We attended the Tax Day Tea Party in Medina yesterday. I'll start updating our last crazy busy week in pics in a bit.

I will post updates soon but this morning I just can't. A friend here lost her 34 year old husband yesterday. He went to the gym and just died. They have three lovely children and she is pregnant with number four. I can't imagine her pain, but know it has to be unbearable because I hurt so bad for her and I never met him. Another friend in Texas lost her husband last week too. This hurts and it is scary. Neil was 4 years younger than Robert. I know we all have a time appointed by God and that these men are now with Him, but it hurts for us here. Bonnie posted that she wishes she just would have touched him more.

We are here and doing great. Enjoying a very special family weekend. I'll get Creation Museum pics and story up next week. It was fabulous and well worth the trip from any where. Absolutely beautiful.

What a wonderful day today. It is funny that I sit here and want to write that right now. My children were quite the challenge today, including a public bar room brawl at the library that left me shocked at their behavior and horribly embarrased that it came out for the first time in public. Nap time was extra challenging with Leah especially and Joshua is just a challenge right now.

But my God is good, all the time. Here are a few ways that He showed me His love and mercy today....in no particular order.

-We only have about a half inch of snow on the ground right now instead of 2 inches that were predicted.
-When the above library incident happened, I didn't loose my temper and kill my children right there in public, or in the bathroom. I calmly asked them both to come and we were leaving....and they did.
-My friend, Cara , got some really awesome news about her boys in Haiti, and I got to be on Facebook chat with her when it happened, which is really amazing because we've never FB chatted before. I mean, this is soooo exciting, you should go check out her news and pray with us.
-I just started my first batch of sourdough.
-In five days, I'll get to make my first batch of homemade bread using my cool new Bosch mixer.
-I've found a source for organic grains and they will even be delivered by their organic foods delivery service. How cool is that?
-I have a really awesome husband that loves me!!

Finally, and this one is the most important!!!!!!!!!! this week I get to celebrate that Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior died on a cross a horrible and mocking death. THEN, three days later, He ROSE AGAIN!!!!!! He reigns in glory and intercedes on my behalf to the Father. How cool is that. And how awesome that I live in a country where I can freely and openly celebrate!!!

We had a nice weekend. Saturday I got some sewing done, including liners on the kids curtains since the sun is staying up longer than they are supposed to. Sunday we did church and family time. We did get pretty Easter dresses and a little suit for Joshua. Yesterday, Leah and I found a very pretty hat to match her dress. All set for Easter. We get to start our family readings in preparation today. What a blessed week to walk thru each year!

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude this week, but I must say the fact that we are expecting 1-2 inches of snow today and more tomorrow is making that tough. It is a gloomy thing to be sitting in April, leading up to Easter and wondering how much snow we'll get. I need some warm/hot Texas days to cheer me up. The Lord has been merciful to us. Mr Tomek said that they usually get 18 inches of snow in March and this year we just had one inch. Thank you Lord. And we've even had a few days in the 60's. It felt so good to just walk around in jeans and a tshirt in the afternoons. One day, I even ventured outside barefoot. Soon. Right?

Kids are good. I have'nt broken the surprise they'll get this week yet. I did tell them yesterday that we are going on a trip on Thursday. I'm not telling them that the Frye family will be on the other end of that trip. I better warn Angela to tell the girls to brace themselves because Joshua will probably SCREAM and tackle them. And hold their hands all day! :-) I'm excited about seeing a friend too. And I'm pretty excited to see the Creation Museum as well.

We've had a great week and I am tired. We have half a cow in our freezer, yummy!!!! And finally got to have dinner with the Lohnes, although the boys were both working. My kids are worn out. Wed night was a late night with small group and then last night was late with the Lohnes's over and everyone is dragging today. Tonight is a nice quiet and EARLY family night!!!! It is rainy and cool here, but that is ok with me. I wanted a quiet down day today. They've also taken most of the snow out of the forecast for next week, and I like that too!!!! Happy weekend everyone! I've got to get some Easter dress shopping done and I hope to hit up the really huge and awesome nursery here. I need something to be living around here. Although, the grass is starting to green up and some of the trees have a few buds on them. Spring really wants to be here, but from what everyone keeps telling me, we have another month before we are officially done with winter. Crazy!

In limbo, I have lots of stuff to get done today and tomorrow but I'm waiting on one major thing to get scheduled before I know when I can do everything. Frustrating. Anyway, tonight we have small group, yea! Tomorrow, I think the pastor's family is coming to dinner. This is our third time to try and get together but things keep coming up for them, I think that is normal for pastor's, in my experience. So maybe this week. We also get our side of beef in this week, who hoo! One more step in my stocking up efforts. AND, I got my grain mill and bread mixer in yesterday. So, I can start grinding my own grain and making our bread soon. This is all really exciting to me. Can't wait to get going.

Kiddo updates.
Joshua- He's so big. He's reading really well and wants to read all the time. BE glad when he is reading totally independently because I think he is going to go nuts. He LOVES Hannah. I mean, LOVES her and I can see why because they are identical twins. It cracks Robert and I up. He's all boy. Loves playing outside. Loves to work. He's happiest when he is doing work with us. He's a good kid. Tests my patients with all of his never ending questions somedays but a good kid.

