Life of a Simple Housewife

40 Days of Blogging: Day 1 Comfort Ye

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

40 day I will be blogging videos of the music from Handle’s Messiah, because it is my favorite Christmas music.

Isaiah 40: 1-4

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

You’ll have to excuse the ads that come up, I would have picked a different video,

but this guys voice was a lot better than any of the other videos I saw.

2011-09-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Our famiy of Seven!

Phrynoaoma Douglassi

2011-09-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

This is a Phrynosoma Douglassi
aka
Short Horned Lizard (toad)

Josiah found it in our backyard today.
I love it when nature comes into our backyard in the city.

If we had caught it, it would have become flat and rigid
and would have flopped on its back
and possible would have squirted blood from it's eyes!

Oh and it eats ants and not people.

How girls play

2011-09-03T15:44:00.001-07:00

My two daughters are so smart! They figured out how to play chess AND connect four at the same time!

I'm SO proud of them!! I remember playing the same way when I was their age :)

A Very Special Announcement

2011-09-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Introducing....

School Pictures 2011

2011-08-08T14:57:00.001-07:00

Andrew 1 year and 10 months Mommy's Helper

Autumn 3 years old PreSchool

Grace 5 Years old Kindergarten

Josiah 6 Years old First Grade

A break from the city noise…

2011-05-06T15:01:00.001-07:00

Hi!

2011-04-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

(the first strawberry blossom in our garden)

Just thought I’d post some pictures from this past month :)

Daffodil!! (Autumn said that these flowers were happy)

Our Chrismation day, April 16, 2011, with our sponsors/godparents Bob and Laurel Frisby.

Finding Easter Eggs!

Josiah at a T-Ball Game.

1 1/2 year old Andrew playing soccer with himself

I saw this bird in the tree in our backyard today. I don’t know what it is though.

Grace playing ball with a new friend at a T-Ball game.

Hello!

2010-12-31T15:21:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just a little picture post of the past month…

Josiah

Grace

Autumn

Andrew at 14 months.

Shutterfly Summer Freedom Contest

2010-07-22T16:12:00.001-07:00

Contest details

Fun at Grammy and P.Pa’s house

2010-07-16T15:31:00.001-07:00

Grammy and P. Pa bought our children a pool to use at their house

This time Autumn got in it, but she got right back out because

she got splashed in the face.

But she got to sit on Grammy’s lap

and give and get kisses,

giggle and laugh,

find out where her “butter” is,

and soak up the warm sun, while the other children played in the water.

Grace got to sit with Grammy too

and get her hair done.

A highchair!

2010-07-13T12:51:00.001-07:00

I have always loved the look of old high chairs and I promised myself I would buy one someday, to adorn my kitchen. Well, I received an old high chair (I think it’s from the 1940’s, but I’m not sure of that) for my birthday last month! I was so excited! Here is a before!

Isn’t so ugly? It was to me!

It was a wobbly little chair, so I took it all apart, sanded it down (by hand) and glued it back together with Gorilla Glue. My favorite part, of course was painting it! Can you guess what color I painted it? I was going to paint it apple red (because that’s my favorite color to use in the kitchen), but then I also like an earthy olive green…..but then I thought “It’s a child’s chair, not a grown ups one.” So I painted it…

No more little ugly teddy bear looking thing with pig tails! In it’s place….

This is on the tray, I only put one flower design it because I didn’t want to go stencil crazy and make it look cheesy.

This is on the foot rest.

Isn’t it so beautiful?!

A few flowers

2010-07-10T20:57:00.001-07:00

I never get tired of flowers so I hope you don’t mind me posting pictures of them.

To the park

2010-07-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

To be more specific we went to Watson Lake and had a dinner picnic and just sat back and relaxed…it was very nice!

Three of the children ran to their hearts content!

while Andrew sat and chewed on my camera bag.

Watson Lake

Even Daddy got in on the play time :)

Andrew and the guitar

2010-07-02T13:46:00.001-07:00

Highlights of June

2010-07-01T14:22:00.001-07:00

~ Finding these dainty little flowers and turn into this…

~ Taking a family walk along Lynx Creek, enjoying the sound of running water, and

throwing rocks into the creek.

~ Going to antiquing with my Mother-In-Love down at the square and finding treasures here and there.

