Hello Blog,
Just you and me around these parts lately. Sorry if you've felt a little neglected. I really do love you and I realize you do have a purpose other than just my pleasure to get to sit down and write periodically. I realize that if I never post here, my children will wonder how we passed the years of their childhoods. I do know that it would probably be more practical to just bite the bullet and do the traditional scrapbooking things, but really, I just don't have it in me. Now don't be rediculous, haven't you noticed that I haven't even uploaded our pictures from our trip to Texas in NOVEMBER yet? Really. You honestly think I would ever get around to picking, editing, printing and scrapping pictures. And we both know how lacking I am in the artistic department......so no no, you and they will have to settle for my endless, random and sporatic writing escapades here. Now don't get pouty! I'm warning you!! Ok, fine....then I am not rambling today, I am ignoring you completely and going back to my reading. You know, you aren't the only outlet of my free time on the block honey. In fact, I've already read 15+ books this year. SO THERE! Now you know. I've been cheating on you........with the printed word.

I'm going to wipe a poopy bottom now, when I come back, I expect a cheerful heart.
Sincerely,
Your Author

Ahh, the rollercoaster of Motherhood. Last weeks high is this weeks hiccup. We are still doing well but not near as together as last week, and of course by we, I mean ME. Hannah has had tummy issues and ran a fever one day and is still having teeth coming in like it is her life's job, so that means she wants Mommy to be holding her or nursing her constantly. Really puts a cramp in my "get 'er done" attitude. But hold her I do because she won't want or need that much longer. I try to remember that when I am frustrated with the poor attempt at schooling and the nasty, filthy floors and laundry that never did get put away and toilets....oh the toilets. When I hit these times now, instead of just throwing in the towel and calling the day a bust, which used to be my MO....at times I'd call a day a bust at 9 am, lol... now I pile us up on the couch and read books together or gather us on and around a kitchen counter to make something, ANYTHING and make myself no matter how tired sit down and do my devotional. This might surprise you all (or not since I'm sure 99% of you aren't as hard headed as I) but those days end up much better than they began. I look back with Robert after the kids are in bed, and the dishes are done of course, and can actually say that something got done.

So my superwoman cape isn't back from the cleaners yet, but that's ok. I'm focusing on growing Godly children and feeding us all as nutritious as possible, after all our lives are gifts from the Lord, shouldn't we fill them as such. (and no no, you are completely wrong if you think this recent healthy refocus has anything to do with the nasty taste still left in my mouth from our recent McD's trip...completely off base!)

We are of course praying for Haiti too. We haven't introduced the topic to our children. How do you really, to a 5, 3, and 1 year old? How do you tell them that there are children just like them starving to death lieing next to their dead mothers? I just don't know what to tell them without scarring them. They know about Haiti since some of our friends brought their boys home from their last May. How do I tell mine that the orphanage that Justin and Peterson lived in, and we looked at pictures of often is now unsafe and maybe after this morning not even standing. So Robert and I save those prayers for our time, not our children's. Sadly, this won't be the last time in our babies lives that they will see this kind of destruction, so we wait until their little hearts can handle it.

We are rejoicing today at the hope that the Lord has brought us thru the Republican win in Mass. We do continue to pray though for God to stop our nation from the innocent slaughter of children. Shame on everyone of us for not doing more!

Ok, this post has taken an sad turn and I can't leave it here, especially since I have some fun kid updates that I didn't get posted last week. So here they are...
Hannah- Has hit a developmental SPURT in addition to her fussiness. She is also talking much clearer and repeating everything she hears. Yesterday she went on and on about her hummus and crackers. The girl might just bankrupt us with her hummus habit! (Note to self, must get homemade hummus going quickly!) She can point to most parts of her body when we ask her. She likes this game particularly when getting her diaper changed. She is walking full time now too. If you don't believe me, check out the video I put up on FB. She's 16 months old now and like all three, I am becoming weary of her babyhood, but unlike the others, I know that a BIG corner gets turned at 18 months and so I'm ok.
Leah- Is struggling with middle child syndrome right now. Joshua gets lots of attention because of school, Hannah because she's still nursing and Leah is feeling left out. She's taken to lieing or trying too. She's still a helper though. I think she has to help, it is in her genetic make up to clean and pick up and coddle her siblings!
Joshua- Has had a big ole growth spurt lately. Right now he is LONG and lanky. I know that means to stock on groceries because he'll start chubbing up for his next spurt soon. He already eats twice the breakfast I do. He's doing really well with his school. He loves all of it. His handwriting is improving TREMENDOUSLY and I think he finally has conquered the "b"/"d" confusion....just in time to confuse a 9 with a P. He'd doing so well!