Leah- SPIT FIRE! This girl is crazy. She's hysterical funny and can crack anyone up but man she is HEAD STRONG. I have no idea where she gets that. Like my Daddy always says, I kept all of mine. She really is a mini me. I just love her.....and wish she were a tad bit easier to raise. lol! She likes Hannah but doesn't dote on her the way Joshua does. She sneaks her loving in when we aren't paying attention or she thinks we aren't. She keeps up with her big brother just fine and no one can convince her that they aren't the same age and size or that he is more advanced than her in anything.

Hannah- She's growing like crazy. She's about 18 pounds now but seems much bigger. Every time we are out people ask how old she is and then ask if she is big. Don't know exactly how they mean that, but all of my babies are big. She seems pretty normal sized to me. She's rolling over but isn't big on rolling all around the room. Not like she ever has to get anything herself anyway. She is starting to sit up unassisted, but hasn't quite perfected it yet. She gives me big big hugs when I pick her up and that makes R jealous. Of course, I don't think he's realized that she is really just trying to get to my hair that she loves to chew on. She babbles and chats all the time and she is a DROOL MONSTER. Seriously. She's really laid back and just tags along for the ride of the Lachney express. She's been a really easy baby and even sleeps thru the night sometimes. That is pretty cool in my book. She'll be 7 months old this week, that's crazy!

Snow on the ground this morning. Should continue light snow this morning and then change over to rain, I think. Our pastor's wife, who also grew up in the South, told me yesterday that they more often than not get snow on Easter. Blech! Snow on Easter. Aren't you supposed to have beautiful backyard picnics with your church family on Easter. Oh well, I'm still going to try and organize a pot luck or something with our new church.

I'm doing better. Need to update on the kiddos, they are doing awesome. So big. We are going to a playdate this morning, unless I chicken out because of the snow. I think the roads should be super clear....right?

Ok, so now that you've gotten to watch the clips below, I'll share this. That guy has been requested to come to the White House to discuss the disturbing nature of his clips. Really.

So, if you didn't believe me that these were worth watching before, check them out now.

In case you haven't seen these....you should.

however, don't mail a tea bag, it won't get thru security. Put one on your rearview mirror and attend a Tea Party on April 15th. More details on those later....

I AM GOING TO HAVE A GOOD DAY TODAY!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?????? HAVING A GOOD DAY!!!



and she did!

Funk funk go away....come again...um, no don't come again another day.

Way too much computer surfing today, but don't even feel like updating my own blog. blah blah blah

I'm here. Better than before, but realing a bit. This last round really did a doosy on my body and my spirit. I keep reminding myself that God has placed me exactly where I am, with these children and my awesome husband. He isn't surprised that my body isn't holding up so hot right now. I don't expect Him to miraculously cure what ails me, although I would be so grateful if He does. He may just have something special to teach me in my path of sanctification here....and for that, I want to long for it. I know looking back I will be grateful for it. I pray to be grateful now.

I know that last weeks episode was triggered by some bad food choices. I had that blizzard, not a normal occurance for me. Then, at small group on Wednesday night, I had a brownie and some mint choco chip ice cream. I'm pretty sure that the artificial colors and preservatives in the two things sent my body reeling. On Thursday, I knew something wasn't right and by Saturday I was in full eruption mode. Aren't our bodies amazing.

I do keep our diets pretty clean, and I'm glad I do. I just need to be much more observant of what I put into my body, especially at times I know that I am weakest, like when I have a baby.

I saw a new chiropractor this morning and got worked over!!! So, I should be on the mend. Pounding the water today because I know I will start really dumping toxins after the massage and adjustments she did on me. Of course, I'm thirsty all the time right now anyway.

In exciting news, we have a babysitter tonight. Two of the Lohnes children (our pastors fam) are coming over to watch J adn L. I am speaking at the ICAN meeting tonight about achieving VBAC!!! I'm really excited. Robert and Hannah are going to come along to watch.

Thanks for all of you support ladies. Your posts and emails mean alot to me. More importantly, your prayers do!

Headache is still here...day three. I hate this.

Everyone is sleeping or they are supposed to be. I'm pretty sure that Hannah is playing in her crib instaed. Hey, if she'll play herself to sleep, I'm good with that. Robert and the big kids got up and went to church this morning. I had a bad hormonal migraine hit yesterday afternoon and I"m still recovering from that. I knew that I wouldn't be able to tolerate music today and maybe not even sun light, so Hannah and I hung at the house. Robert offered to take her too, which is kind of comical since she's never had a bottle. We haven't even tried with her.

Our other two wouldn't take bottles, no way no how. Ok, Leah did one time. I had a salad with a bunch of bleu cheese on it...it was delicious...to me, not Leah. She went on a nursing strike about about 30 hours and I was panicing that she was weaning early. Our sweet Mrs Woody came over and some how got Leah to take a bottle until she started nursing again. But, she never would take it again. Joshua took a bottle in the NICU but wouldn't for us ever again. So, since we haven't had anyone around that we would trust our baby with anyway, we haven't even tried with Hannah. Who knows, maybe she'd suck it down..... I could use the break.

