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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

just coming up for air
(not complaining here...just writing and sharing my heart
and yes I would still love more kiddos)

somehow
it seems like I am constantly under water trying to come up for air and I keep getting pushed down
I know this is a season
and I am the one who usually says that.
BUT 
the baby is still not sleeping although we did have 4 good nights last week
he was only up every 2 hours.
He is back to about every hour and sometimes he even is up for an hour at a time trying to get himself back to sleep
I do miss walking outside to get some fresh air and quiet time
my quiet time now consists of having Dave take Gabe for an hour or two just so I can at least sleep 2 hours.
God never said this was going to be easy
so I continue to lean on him for strength and patience to get me through the days.
I am not a sleeping in kind of person so that puts me
 behind because it takes my precious devotional time away from my kiddos in the morning or just time to hang out and read or write
we end up doing them at night then and it all works out just fine
BUT
Change is happening here and I don't know if I like it or if I am just having a harder time adjusting to it.   
my kiddos are getting older and I have a hard time accepting that.
my days are going faster and I am running out of time to do things that I usually do
trying to pick my priorities here and what is more important.
my to do lists are quite funny
I have been trying to take a nap in the afternoon with the 2 little's which works great.
I seem to be only able to nap for about 20 minutes though.
How does that work when I am so exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open.
I have no idea...
I love these days  and I feel so blessed
I wouldn't change it for the world
love praying over Gabe every time he is up and my head is bobbing
we are so blessed
I know I will never have this time again
this winter was long 
but home school was and is so much fun
I love that Spring is here and there will soon be sand and water all over the floor 
dirt under all their nails
bandaged knees
sunscreen all day long
love being in my jammies all day and schooling Odin
my kiddos think makeup is for Sunday's only!
I realize  the basic everyday things are all about being a mother
 worn out and tired
doing things over and over again 
it actually really matters
you seem to get stronger and stronger
and braver and braver
every day is different
we are still moving forward
loving our kiddos all day
hugging them and kissing them
playing hours upon hours of Uno with them
brushing teeth
playing kickball
bike rides
washing dishes
wiping buts and noses
talking for hours about nothing
tucking them in at night
 I know I will never get this time back
we will have plenty of time to sleep and catch our breath
strength will come on this motherhood journey
and it is beautiful
 

Friday, April 26, 2013

Randomness
 

He's teaching Gabe about ninja training



I cannot get enough of my kiddos lately
and sometimes when I am really tired...everything just seems funnier to me!

Jonah decided to take the bathroom scale to school the other day for show and tell
he said he was going to weigh his teacher 
when he got home later that day he couldn't understand why people didn't want to go on the scale...
i love their innocence

Our spring mantel...
sorry about the bad picture
my nice camera is getting fixed and cleaned
and yes that is Easter thrown in there too..
a few old spray painted frames and cupcake tins and our dear red head doll Sally!

 this girl is getting older right before our eyes
Gabe has no idea what she is doing...he is just along for the ride
 we did find out if you have to raise your voice in this house
Gabe will automatically start crying


Love how all of the kiddos love to read and eat at the same time
except for our family dinner time


Thank you for your prayers for Gabe
he has only gotten up 4 times at night for the past 2 nights!
Praising the Lord!

We are off to do some rummaging this morning and schooling on the road
Excited for the weekend
 Dave and the boys are doing some work on the basement since we really haven't touched it since it flooded
Just trying to figure out how to organize everything again! 

Our new family picture of 7
(this was from the night that Dave won an award)


 Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Reading Marathon

Over a 5 day span the kiddos did a crazy reading marathon
between 3 kids they read 15 chapter books
it was great...but too quiet in the house for me
they seem to do this every once in awhile
they just keep reading book after book


then I noticed the middle 2 seem to be a little bit competitive
and see who can keep reading without stopping.
too much for me....I am one of those readers who can only read for about 30 minutes
otherwise I forget everything I just read
I have terrible comprehension

it's been kind of quiet at our house lately with strep and other various colds going on
 trying to get Gabe to sleep has been the biggest challenge
he is a tough little babe to get down
a lot of work goes into getting  him to close his beautiful blue eyes
nothing like the other kiddos
he likes a lot of movement and blankets in his face,
which I think came from the eating issues we had with him for the first 4 months
he just couldn't figure out what was bothering him and how to go to bed with a hurting belly
 just praying for him to sleep good in his crib


Monday, April 22, 2013

mobile

 so I had an idea to make a
 mobile for Gabe 
and my mom had some time on her hands.
I was thinking something from home with all the hodge podge 
craft things I have
a little bit of fabric, bolts, cupcake liners and pom poms
My mom did a great job putting it together
All the kiddos were jealous about having something in their room
now if we could get him to sleep at night !
Keep praying for him to sleep.
he has another cold.
thank you so much!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

"The difference between where you are and where God

wants you to be may be the painful decision you refuse to make"

~Craig Groeschel



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

frozen  whipped topping

I made some homemade whipped topping to store in the freezer 
it was really easy but messy
Odin was whipping the cream and decided to see what it's like when you pull the blenders up out of the bowl.
A nice white coating all over the cupboards!

the kiddos can now add one whenever they have hot cocoa
We have homemade hot cocoa here all year long.
We cannot get enough of the stuff



                                                               So delicious and fun!