This is a German dowry box…..and this is an old sign which would run, if it was in perfect condition, for $1,000 at an auction.

~ Swimming in Grammy and P. Pa’s pool until we were…

chilled to the bone.

~ Unexpected family portraits

~ Lots of sleeping in the car.

~ New flip flops for Autumn (that she likes to wear on the wrong feet :).

~ Neglected stuffed animals.

~ Learning that my son loves to take pictures.

~ Playing at Grandma and Poppy’s house for Father’s day (this picture brings back memories of when I was little).

~ Surprising my husband for Father’s Day.

~ Finding out that frozen strawberries work wonderful for teething babies.

I’d love to know what were your highlights this past month.

Leeya Engel Tea in the Garden Guest Giveaway

2010-06-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Leeya Engel Tea in the Garden Guest Giveaway

Aren't these the cutest little trinkets! You can win one!

Are you my mother?

2010-06-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken by Josiah.

He found this baby bird that he said was looking for his mother (It’s Josiah’s favorite book for me to read to him)

I went out later that day to see if the bird was still there, but it must have found his mommy because he was gone.

Bruschetta Pizza

2010-06-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

The recipe I use calls for meat and a prebaked shell (you can find that recipe on Taste of Home site by the same name) but I’m going to give you my version of the recipe that I used for the picture above.

Bruschetta Pizza

Yields 8 slices

Topping:

1 1/2 cups chopped plump tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (or about 1 to 2 TBSP of dried)
1 TBSP olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme or 1/8 tsp dried thyme (I used an 1/8 tsp of powdered thyme)
1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve pizza.

Crust: (I used my Parmesan Pizza Crust recipe from this post but I altered it because I use a stone to bake my pizza’s on)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP olive oil (and some for seasoning the stone)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. In the same bowl mix together the bisquick, cheese, sugar, oil, Italian seasoning, and 1 cup flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be slightly sticky).

2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 min. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the cop. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 min. (I usually skip the rising step because I run out of time, but it’s good either way)

3. Punch dough down; divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 9 in circle, transfer to to pizza pans that are coated with cooking spray (or brushed with olive oil).

4. Put pizza into cold oven and turn it on to 450 degrees F and let cook for about 5 minutes or until crust is slightly golden (DO NOT OVER BAKE). Take pizza out and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on and return to oven until cheese begins to turn golden and bottom of crust is golden.

5.Serve pizza with the prepared topping and enjoy!

Shhh…

2010-05-27T21:51:00.001-07:00

I just went into the boy’s bedroom to do the usual nighttime check and this is how I found Andrew.

Isn’t he so cute! I just love him!

7 months, Anniversary, Other stuff…..

2010-05-24T15:04:00.001-07:00

My sweet baby Andy-roo is now 7 months old.

He eats a ton! For breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He’ll have a jar of baby food and an 8oz bottle at every meal. He sits on his own. He turns on his tummy in a circle and when he’s stopped he puts out a leg like a kick stand on a bike. He loves to cuddle with me and voluntarily lay his head down on my shoulder. He will go to any one (which is so nice!) and smile and coo at whoever is holding him (the older ladies at church LOVE this!)

My husband and I celebrate our 6 year anniversary this month by sending all our children to their Grammy and P.Pa’s house while we stayed overnight at an area resort. Our room had a Jacuzzi tub and a fire place. It was so romantic! For dinner we went to the Fire House Kitchen where we enjoyed a fabulous meal. A kind gentleman paid for our dessert (we shared a chocolate mousse) and we ran into the man who photographed our wedding, who was also dinning at the same restaurant.

At the Fire House Kitchen

Our Room

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast the next morning (I should correct myself and say we went to cracker Barrel for lunch because we slept in until 9:30am!) and then we went hiking.

We found a stream and dipped our feet in it for awhile.

We had such a beautiful time alone together and I do wish it could have lasted a little longer but life does go on…

This past month I started selling Avon. So if your ever in need of makeup, lotion, or facial regimens I would be so very glad to help you.

You can visit my eStore right here: Your Avon Store

I’ve also updated the side bar under homemaking helps to be current

I would also like to ask for your prayers…My husband grandmother is in the hospital right now and she’s not doing to well. If you could keep her and our family in your prayers we would greatly appreciate it.

What a House blessing is like

2010-05-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is our Father blessing our new home!