I really have to figure out some way to get me cleaned up and going again. I'm pretty sure I'm having yeast issues, if not a full blown systemic infection. I have craved sugar soooo bad since having Hannah. This is more worrisome because I've NEVER been a sweet eater. Put a plate of brownies and nachos in front of me and I'll take the salt any day....or used to. Now, it is like I have to have sugar. I know that is making things worse. I need to do a yeast cleanse but Hannah is still too little for me to do any kind of cleansing. So, somehow, I have to come up with the will power to stop the sugar..... I really have to.

Starting about Thursday of this week, I have been so hormonal. Super crabby and down and blah....remember my blah post. Friday was not as blah but more martyrdom of how I never get anything for me, blah blah blah. Saturday when I woke up, I could tell that something was brewing in me. I didn't feel right and I figured something was going on. After Hannah's morning nap, we headed into downtown to hit our food coop store for this quarter and while we were there, I had a full blown migraine hit. When we got home, I popped some homeopathics and took a boiling hot shower and went to bed....being woken up every two hours or so to nurse Hannah, of course. And of course, last night is the only night this week that she didn't sleep thru the night either. Blah.

I'm doing better today. Have that lingering migrainey hang over feeling. You know, the one where you aren't sure if it could come back at any moment. Anyway, I need to start being serious about my health again.

Oh, and to add insult to injury. On Friday, I was trying to find a belt to hold up my pants. I grabbed some out of my belt drawer. I never wear belts, and so I haven't tried these on since I got married, really. Well, of the three I pulled out, not a one of them would go all the way around me. Like, their ends didn't even meet. I was annoyed and disgusted. I didn't expect them to fit great, but I thought they'd at least go around me.

Tortilla Soup

Here is the tortilla soup recipe I start with...of course I play every time.
3 T EVOO
4 corn tortillas, I use more
6 cloves garlic
1 T fresh cilantro, I use the whole head
1 c onion
2 cans tomatoes
1 T cumin powder
2 t chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 cans corn, I use one can and one bag frozen
2 quarts chicken stock, I use one box

Cook some chicken. Sometimes I grill and sometimes I boil, doesn't matter. Saute tortillas, garlic and cilantro, all chopped in oil. In a blender, blend one can of tomatoes with the onion and can of corn until smooth. Add to the tortilla mix and bring to a boil. Add seasonings and other tomatoes and corn and stock. I also add black and sometimes red beans from a can. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Here is the part that makes it super yummy. Serve it with crushed up tortilla or corn chips, diced avocados, cheese and sour cream. Then sprinkle on some reserved chopped cilantro. Seriously awesome stuff!

Last time I made it, I also blended in some extra mixed veggies, just for extra nutrients! My kids love this, as do we.

My super awesome friend Kelly has a wonderful and uplifting post on her blog today, and if that is what you are wanting to read today, then check hers out here because that ain't gonna be what you get here today.

Ok, now that half of my reading audience, meaning everyone but my Mom, has moved on....I'm blah today. Just plain old, blucky blah. I can't even blame it on sleep deprivation because Hannah has finally found that she can suck her thumb when she wakes up at night and has therefore slept all night the last two nights...ok, until 5:30 when she is starving, but I"m calling it all night....it is Robert's all night after all.
Our pastor and family were supposed to come over for dinner tonight and that has been our ra-ra motivation around here the last two weeks and has actually gotten alot accomplished, but Pastor Will had to be gone for a few days, so that is rescheduled for next week. And so I have no reason to unblah today.
In order not to feel like too much of loser, I have still fed my children and myself(that being the big stretch here since I'm sick of eating) two meals today. I have given baby all needed naps and have even done reading with Joshua and read to the older two. Check....good Mommy duties.
Since I got those off my list, I went blog surfing...and since I'm a foodie or at least want to pretend to be, I surfed food blogs....

and in case you are wondering this is not the smartest place to surf when you are already blah....and THIS is even worse because I already know that I love her recipes and I want her ranch (the real one, not the dressing, although her recipe for that is good too). So in my best judgement of all time, I think I am going to load the kids up for a drive........to Dairy Queen for a blizzard. TAKE THAT BLAHS! ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE!!! OH YEAH!

It is sunny and 64 right now. Life is lovely. Tonight we have a chance of snow after a front comes thru this afternoon....and life is still lovely. My baby is napping, kids are getting to play outside....I have a moment of peace on my computer. I live a wonderful life!

Tonight we have small group. I'm making Tammy's tortilla soup. Yum! I hope it comes out nice, it always has, but it would be my luck that it woudln't when I'm making it for other people.

I'm rereading Reforming Marriage. GCC is doing it as a study in their men and women's meetings and so I am reading along. I forgot how much I really like that book and highly recommend it to all of my married christian friends.

I need to get back to working out, but I'm scared. I don't want more headaches. I really need to find a good chiropractor again and get thru this phase of post partum so I can get fit and looking good before the next Seago wedding in July.

High of 65 and sunny today.....we are off to the zoo.

