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

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!

"The difference between where you are and where God

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

~Craig Groeschel

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...

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....

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!

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!


 





. 

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...

 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

 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

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!

Happy Easter!

Go and make disciples of all nations...And you can be sure that I am always with  you to the very end...

Matthew 28:19-20

We have 5 sick kiddos still.  

It has been a long week

lots of boogers, blowing, sneezing

and puking  

This whole 9 years that I have been parenting, I have  never  had a time like this, where  every one of our kidddos needs medicine .  

It was kind of funny 

 Off to our community outreach today in Sheboygan Falls 

starts at 12:00

 13,000 eggs to find

bounce houses 

and free food for the kiddos 

Hope to see you there!

Thank you for all the prayers and birthday wishes  too.  

If you know me I am not a birthday fan when it's my birthday!

Wishing my dad a happy birthday tomm!

Love to you all!

my thoughts on Victoria secret

As my kiddos are getting bigger I realized how much they like getting the mail
We have always got a lot of magazines...somehow
I have cancelled so many but they just keep coming
Most of them I just put right into the garbage without even entering our home
One magazine in particular
Victoria Secret
These magazines were really starting to bother me
My kiddos were totally appalled with what was on the cover when they would reach for the mail
My boys are the ones who usually get the mail
they kept coming up and asking why they do this and don't they know this is inappropriate
I love their little innocence...
this new line for preteens they are coming out with is just so sad.
I believe that this sends the wrong message to not only my daughter but to all young girls.
I don’t want my daughter to ever think that her self-worth and acceptance by others is based on the choice of her undergarments. I don’t want my daughter to ever think that to be popular or even attractive she has to have emblazon words on her bottom.
I want my daughter (and every girl) to be faced with tough decisions in her formative years of adolescence. Decisions like should I be a doctor or a lawyer? Should I raise awareness for slave trafficking or lack of water in developing nations? There are many, many more questions that all young women should be asking themselves… not will a boy like me if I wear a “call me” thong?
I want my daughter to know that she is perfect the way she is; I want my daughter to know that no matter what underwear she is wearing it does not define her.
I believe that this new line “Bright Young Things” thwarts the efforts of empowering young women in this country. “Bright Young Things” gives off the message that women are sex objects. This new line promotes it at a dangerously young age.
I have written them an email but to say the least they really don't care
Their profits are way more important than little girls self worth.

Easter

This was Easter last year and it rocked

We are so excited to see what God does this year!

I had fun doing registration, the kiddos ran around and Dave did bunny security!

take a peek and turn on your speakers! 

Please join us on Saturday at the Sheboygan Falls City Park for a huge Easter Egg Hunt of about 13,000 eggs
Inside the kiddos can enjoy
 4 bounce houses and free food and drinks for the kiddos.
It is a lot of fun!
 Our service for Sunday at Word of Grace is at 8:45 and 10:45 on Sunday 
Saturday service is at 6:00
Hope to see you there!

conference .....part 3

 Jill Savage

"Living with less so your family has more"

*with less stress, money and activities you will have more peace, patience, kindness, joy, more available, more energy for parenting and your marriage

*Remember as a Christian you will be swimming upstream.  You are living for God not your friends, neighbors or family

*The opposite of poverty is enough

*Don't get caught up in the comparison trap

*simplicity

*Remember it will take a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction-God's direction

5 contentment principles

Live beyond the temporary

Grow a thankful heart

Learn to give

Live within your means

Accept your circumstances



Kathy Lipp

"Get yourself Organized Project" 



I knew she was my kind of girl when she opened with this question ....
Are you the kind of person that makes a list and then you do something that is not on your list and then add it to your list just to cross it off...
totally me
I love lists and so do my kiddos
they tend to make their own lists off of my lists

she really focused on comparing your house to the ones in a magazine and  friends houses

Satan's lies will keep you from being effective.

she was really funny to listen to

Sherry Schuratt
 "7 habits of highly effective moms" 


*there is no perfect

*great moms don't happen on accident

*they put themselves first when it comes to spiritual development

*keep your sense of humor

*pay attention to who you are in God

I will be making a plan to bring a bunch of ladies next year.

It was so awesome!!! 

And my kiddos survived!!!