My Strawberry Shortcake

2010-04-27T14:31:00.001-07:00

How a preschooler can slice strawberries

First, my mommy cuts off all the green leaves with a sharp knife.

Then I put the strawberry in the egg slicer like this…

Then I push down really hard on the slicer part…

After the slicer part is down all the way it makes sliced strawberries…

I put the ones that are sliced in a bowl with all the other sliced strawberries…

That’s how I make sliced strawberries…

Making sliced strawberries make my hands really sticky, see…

Yummy!!

Rainy Day Creations

2010-04-22T14:43:00.001-07:00

I’ve been wanting to make this dress for quite awhile now (it’s a free pattern that Oliver+S have) Today just happened to be a snowy/rainy day here at our house so I put the two youngest children down for their naps and gave the two older children scissors, glue, magazines and paper and I went to woke on making Autumn this dress.

This dress is just a practice round. It’s size 2T.

This the fabric I’m using for Grace’s dress

And I’m using this fabric for Autumn’s dress

Stay tuned for the finished product!

so this is love

2010-04-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am so in love with my husband, sometimes it is so unbelievable!

This past week he was on his way home and he stopped by the side of the road and picked me some wild flowers!

I’m not really a red rose kind of girl (although I do appreciate it when I’m given them). I absolutely LOVE wild flowers and if I was able to I scatter a ton of wildflower seed in my back yard and let them grow. Anyway I have to post some pictures of the humble yet beautiful bouquet that my husband picked for me.

Ch Ch Ch Change…

2010-04-18T21:43:00.001-07:00

SO many things have happened since I have last blogged about life in general, that I think you all need an update.

Let’s start with the current.

We now live only 20 minutes away from my parent-in-loves, rather than an hour away! YEAH!!!
We are now catechumens at our new church home in Prescott.
My husband starts a new job tomorrow. He’s company that he got laid off from last year so graciously hired him back. This has been completely God’s will and it’s amazing!
My little baby boy, Andrew Levi, is now 6 MONTHES OLD!!!! Can you believe that?

The mohawk by the way is home grown, not styled :) Doesn’t he have the blues baby eyes?

I hope to start blogging more on a regular basis (now that the move is over and life is settling), maybe like once a week rather than once in a blue moon :). I have been posting a lot on my photography blog, just because sometimes it’s easier to post a picture than to come up with something to say. I hope you have a blessed week.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T12:21:00.001-07:00

The Best Chicken Salad

2010-03-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-love bought me, a while ago, my favorite cookbook of all time! The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen! I just had to share one recipe out of the book with you and then you must go buy a book for your kitchen! Every recipe I have tried out of their book is absolutely to die for.

Elaine's Farm Style Chicken Salad Sandwiches

We have this usually once a week. It's a great dish to take on a picnic as well!

2 boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 tsp garlic power (I use garlic salt)

1 tsp dried basil (I use 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil)

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

3/4 cup mayo

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup sliced green onions (I personally prefer it without the green onions)

whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas (for wraps), or just salad greens (pictured above)

Cook the chicken:

Oven (slow) Method:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish with 1 cup of water.

Sprinkle the chicken with the garlic powder, basil, rosemary, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake until cooked through (My oven takes 45 min. to do this but the recipe says 25 to 30 minutes).

Remove chicken from the baking dish to a plate. When cook enough to handle, cut the chicken into bite size pieces. (go to Make the Sandwiches step)

Stove Top (fast) Method:

Place chicken breasts in a skillet with 1 cup of water.

Sprinkle the chicken with the garlic powder, basil, rosemary, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Cooked covered for 15 minutes and flip the chicken once.

Remove chicken from the skillet to a plate. When cook enough to handle, cut the chicken into bite size pieces. (go to Make the Sandwiches step)

Make the Sandwich:

While the chicken is cooling, Mix the mayo, celery, green onions, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper (you could also throw in more of the fresh basil if you are a basil fan) in a medium size bowl. Add the chicken (when chopped) and stir to coat.

Use for sandwiches (make sure to toast the bread first), chicken salad, or for wraps.

ENJOY!

Lemon Bars!

2010-03-22T13:56:00.001-07:00

I just recently made lemon bars and they were so delicious that I had to share them and the recipe with you.