My knight in shining armor arrived in his tan minivan and strode in, strong and proud. He quickly grabbed his Allen wrenches and went to work. Not a cuss word was spoken and before you could say "Joshua and Leah, bed time" all was right with the world again. My beloved Kirby is charging ahead! YIPPEE!!!! He said that a piece on the transmission toggle had slipped off some how and that the Porsche transmission in the Kirby is a good design. That is the highest compliment you can receive from my husband!!! He's my hero!!!! He saved the day and probably a couple hundred bucks to fix it!

I remember a few years ago, a friend wrote about her beloved Bernina dieing on her and her anguish involved. I now know that feeling.

I'm about to cry. Kirby just broke. Those of you that have known me for a while, know that this is very traumatic to me. I love my Kirby. Really. Things like this don't normally bother me, but I seriously am going to cry. I don't think it is a completely dead kind of injury but still. She and I have done some beautiful cleaning together. I just want her to be better....so I can finish cleaning my house. I love my vacuum cleaner. It's been a good 7+ years.

We had a lovely weekend. Saturday was nice, for here. Temps were in the 40's and it wasn't too windy. We got lots of honey do's done around the house and then went to pick up our milk and eggs and hit Chik Fil A for dinner. Unfortunately, Saturday at CFA right now is buy one get one free milk shakes, TROUBLE! Thankfully we don't live very close to a CFA, so we rarely rarely eat there. We even got a quick grocery trip in before we headed home, which was nice because it meant I didn't have to do the shopping while everyone else napped on Sunday. Yea!!!

Sunday we got up and headed to church. We really really like our new church. We don't know alot of the families yet, but we are getting to know the pastor's family better and we really love them. They have 5 children. Twin boys that are 18 or 19 and then three teen daughters. Joshua has a little crush on one of their girls and all I hear about all week is Martha this and Martha that. It is very cute! And Martha's favorite color is red, in case you were wondering. Pastor Will is preaching thru Romans and it is so great to be back under solid teaching. He is using a white board during his sermons and it is nice to have visual support for the message. And, this morning, Joshua even asked me about some of the diagrams from the service yesterday. This is why our children worship with us. I knew what he was talking about when he asked and we had a lovely discussion about the trees of knowledge and death.

At the end of the service, Pastor Will said his family had won free Chipotle and so that was where they were heading for lunch, and so we went as well. It was fun getting to eat with new friends. We are really liking what we've seen of the Medina area and will be buying around there once our house sales in Texas. If you remember, please say a prayer for our house to sell. We'd really like to be able to buy a house to move into when our lease is up here in June.

The rest of the day was a lazy one for me. I got a nap with everyone else, a very rare occurence for me. Then got to chat with one of the Guthrie girls on Facebook for a bit. I made a yummy spinach quiche for dinner and then to bed.

Today we have to get this house whipped into shape. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny. We will NOT be in this house tomorrow! YIPPEE!!! Our first real glimpse of spring....I'm pretending that we don't have snow forecasted for Thursday....la la la la lal ala lalal .... I love the Nile, la la la la la. Wed night is small group, I'm making chicken tortilla soup for the group. THursday our pastor's family is coming over for dinner. It is almost feeling like a GCC week. YEA!!!!

Tomorrow, a real post, but until then, a funny youtube video stolen from my friend, Kelly's blog. I thought I'd lay off of the liberals for the weekend since I do happen to have some close friends and a Grandpa that are quite the crazy liberals!

I don't believe in divorce, but...

DIVORCE AGREEMENT
Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, thi s relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep the capitalism, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street . You can have your beloved homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and we'll retain our right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values... You are welcome to Islam, Scientology , Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N... but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing , Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World .

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

 

I have a headache. I am so tired of having headaches. I just want a friend that I can call and cry to and they will come over and play with my children so I can sleep. I miss the Guthrie girls and Ruth and Sarah and Peggy. They alwasy took care of me when this used to happen. I miss my friends.

We had a lovely weekend, although we didn't do anything spectacular. The weather wasn't amazing that it apparently was every where else in the country, but it wasn't freezing either and that in itself was nice.

Saturday, Robert and Hannah and I started the 419 step process to get our truck registered here. We spent 4 hours and stood in 12 lines and got the first three steps done. Really. It is rediculous how messed up the governmental systems are in this state. Robert and I are college educated and it is difficult for us to navigate the system. It has to be really impossible for some people. They throw money and more money at systems that make no sense, and that is stupid! Anyway, hopefully we can get some more of it done this week. Until then, we just don't drive the truck because it is illegal.

We did get all take a walk together Saturday afternoon. People are always oohing and ahhing over JOshua on his bike and Leah just being cute, then they realize Hannah is on my back and you should hear the comments then. You'd think I had a family of 16 or something. Hello people, I only have three children so far...deal with it. I'm not asking you to take care of them in any way. Heck, we don't even use our health insurance that we pay for ourselves. Oh well, I take comfort that the liberals are breeding themselves out of existence.

Sunday we got to go to our church again, YEA!!!!! This was only our second week and we already love it. The message was great and it is so nice to be under real teaching again. The music is pretty good too. Not Dan Woody good, of course, but much better than we've seen alot of.