                                                      Keep praying for Gabe to sleep...

Monday, April 15, 2013


Schooling days
serious battles going on here

Jeremiah has a basket of crosses for everyone to color and take to the elderly home


Odin was making a trencher for a history project.
never heard of the things
  A trencher was originally a piece of stale bread, cut into a square shape by a carver, and used as a plate, upon which the food could be placed before being eaten. At the end of the meal, the trencher could be eaten with sauce.


Then we had a medieval feast.  
they were totally not yummy

this is how we roll....


Odin was done with school so he decided to sort and alphabetize all the movies



Jonah's way of refilling the toilet paper
he just thought they were making the rolls larger now...



We do a lot of popcorn lunches in this house.  That is why it is easier to order it in the #50 bags.



Odin is learning how to write a story for Language Arts right now and he chose to write about
me going into labor with Gabe.

I thought...really of all the topics you could pick

I am changing Gabe on the floor and he comes up and says "mom what are those things called that you had to keep track of like every 5 minutes that hurt really bad?"
"Conclusions" 
He got the C right
then he walks away and says your so beautiful mom
he is going to make a good husband some day...although he wants to home school,while his wife works and he wants two sons named Thor and Loki  
 
Beauty right outside my front door....



Thursday, April 11, 2013

baking class
 So just because I was getting a little bored when we are done schooling for the day....
I thought I would add a baking class in there for Odin too



 he has to bake 10 things with me
then another 10 with me by his side ... assisting if needed
then once he does that
 the final test
 to bake another 10 things on his own

he loves it!

basement update

Water is all gone
fans are going
bleaching the floors next and sifting through the yucky boxes
and reorganizing everything
we needed to clean our basement anyways...
Thanks for all the help from everyone!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

water
just in case there is ever a dull moment at our house....as I was walking downstairs to get something out of the fridge this morning and
I walked about 5 steps before I realized I was walking in water about an inch to 2 inches deep
I just stood their and looked at it for about 2 minutes
I never had this happen before...
working on that today
Odin and Miah took off their socks and were so excited to splash around in this stuff
life is seriously....funny!
loving our hubbies
My husband rocks!
Going to that conference this past month has really opened my eyes
I am sure we all have been there
when we come home and notice our husbands didn't do this or that
or maybe did it totally different than we would
we start building up all these assumptions in our head and most of the time they are wrong
 I have done that plenty of times over the silliest things that really don't matter

We have to realize as mommies that they will never do things like we would
they are just not made to be moms like we are
God put us in each others lives for a purpose
Dads are designed to let kiddos go and fly
we are made to nurture and protect 
They want our respect
plain and simple
tell them thank you more often 
 I don't need to be thanked for every little thing I do, but men need to know they are appreciated
they are more sensitive that way
the POWER of appreciation goes a long way.....


  Celebrate and love your husband for who he is, instead of who he isn't

way to go on your award last night David
we are so proud of you!


 





Monday, April 8, 2013

baking buddies

 these 2 especially love baking
they would do it every day all day if let them
We just can't seem to eat it fast enough so 
 I sometimes wonder what the neighbors think when we keep bringing them things to eat

 Jeremiah's cookie

I am feeling better...thanks for your prayers...

Sunday, April 7, 2013

 Mommy's turn for the flu
laying around and sleeping a lot
keep praying Gabe doesn't get it.
He would be the only one who hasn't had it .....
 thank you mom for helping me yesterday watch all the kiddos while Dave worked


Daddy is off to church and walmart with the 5 littles...

thank you for your prayers

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

 Gabe update

This man is 5 months old
he is pure delight
so happy all the time
teething 
chewing on everything he can get his hands on
he is like swiper from Dora
if you walk by something he tries to grab it
he is getting better at sleeping
he has been getting up only 3/4 times a night so far
I am praying these colds stay far from him that the others had


not too sure about the rice cereal thing
some days he does good with it others he wants nothing to do with it

Olivia tosses him around and holds him like he's a doll
the kiddos are having so much fun with him but he is getting to heavy for them to hold
he is wearing 9-12 month clothing already

when they carry him he looks like he is holding on for dear life

the kiddos despise the fact that I always have a bib on him for the drool
the sweet and sassy bib in pink is our favorite!


he loves to be held
i guess that's what happens when you have so many helping hands in the house
and yes they all still argue over him...


We love this little blessing so much.....we are so grateful

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

I couldn't help myself......
this was Olivia this past week
glad she is feeling better!

Now Jeremiah and Dave have the bug 
 We are slowly getting back to normal
Praying that no one else gets this

Gabe slept awesome the last 2 nights
keep praying!

Will post about our Resurrection Sunday soon...
Just getting caught up on laundry and kiddos
lots of snuggling going on over here which I don't want to miss

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
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