Things are going really great here. It is nice to have a calm season that is clicking along. I seriously haven't felt this good in 5 years. We aren't moving right now, no new babies in the works, no babies waking up all night, we aren't surviving on nasty food...life is good. I'm feeling good and full of energy. I've been able to stay on top of our house work, cooking, homeschooling and baby nurturing as well. It is nice to have a break like this. Hannah will probably wean in the next few months and if I'm not pregnant, I'll actually get to kick healthy living into high gear and do some cleansing. My liver and gall bladder are in poor poor shape and have been for 5 years now, but I've never been able to treat them with more than external oils, which rock and totally get rid of most of the pain, but don't totally fix the problem. So soon, I might just get to do that. Most people with my issues just have their gall bladder removed, but we tend to feel that God put all of our parts in for a reason and so we would like to keep them where he put them. After all, it is my fault they are torn up. It is all diet related.

The weather is a pleasant surprise so far this winter as well. We are having to learn still to live on the calendar seasons, since that really is how things work up here. Winter began in late December. Unlike last year, we got no snow at all in Nov and Dec, but Jan came along and God opened the spigot up there and it has snowed constantly since. The weathermen are worse up here than in Texas, and that is pretty bad. Last week, schools were shut down and all kinds of closings in anticipation of a major snow storm. We were supposed to get 4-6 inches over night then another 6 or so the next day. We got about an inch, maybe. Tomorrow they are forecasting 0% chance of snow, so I'm bracing for a foot of the white stuff. ;-) They are also saying we are supposed to get above freezing three days in the next 10. Now that is just craziness. I remember last year we didn't get above or even close to freezing from Nov thru mid April. It was crazy towards the end of that stretch! But this year is proving, thus far, to be quite the mild and pleasant winter. Nice, pretty snow but nothing where I have to shovel the drive twice before Robert gets home from work.

This house we are in now is the perfect location in our neighborhood. We live right across the street from a giant hole in the ground that is perfect for young children to sled on and way too short a run for teens. Perfect. I got to sled for the first time last weekend and it is seriously one of the funnest things EVER! I'm an addict. Our familiy sleds all the time now. Sooo much fun! We even have a baby sled for Hannah. I'll get pictures one day if it isn't snowing and I can take the camera out safely. It is a blast!

We will be hosting a small group for our church starting soon. We are going to be doing the John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life material. Robert wants to read it with the group, so he asked me to preread it, and whoa boy, it is gonna rock some worlds. I don't think you can seriously read it and walk away unchanged. I can't wait. We have the DVD study along with the books and study guides. Gonna be soooo good.

Friday Kid Update

But first, a Mommy update. We are rocking and rolling 2010 so far. This week we have schooled every day, begun our Latin studies and cleaned everyday....in addition to going to bed with an empty sink, things are awesome here!