Ok, Hannah is sleeping and that means I need to get a workout in.

Am I potty training?

I was just thinking this morning that if I were God, I would look at me as a potty training toddler. You know I posted the other day about Leah doing so great....ummmm, jumped the gun on that one. We've had accident after accident since then. She just gets to busy to make it in time and her accidents are usually right next to the potty. But this morning was different. I got her ready to go play outside and asked her. Do you need to go potty? No. Don't poopy or teetee in your panties. Ok. 30 seconds after I got her outside she came in and said she needed to poopy, I asked her if she did in her pants and she says yes. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST TOLD YOU NOT TO POOPY IN YOUR PANTS!

Anyway, if I were God, I would feel that way about me. I pray for peace, joy, love and patience with my children every morning, as soon as I wake up. But then 5 seconds later they come in the room and start fighting and ignoring any instructions I give and I"m anything but patient, loving and kind. If I were God, I'd be saying "I JUST GAVE YOU PEACE, JOY, KINDNESS and LOVE FOR YOU CHILDREN AND NOW YOU...."

Thankfully, I am not God. For you see, I am a sinful, fallen, imperfect creation. God is not. He is perfect. And HE loves me and He IS all of the fruits of spirit. Thank you Lord.

No Capes Here

In case anyone was confused, there are no capes in my closet. I know, shocking, but I am NOT super MOm!!!! Someone else must have that title, not I. And because I am not super Mom, we have ants. Sure, if I had vacuumed after every single meal and snack like Super MOm would, then my little blessings mountains of food crumbs wouldn't have been there for the taking, but I'm not super Mom. Who knew that ants would still invade our little world when we had snow on the ground and temps in the single digits. It is bewildering to my little southern mind, but our Creator made those little critters HARDY!

So, for the last week, I and Joshua have been tag teaming to vacuum the kitchen and dining room about 20 times a day, literally. Every time I see an ant, we break out the good ole Kirby (that I still love, don't konw if I've written about my love for my vaccuum here or not but, 7 years later, I still love her) and get em. I've been using our favorite non toxic bug spray, Orange Guard. Works well to kill them in Texas and California, but just like the government here in Ohio, the ants are more annoying and persistent. I also started feeling just yucky and run down and very overly tired (yes, more so than my usual I have't slept in 5 years tired). I just thought I was still run down because I didn't get any recouperation when I got sick a few weeks back....yup, no cape here but babies expect to be cared for, sick Mommy or not, cheeky little things...

But I finally realized on Tuesday that I've never used the Orange Guard when I couldn't open up the windows and ventilate and air everything out before. Texas and California are kind enough to let you do that. And hey it is safe around pets, kids and good...package says so, but not for non Super Moms, apparently. So, I stopped the orange guard and am now feeling better. But those pesky ants..... so, since I didn't feel like googling the natural ant killers that I should know off the top of my head, I just dumped a bunch of my Young Living Peppermint oil where they were coming in....haven't seen one since. I love my oils!

I also got back on the wagon and worked out this morning, which leads me to my latest dvd review. I got the Biggest Loser Workout DVD #2. I LOVED #1 but am just ok happy with #2. The instructor guy has some funky, nasty gay looking hair do with an 80's tail and all, YUCK! And there is a new little peppy instructor girl that is pretty annoying and her movements aren't that great. So, I will only do this one a few times and quickly send it back to Netflix for my next installment. I think I have the 30 Day Shred up next in my queue. Lord help me!

I was right about Leah. We bought her some big girl panties this weekend and she's had no accidents until this morning, but that was my fault really. We ran an errand and I forgot to make her go before we left. As soon as we got home she was half way to the potty, with her pants pulled down and didn't make it. Poor girl. But, today is laundry day anyway, so no big deal. She's a potty training super star!!!!!!

A few other things I forgot to mention about church #14. They did family worship time and then the kids left for Jr church (not our kids of course, the others) and THEN they pull out donuts for the adults. Cracked me up!!! After service, they did announcements and I just wanted to jump up and down to volunteer. They have one family that is moving this week, she lost her father last week with the funeral yesterday and she is early prenant and having problems. They were talking about who was going to clean their house for them and then who was going to grocery shop to make sure their pantry and fridge were full when they moved in. I LOVED IT! We are going to the pastor's small group tomorrow night!!! I'm a little nervous because I hate meeting new people and the fake get to know you junk, especially in a group, but excited too!

What an amazing weekend!!!!!
First, Joshua started officially reading. And then Robert took us to Olive Garden for dinner where we met the nicest couple. Very conservative. It was like visiting with a family from GCC. A nice break from our normal surroundings. I thought that was a nice little gift from God and was thankful for some fellowship...even short in the waiting area of a restaurant. THEN....

