Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Fabulous Memorial Day with Friends!

Yesterday was such a blessed day of fellowship.  Our family went to some dear friend's house to play.  We walked to the park , Barbecued, talked and of course ;) threw knives and tomahawks.

We counted up children and with our three families there were fourteen.

             Walking to the park
     where Hadassah ate the rocks . . . .                           and my camera died.


Back at the house ( with new batteries)

Knife throwing . .



 I was going to put a picture of Grace throwing but since she made us all look bad . . . . . . ;)


This is where Titus told Haven - I am the big Doggy and you are the princess!
She was gracious and humored him. 

What a blessing good friends are!
We didn't really want to get up this morning - we were so tuckered out.  Laying in bed, I heard a crash in the kitchen and thought "oh no what is Titus getting into"  but it was Caleb trying to get everything out to make pancakes for the family :)

Trying to be Like Papa





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Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Long Story Part 4

After saying goodbye to Stephen at the airport I spent the next couple months out of country.    It was an incredible time of stretching and learning.  A period of opening my eyes to other cultures and opening my eyes to seeing myself more clearly - the good, the bad and the ugly.    The people there were incredible.  It would take many posts to write about my experiences there.

When I came home I was jetlagged, exhausted, filled to the brim and oh, 25 pounds heavier ;)  What can I say - the food is the best.  We spent the next week catching up on sleep, debriefing, unpacking and repacking, as we figured out where each of us was going next in life.  I lined up a job at a resort near the base to start the day after Graduation.  I like being prepared and having a plan. . . . wow, that statement of having a plan is soooo funny in view of what follows :D (Being a military wife means almost never knowing what the plan is and as soon as you do, it is a sure thing it will change - I love it now.)  Stephen and his brother came up a few days before graduation.  We chatted on and off.

Then one night most of the base decided to go into town to see a movie.  I wasn't really interested and stayed home.  Stephen stayed back as well.  I started reading a book and he was busy doing whatever he was doing .  Then he said to me, " if you get a coat I will take you on a walk."  So I got up and went to get a shawl.  We started walking on a dirt road up in the mountains  (this was in the middle of nowhere).  It was very dark and there was only the moonlight and the stars.  We walked along talking and chatting.  I don't remember everything that was said.  I do remember he quoted The Hobbit and Pride and Prejudice !  I remember there was a large rustle in the bushes near us and I walked to his other side.  He smiled really big at that and I told him "I was just setting it up so I could run while you were being eaten."   I remember telling him I loved Willow trees and he told me they were horrible on pipes because their roots looked like their tops ( he was a hopeless romantic ;)  We talked and walked for a long ways and we were both attracted to each other but neither of us talked about it.  When we got back we watched a movie with a couple friends and then went our separate ways to head to bed.  The next couple days were so busy getting ready for graduation. 

Where he met my parents . . . . :)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Blessings in Pain

Numbness . . Fog  . . Pain

This morning I woke up to an alarm going off for Stephen's physical therapy.  As I reached for the clock I felt confusion and my arm felt numb and I thought "oh no, not today", but I knew it was, I was getting a migraine.  I told Stephen and as he was trying to get ready to leave he ran around getting medication, a heating pad, drinks, and something to snack on.  I tried with my befuddled brain to organize my thoughts and figure out a plan for handling the kids.  I knew that Hadassah was going to wake up sometime soon and Titus.  I asked/slightly slurred whether Caleb was awake.  I knew until Stephen came home I was going to need to rely on him.  He was still sleeping but Bailey was snuggled up in our bed. " I will help you mama."  Ever ready to be my hero.

I started talking to God, praying that the babies would sleep extra long this morning, asking what he wanted me to hear from Him right now.  I always can hear him Him more clearly during a migraine. Everything else fades into the background, it has to.  Things were brought to memory of attitudes I needed to adjust, moments I should have handled differently and times I didn't stop and listen to Him.  As things would come to mind we would deal with them and move on.  Why does it take a migraine for me to be still?  God willing I will learn to be still without one, to use my time more wisely.

The boys were troopers.  They got the babies out of bed, fed them and cleaned them up.  How much life has changed having older children!  I get migraines very infrequently now.  They are usually related to hormones for me.  I was blessed by the fact that Stephen only had to be gone for a couple hours.  He came home and took the kids on a four mile walk, leaving Caleb home in case I needed something. The pain was never as bad as it has been before in the past :)  and this afternoon I worked my way downstairs to join my wonderful family.  So I here I sit, blessed to have the family I do, sad to have missed the day with them and moving a little on the slow side.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Make it pink, Make it blue

Well my baby girl has a blue earring and a pink earring.  She woke up from a nap with a missing earring and I couldn't find it fast enough.  Her ear was already closing up since it has only been a few weeks since she had it pierced.  So I grabbed what I could and put it in.  Oh well, she looks a little comical but it will only be for a month or so :)

                  Either way she is adorable!




She is such a little blessing!

Caterpillers, Pumkin Bread and Games, Oh My!

I woke up this morning to thunder . . ahh my favorite.  I LOVE a good thunderstorm.  What a way to start the day :)  I went around opening the windows so I could hear the rain and feel the moisture in the cool air.  The fun weather helped me think out of the box a little this morning so with a little pep talk we ran about doing our chores so we could get to the fun stuff.  After we had six children cleaned and dressed and breakfast was cleaned up, the kids had a blast making crafts.


                                                Caterpillers!

 Isabella needed hers to be girly ( hence the hair bow ) and of course it needed butterfly wings.  I was going to line them all up and see if you could guess which one was Isabella's but then Titus got a look at her "flap flaps".

After seeing Isabella's all the boys felt like they needed to take theirs up a notch.  Now there was no way they wanted gauzy pink wings  . . . but a superhero cape would be nice.

Then Caleb of course had to make a sheath and sword for it with special antenna that could grab and wield it.



After Bible time we started making pumpkin bread.  Thank you to my dear friend, Mrs. Love for my favorite recipe - Momma Bug's Recipe


SO before it looks like we don't accomplish any school around here - it was intermingled with everything else.

During naps Bailey and I played a game which I of course lost :P


So far today is shaping up to be a good day :)
Thank you God for the rain! 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Sheer Silliness

My life is full of laughter and giggles and sometimes I forget that in the business.  It is easy to be so caught up in all that needs to be done that I overlook all the moments that bring a smile.  So in memory of the last couples days silliness:
 I came downstairs this morning and he was eating breakfast like this!


Remember I said in an earlier post that she is not allowed in the dishwasher ;)


 He just didn't notice that he had put on Titus' pants.  Then when I pointed it out he said, "oh, really".
In his defense he has pants that look just like these and I did have these in the wrong spot.

                                                HELLO!
 Rides around the house :)


How could I wear a frown with these six blessings around!

Kids say the darndest things! Part 2

Isabella was cleaning up my shoes this evening after wearing them around my room.  When she was done she looked up at me her face beaming with pride and asked,

" Did I do a good job mama?  Is it clean?"

" Yes, Isabella, you did a good job.  It looks great."

" Is it clean as a weasel?"

" Excuse me, what did you say?"

" Is it clean as a weasel?"

"Where did you hear that phrase, honey?"  I ask.

" Oh, in a movie."

I am a little slow at first but then I realize, " Do mean mean clean as a whistle?"

" Oh no, I am sure it is clean as a weasel."

Ok, honey.

My Kitchen helper

The other evening my little guy asked me what we were going to have for dinner.  When I told him we were having tortellini, he ran into the kitchen and filled the pot with water put it on the stove, got everything out, and cut open all the packages.  What a big help he is to me!  Thank you little man!

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