Joshua- is doing really well. I think he might be bored with his math because he's choosing to do phonics before math some, an interesting new turn. However, he loves that he can count money and tell time. Both are basic skills so far, but he's doing well.
Leah- Is Leah. She's just growing up, but nothing real exciting. She loves to cut and glue. When Joshua sits down to school, she gets her supplies box out and starts cutting paper into tiny pieces. She insists on cutting it into her supplies box, even with my suggestions that she throw it away. Oh well, she is holding scissors much better than Joshua did at this age. She likes to marker too. Maybe she is going to be my crafting kid. She picks up tons of Joshua's school though, just sitting there. When he is working on his bible memory work, she can always correct him when he misses a word. Very interesting. It'll be interesting to see what her learning style is. She doesn't like working on her memory work but always surprises me that she gets it, when she seemingly flakes along when it is time to work.
Hannah- Every morning I walk into her room and say "Good morning Rooter, Tooter, Cuter, Pooter" She is snuggling with her baby doll and then asks me to put the babydolls clothes back on. Every morning. Lately she is living up to the tooter/pooter part. She is a TOOT. She's started throwing little tantrums when she doesn't get her way, mainly when I don't hold her 24/7. She is finally starting to walk on her own some. Can't wait for that to be a full time hobby!

Joshua finished his first ever homeschool book yesterday. Phonics, step one....check! So, to celebrate, my sanity thru it and his accomplishment, we let him choose anywhere he wanted to eat dinner. We were expecting Olive Garden or Bob Evans or maybe Longhorn for his sister that seems to be exactly like her mother in everyway. But, he chose.....McDonald's. Seriously, I almost passed out until my stomach tied into a million knots from the fear of it and revived me. He had two very logical reasons, since he is exactly like his father, first, they have a playground and second he had gift certificates that have been burning a hole in his hand for weeks. So, off to McD's we went. Thankfully it is in our neighborhood since it was snowing heavily. And thanks to the snow, we were one of two families there. We all ate, YUCK and played for a while and then.....my sweet baby boy proudly took his three dollar gift certificates and went and bought a Sundae for himself, his sister and his mother. That made the indigestion and late night bathroom trips all worth it. He's such a sweet boy!


Public Service Announcement:
If you too find yourself in the above dreadful situation of eating at a less than desirable food establishment or have just found yourself on the bad end of a good pot roast, check out my link for my essential oils business and order the oil Digize and the supplement Alkalime! You'll be glad you did!

Happy 2010, May the Lord Change You for HIS Glory!

A new year, how exciting! Really, it is a chance to choose to make a fresh start. It is a choice. You can also choose to sit in your own muck and mire and keep your life the way it is. This year, I have made a resolution to change. It isn't a major change, or maybe it might end up being, who knows. I've never made a new year's resolution before, just like I've never given anything up for lent, maybe I'll ponder that this year as well. But, last year, in January, I had the privilege of spending some time with my dear friend and mentor, Johnnie Seago. Her oldest son was getting married in Georgia and we were the only family friend that got to attend. We worked our tails off together for this wonderful couple and got to celebrate in a beautiful ceremony a God ordained joining of man and wife.....who by the way is now expecting their first baby, so stinkin excited about that, anyway, where was I.... so while I was working along side Johnnie, we talked about their new year's traditions. Most of us have holiday traditions of sorts, but I don't konw alot of people that include new years in those traditions. But the Seago family does. They sit down and talk about the year to come and their plans for it. They make goals for lots of areas in their lives and resolutions for change. So I asked her, "But no one keeps resolutions, why even bother?" And her answer is still with me. She's pretty cool that way.

She said, because even if you don't keep them all year and fall off from them in three months, you are three months better than you were before. Pause. Hmmmm, no one ever mentioned that to me before.

SO, this year, I resolve to change. I have tons of things in my life that I need and should work on, but I'm starting off with just one this year. It could be a biggie that could change my whole outlook on life, really, however, it is simple. I resolve this year not to go to bed with dirty dishes in my sink.






ok, now that you are done laughing, I'm serious. Never in my life have I done or seen this done. But, every morning, I get up and come downstairs and immediately feel defeated because I can't even start on the things for my life today because I still have yesterday hanging over me in my sink.....and yes, sometimes multiple yesterdays are piled up there, and yes, sometimes they stink....kind of like other things in my life that have been piled up over time, like laundry and emotional baggage, but I'm starting with the dishes, ok!

So, there it is for all the world to see. I'm doing my dishes! Two days down, 363 to go! So far so good. God help me if I get pregnant!