Today, we visited church #14! And, WE'VE FOUND A CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!! Just like with Grace in Texas, we knew the first time we visited that it was our new church home. We are so excited. When we got in the car, I asked Robert my usual blah "so, what'd you think" We both busted out laughing and he said "that was encouraging". They are a nondenominational church that has been there for about three years. The pastor reminds us of a mix of PT and Mark Brenan. It is a small small church. Meets in an old fashioned theater kind of place on the square in downtown Medina. We are pretty excited because we've been eyeing some homes with land in Medina....hmmm, conincidence...I THINK NOT (said in my best Dana Carvey SNL voice)! There are homeschoolers in the church, but not all of them. The pastor and his wife talked to us quite a bit. When we started talking about doctrine, the pastor just lit up when he heard we are reformed....as are they!!!! Isn't that awesome! They aren't family integrated but what a blessing to find a reformed church here!!! And finally, and the funniest thing of the day for Robert and I was when the pastor started the sermon and said.....Turn in your bibles and stand as we read in ROMANS 2!!! ROFL!!!! We talked with him afterwards about the fact that GCC just finished going thru Romans. We love this place already!!! God is so good!!!!!!!!!!

Joshua just read six Bob books to me. I can't believe my oldest is reading. So cool! I'm so stinking proud I could cry!

Looking up here. We are above freezing today and last night and the newest snows have melted...although they are to return again this weekend, but for today the kids and I enjoyed a jaunt to the zoo. It was still too chilly to do outside zoo stuff but we wandered around the Rainforest again. We got to hang out with Reggie, a new friend, and her children and it was nice to be out. Hannah was so awesome. She loves the Ergo because it keeps her really close to her Mama, just the way she likes it.

Leah is getting big girl! Her potty training is going. She is really good, as long as she's naked. Joshua was the same way. Although, sometimes L waits too long to head to the potty when she needs to poop and well...you konw. Still a process. She totally doesn't get it when I put a pull up on her though. I think pull ups are just too much like diapers. The only reason I use them is becasue they are easier for me to pull up and down....which I guess is the point. I'm kind of considering buying her some big girl panties and just going straight to them. I think she might get it better when she wets them. We'll see.

I'm tired. We've had late nights all week. I don't remember why on Sunday and Monday right now, but I"m sure it was probably tv related. Tuesday was the presidential liefest....I mean, address. Last night, we sat up reviewing resumes for the positions Robert is trying to hire for. There were acutally some possible candidates in the latest batch, so that is good news. Our family NEEDS those positions filled because Daddy is wearing too many hats and is starting to drop balls. Thankfully, only at home so far...where God has given him a helpmeet to pick them up for him.

Joshua is a bit challenging right now. I think he is too bored to obey, honestly. He needs stimulus and I don't mean from the government. Thankfully, the weather is slowly changing. Although we are still getting snows, we are also getting breaks here and there. HOpefully soon we will be able to start getting out more. I'm hoping to start hitting library story hours and maybe find a MOPS group or something for some social interaction.

Church #14 this week. Sounds promising. I'll keep you updated.

We had a quiet weekend. Didn't get to visit a church because Robert was sick. It was his turn after all. I think I got him pushed thru it. He went to work today, no surprise there. He always goes to work.
Yesterday, I got to go pick up milk, go to Target and get groceries all by myself. It was in a blowing snow storm, but I didn't mind. Roads were fine and I enjoyed myself. I had a Starbucks at Target and wandered around, took my time. I even found a clearance section tucked back in the men's underwear section. Score, since Robert needs some more under shirts and some driving gloves. It is on my radar now.

When I was grocery shopping, I found lower rib roast that was $73. I didn't buy it. But it made me appreciate our organic farmers that don't price gouge. We have almost a quarter of a side coming in April. Organic and loved by its farmer. $2.96/pound for all cuts. Awesome! I will be getting some lower rib steaks and roasts! Can't wait. We are trying to get completely stocked up with all necessities because the next year could be really interesting for our country. I think the media is calling us the "Bubba Effect", nice. You know, us weirdos that are getting ready to take care of ourselves in case our government screws things up even worse than they already are....yup, bunch of quacks us. We really should just go stand at the white house with our hands out like everyone else I guess. But no, we plan on having gardens and putting up our own food and providing for ourselves and our family on our own. We are a bunch of messed up crazies!

Mainstream VBAC Coverage

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1880665,00.html?imw=Y?iid=perma_share

As you all know, this is a story that is very impactful in my life. Hannah was a VBA2C (vaginal birth after two cesareans). I had to fight and I mean FIGHT to have it be that way. I am a member of ICAN, that is quoted for stats in this article for Time. Please read the article and get the word out. This is a huge problem and it is only going to get worse. We have to change the birth environment in America.

I wonder how a depression will affect this, hmmm? Maybe no one will be able to afford hospital births and we can get back to safer home births!

I have a headache. I'm sick of having headaches. I've had them my entire life and I am soooo sick of them. I think these are the same ones I had after I had Leah. We figured out that they are blood sugar related and that I am probably pre diabetic...no surprise there with my family history. I found a supplement that worked well then, but I ran out and am waiting for it to come in. This makes me mad. I just want my body to work right.

