitlessly, to practice but I can't seem to concentrate in the midst of having all the littles. So, for a season, I will put it down. Da Vinci even said that "We should not desire the impossible". I don't know why I can do all that I do but piano is not one of them! I think it's because I can't just put it down and come back real quick. It takes longer periods of time to get anywhere. I have been sewing more lately even! I made Kaitlyn, Me, and Summer and skirt. I am going to work on Charlotte's after the move. I also made them and Toby an apron, which was alot of fun! Yesterday I made homemade cheese! It was more like a ricotta cheese because I didn't use cheesecloth. It was sooo good. Then we used the whey(from the curds and whey) to make a protein shake-yummy and healthy! I really enjoy baking and cooking new things-especially if it saves money. I made some wheat bread the other day that we put the homemade cheese on. We topped it with tomatoes and onions. It was really good. The only thing I would like to change is to have homegrown tomatoes and onions! Maybe one day. I have been reading some excellent books lately. I am reading one right now called "Well rounded : eight simple steps for changing your life, not your size". It's written by a plus size model. I would recommend it to all women who struggle with ANY type of bad feelings toward their body-which is MOST women! I am also reading "The Call", by Os Guinness. It seems to be good so far. I need to get a side bar on my blog with a reading list. I have seen alot of people doing this and I love to see what they are reading-thank heavens for the library!

Beginning to add some info to the website.

Well after talking with Dh, I have decided to add some stuff to the blog. I will begin adding some recipes that I use often and I will hopefully be able to update often on the kids diet. It will take me a while but hopefully progress will be made! Ok, as for pianomagic, it is coming along slowly. My biggest problem is that I don't know enough simple songs to get up a list before I move on to the next lessons. At least I have a year! :) Today is Easter and I surely hope it isn't going to be stressful. All Jason's immediate family are coming over and I am hoping that things go well and the kids are good. I am staying home with Alex while everyone else goes to church. The kids will all have to stay in the sanctuary with the Adults so I am wondering how the relatives will react. I don't know if they realize that they will not be able to "enjoy" the Easter sermon like they usually do. We will see. Jason is so excited about today but I am a little sad. I love his family but we hardly ever spend any holiday with my family. I miss them. I don't miss the drama that goes with it but I do love every one of them with an unconditional, deep love. I wish we were closer so that it wasn't "asking to much" to come and visit. This is the downside to having a large family- noone realizes how difficult it is to drive in the car for 2-3 hours with little ones. They think the only reason I don't come up there is because it will "ruin" my schedule! How I wish they would come down and visit and "ruin" my schedule! Anyway, I found a great blog that illustrates how to make a wrap skirt! I am so excited! I can't wait to try it. Unfortunately, I don't have enough fabric right now. Oh well. Maybe I should practice on some old sheets. We take this week off from school so maybe I will have some time. I want to make Kaitlyn a skirt as well. Charlotte keeps asking me to teach her piano. I am so reluctant. Kaitlyn has basically tought herself through some piano books how to play some songs(very easy ones). Charlotte is not like Kaitlyn. She needs guidance. I just don't know if she can handle the frustration. I don't want to put a bad taste in her mouth for piano. Plus, I hate the way we traditionaly learn how to play. It gives us the premisconception that this is the ONLY way to play. I wish I could instill confidence in their ability to hear and pick out a tune. I wish someone had done that with me. You know, tought me how to play by ear and to trust myself. I have the pianos downstairs now and it has been great. I play alot more and Kaitlyn loves to play as well. Update on their reading: Kaitlyn is devouring books! She reads about a book a day. These are 80-100 pages each ranging from 2nd to 6th grade levels depending on the book. She can recall all details as well. Amazes me!!! Where did this child come from? She is technically only in the 2nd grade. We went to the library the other day and I told the librarian that I was looking for books for Charlotte. She is in the "middle" right now, meaning some books are too easy, some are too hard, but none seem to fit. She is in Kindergarten. The lady took me over to the Dr Suess books!!!! I just laughed and said, oh no, those are way too easy! She looked at me, astounded, and said, "Oh wow, that's great!" So she gave me some harder books(we had to go over to the OTHER side of the kids section!). Can you believe that?? My kindergartener suprised the librarian with how well she reads. I am so proud of them. They don't realize how smart they are though. They don't have the chance to compare themselves with others(which I am glad of) so they just expect more out of themselves. It is so neat to see them growing into these intelligent little girls. I do fear however, that they will surpass me early on. Especially Kaitlyn, because she is ALWAYS learning something. She has Jason in her. She doesn't need very much guidance, she can read and learn how to knit or crochet by herself! How to play the piano, etc.. She has an understanding of God that I don't see in most kids either. Charlotte is my imaginative one. If she can ever get enough discipline, she will go far. She is like me though, she has to have a motivation for it, and a reward! LOL If the goal is not met within a short timeframe, I will drop it. So will she. Ok, that's enough for now.

Piano Magic

Well, I will not update because it just takes to long;) If people want updates-email me. I want to start talking about my experience as I go through a new course. It's called Piano Magic by Michael Anderson. It's a course that teaches you how to play by ear. I have had over 10 years of lessons in formal piano and I am just NOT happy!! I have always wanted to play beautiful like my step Mom. It comes naturally to her-NOT to me. I started a couple of days ago. Now, let me just say that I have NEVER picked out a song on the piano and played it with 2 hands. I have never even picked out a song in it's entirety with one hand so this is a major thing for me to try to undertake. Well, yesterday I started picking out some songs and guess what-I played with both hands!! The songs weren't hard-in the key of c. I messed up many times trying to find the notes but I was so happy. I have played some really difficult songs in the past and I was more proud yesterday than I have ever been! The left hand only plays the three major chords from c and you are only supposed to pick out the melody at this point so the sound was very amateur but I was so happy! I am excited about what else I am going to learn. Right now I have to continue practicing the songs I have before I move on but it is more than I have ever done so I am proud!