Robert is really stressed out. He's pushing 80++ hours of work a week into about 60 and of ocurse still not getting everything done. He's trying to hire the person to take over the interim position he is doing but there aren't any good applicants. All you hear about in the liberal media is hwo awful the economy is, unemployment every where. Well, Robert and several of our other friends that are trying to hire for good, management level positions say otherwise. He can hardly ever find an American applicant, much less one that is remotely qualified for the job. It is rediculous!!! Seriously! And it isn't just management. He needs some engineers too and those applications are worse. Almost all of them are from India. Where are all of these Americans out of work?

Well, I think they are happily sitting at home waiting for the hero Obama to feed them money for sitting on their butts. It makes me want to puke. They say we are headed into a depression and I say GOOD! Maybe it will wake up the lazy, me me me, give me everything for nothing losers that are the majority in our country now. Maybe it will make people start taking care of themselves and possibly they will actually teach their children to take care of themselves as well. Do I look forward to be short on somethings we like to have...not really, but if it will get some attention to the rediculous issues we have in our country then bring it on! We are preparing. We are out of debt and are tightening tightening our belts up to save save save cash right now. We are stocking our freezers and pantries and when the big crash comes, we are ready. I'm not scared.

Most importantly I'm not scared or worried because this is all in God sovereign plan for our country and our lives. Obama is here now and doing what he is doing because God has allowed him to be so. I'm thankful to serve a loving God that cares for His people and I believe He loves and cares for us enough to allow us this pain. Maybe He's saving us from something worse. Or maybe it will be worse than we can imagine, and that is justified too. Our country is in a nasty, awful place and it isn't just because of politics. The church is defiled and families are defiled. What we hold up as good is filthy. I pray for mercy from God, but I also pray for relief.

Well, I am feeling better. Still a nagging little cough in the mornings, but no biggie. OH and when I am trying to nurse Hannah to sleep, of course. But.........brace yourselves...........Hannah slept from 10:30 until 6:45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEA HANNAH!!! We will see if this will be repeated or not. I won't konw what to do with myself if I have a baby sleep thru the night before a year old. Her naps are stinking it up this week, but we'll work with that if she'll sleep thru the night!

I had a whole bunch I wanted to write about but...it has taken me three hours to write this much and Hannah is fussy again...so

ok, I'm back...for the moment
Hannah is getting so big. She is really playful now and always want to be a part of the action. It is really fun.

Leah is potty training. She tells me in the morning not to put a diaper on her because she wants to ride the potty train. I think that she thinks that she is going somewhere soon...and I've chosen not to correct this little in accuracy at this point. She is doing well, although she pooped on the floor this morning when she was squating down to put on shoes. Other than that, accident free for several days now.

Joshua is really turning a corner. He is growing up and I like it. He's a good kid but man he can be moody some days.

Robert is still working two full time managment positions at his new job. He and I will both be soooo glad when they hire someone for his interim job....gotta go

Not alot of new pics since we've spent most of the year with someone on the mend, but here are a few. Kids are growing growing growing.

I'm tired and "have a throat" to use a Leleism. The weather is so warm and we aren't even out in it. So sad.

Yesterday we went and got memberships at the zoo. We spent the morning in the rainforest exhibit. It was soooo nice to be out. Joshua made a friend and that was a super huge exciting thing. He's still so lonely. Hannah rocked in the Ergo. Just happy as a clam, especially since I let her suck her thumb. I've been trying to keep her from doing that too much, hoping she'll out grow it before it becomes habit. At dinner last night, the kids went on and on about the zoo to Daddy. It was very exciting.

Today is almost 60 degrees. We only have one little 6 inch patch of snow left to melt. Gotta get out and pick up all of the toys in the back yard because it is supposed to start snowing again tomorrow. I finally learned what Lake Effect snow is. Before, I just knew that meant we were gonna get a bunch of it. It is when a part of the lake melts and opens up a bunch of moisture to reach the air. So, any breeze blowing over it becomes lots of snow until it freezes back over. Meaning, since we've had such a long stretch above freezing, 4 days now, we can expect a whole bunch of snow if the winds blow this way when it drops below freezing again tomorrow.

Robert and I saw a news story over the weekend of 130 or so IDIOTS that were out on the ice trying to fish over the weekend....even though it was above freezing. Well, of course some broke off and they had to call in the national guard to rescue them. One man died when he fell into the water. They said this happens over and over when these same men won't follow the signs warning to stay off of the ice when it warms up. UMMMMM, CRAZY!

Good weekend, we got out and did some errands that needed to be done. It is above freezing and the snow is melting. I should be able to drive the truck some this week, that is exciting. The kids and I are going to the Rainforest part of the zoo tomorrow, indoors and all. I can't wait to get out. I am a little nervous about getting out on my own with all three since I haven't really done that yet. Should be fun.

Hannah is in her room full time now. Hopefully she'll just magically start sleeping thru the night, lol. Didn't work that way with the other kids but one can hope.

We finally visited church #13 yesterday. It was just outside our neighborhood, so that was a nice short drive. It was good. Not overwhelmingly great but good. We sang songs we knew. No band, just a poorly played piano that you could tell was a labor of love and so was a blessing. Good scriptural teaching, but not super deep. I think the plan is to visit #12 and #13 again and see what we think. #12 is a bible church and #13 is a straight up baptist church. Both are pretty small, which we like. Neither are family integrated. #12 has some homeschool families, not sure about #13. We didn't get to talk to any people yesterday. Except the 58 that came and told me there was a nursery if I needed it. None of them were rude and all said that it was no problem whatsoever to have our kids in the service, but they wanted me to know if I needed it that it was there. I walked Hannah in the hall during the sermon since she is a chatter box these days. The deacon outside and several Moms all told me that I was welcome to be in the service with her adn that she wouldn't disturb anyone. That was nice. I didn't go back in but it was nice to hear.

Did another day of Biggest Loser Workout today. The sculpting section. OUCH!! I loved it. And, again recommend this for anyone. Just simple, get to the point exercise. Just the basics man. I know I am going to be so sore tomorrow. Maybe I'll just do the low intensity cardio tomorrow instead of the high....oh wait, we are going to the zoo. Too bad. lol!

It is sunny and BEAUTIFUL here today! Praise God!!!! I know it isn't all about me, but I like to think he specifically sent a sunny day just for me. We've already reached 31 degrees and the melt has begun. They are saying that the next 7 days should all reach above freezing and I am so looking forward to it. That means the snow will melt down enough that the kids can head outside to play!!!! I won't even complain about the muddy mess when they come back in. Thank you Lord!

Another prop for Biggest Loser Workout video. I woke up today and my glutes and quads were both sore. None of the fancy videos did that. Yippee!

We had the BEST waffles tonight for dinner. You MUST make these. They are so yummy. Light and sweet with a good texture. The only changes I made was to add some finely chopped pecans and some fresh ground nutmeg (I add that to all of my baked goods)to them. I try to throw extra nuts in where ever I can. And with all of the flax in them they have TONS of fiber. (so Vic, you MUST make these for Tony!) We had ours with scrambled eggs, apple sauce and home made blueberry syrup. The syrup is really easy too. I just took a bag of frozen blueberries and put them on to boil with a tiny bit of water while I was cooking dinner. I added a little agave to just sweeten it a tiny bit more before we ate. YUM!!!!!! And pretty healthy too.

Today I tried out the Biggest Loser Workout DVD. I really really like it, and HIGHLY recommend it for everyone. I was concerned that since I'm not that over weight, that it might not really be a workout for me, but that wasn't the case. I did skip the first two weeks, of course then I was worried that it would be too hard for my out of shape body, lol. It wasn't. It is very basic movement exercise. It isn't a cool, hip, juke and jive exercise junky kind of thing. I enjoyed the straight forwardness of it. At one point, the instructor asked one of the girls, "how ya feeling"...which they always do, and instead of the annoyingly fake cheerleader/pep squad jump and answer GREAT...she said "I feel like my legs are gonna fall off!" I loved it, since my legs too were about to fall off. This is the first video I've done since launching on this Netflix gig that I didn't wonder how much longer the workout was. It was simple, straight forward and not terribly long. Seriously, I very very much recommend it for everyone! Oh, and another bonus...the girls have clothes on! One girl did the cool down in a sports bra but it was more than on all the other videos I"ve seen so far.

In another health related note....I totally feel like I should have known this before, but whole wheat pasta has TONS fiber. Really, it has more than a good fiber bar. I was glad to find another fiber rich option to add in our diet.

The last couple of days have been warmer, almost 30 and no snow. Things were starting to melt down a little. I was hoping that it soon would be melted enough that the kids could go out and play again. We were expecting snow over night, but was supposed to be less than one inch accumulation, good. Yeah. Woke up this morning with over 4 inches and it has been snowing hard all morning. So, extending our house arrest. The forecast was predicting that it was going to be warm next week, in the 30's, almost 40 all week. I was looking forward to some outside time for the kids, but I'm scared to look and see what it says now. Hopefully today's lake effect snow will end soon.

PanPan just rolled over twice. From her tummy to her back. I was wondering if she was ever going to. She just looked at us and bloop...over she went...like she'd been doing it all her life. Maybe she secretly has. She also slept in her room for the first time last night. She's been waking up to chit chat all night long this week and so Robert and I decided she needed to be in her room and talk to herself. When she woke up to nurse at midnight, I thought we were in for a rough night since that is not usual. Usually she'll nurse at 11 then make it at least until 1 or 2. But, she slept from 12-5. I didn't of course. I had to keep waking up to check on her. Tonight, I hope we both sleep long and hard!

I'm feeling better. I slept until almost noon on Saturday and Sunday, even though I really wanted us to go to church today. Robert decided this morning that I needed to stay in bed. He was right. I feel much more human. Hopefully I can stay up now.

We had a Dippin Dinner in honor of the Super Bowl Parties we didn't get to go to. Started off with a big tray of broccoli, carrots and pickled okra with ranch dressing. Yummy! We finished that off and I brought out the Buffalo Chicken Dip and Amy's Pizza Snacks. We all ate and ate and ate. It was Joshua and Leah's first free reign meal and ummmm, Joshua learned a good lesson. Leah stopped when she got full, Joshua did not. He came in later and his belly was HUGE! He said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts." Yup. LOL!