Lemon Bars
Crust:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups flour

Lemon Topping:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemons
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. (I undercook mine about 5 minutes so that the lemon topping soaks into the crust a little)
In another bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the lemon juice and eggs . Pour over the baked crust.
Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. When cool sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. Enjoy!

Conquering Mount Laundry

2010-03-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

My Mountain of Laundry is very large at times and most of the time when I have to do laundry I get very depressed and angery because I get so behind and to tell you the truth i get down right selfish. I'm always trying to come up with new ways that might help me control my laundry mountain; like doing one load a day, doing all the laundry on one day, washing a load and letting my husband put it up to dry and I fold it and put it away.... Believe me I've tried everything, nothing ever really works. I am so thankful for my husband because he came up with the most wonderful method of doing our laundry and I just had to share it with you all.

As you know I have four children under five and I really can't completely give anyone of them the task of doing their own laundry yet, so this is what we do.

At night time everyone (including me and my husband) puts their PJ's, that they wore the night before, and the day clothes, that they wore that day, and puts them in the washing machine. I also put any towels that were soiled and the washcloth and towel that I used in the kitchen that day in the washing machine as well. This is one load for us.
When I go to bed I set the timer on the washer to start at 7:00am the next morning.
After breakfast, chores, and prayer time are done at our home in the morning (this is usually 9:00am) EVERYONE helps take down and put the laundry away from the day before and helps hang up the laundry that was just washed that morning.

I've been using this idea for about 2 weeks now and it has been awesome to see my children willing to help me out with something I struggle with.

A note on starting this: I first had to get caught up with the mountain of laundry before I could really put this idea into action. If you have a dryer handy it will be a total breeze to get caught up. But if you don't have a dryer keep trudging along because the end result will be wonderful and you wont be standing and hanging up laundry for what seems to be days on end :)

I also have moved all of the children's dressers into the hallway that leads to the laundry room. This solved the problem, for me, of letting clean clothes sit in piles on the sofa for years. Now when the clothes are dry I take them off the line, fold them, and put them away in one step. (if you fold the shirts and pants in half when you put them on the line to dry, you'll be practically done when you have to put them away)

Running out of fingers

2010-02-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Josiah is 5 today! I told him that next year he'll have to use both hands when he tells someone how old he is :)

For Josiah's birthday I wanted to do a scavenger hunt for him to find his presents.

He opened my card last and on the back I wrote:

Your first clue:

BOOKS

Clue: BIKE

He got a present, which was a guitar watch, and a

clue: GOODNIGHT

Clue: CLOCK

His next present was behind the clock on our mantle.

Clue: GO WASH YOUR CLOTHES

This present was from Grandma and Poppy; it was new socks!

Clue: TREE

Clue: CAR

Everyone was running to our car and there was a present, which was a game, and a

Clue: ICE

His next clue is on the box with the blue lid and it said

Clue: LOOK DOWN

So he looked down below and he saw his Monster Truck Cake that had a NEW monster truck on it.

It was half of a Dirt Cake recipe, without the gummy worms. Grace and I made it look like a monster truck show.

He thoroughly enjoyed his scavenger hunt and he thanked me (without any prompting from anyone) for making dinner and his monster truck cake!

I love you Mr. Boy!

She's Two

2010-02-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

Autumn was born two years ago today in her old bedroom in our first home.

A tradition in our home is that I make them their favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinners on their birthdays.

Autumn wanted waffles for her breakfast.

Another tradition that I do is to decorate their chair at the kitchen table with streamers and balloons. (I don't know when I started this)

I also make them a birthday cake in the way that they want it. Autumn LOVES kitty cats so that, of course, was what I made her. Can you guess what part she wanted to eat first? Yep, the eyes :)

After daddy got home from work I made her favorite supper. Caramel Apple Pork Chops!

When we were all done with supper she got to open her cards and presents (I know it's cruel to make a 2 year old to wait to open her presents till the evening). Both of the older children made a card for her from paint and glitter. Most children, when it comes to opening the cards at their birthdays, they could care the least. That's not the case with Autumn, she adored each card and oohed and aahed over them.

She got a dr. kit

Happy Birthday my baby! I love you.

Sickness... UPDATE

2010-02-11T09:44:00.001-07:00

Since the last week of January at least someone in our family has been sick with something. Please pray that our family will get healthy soon. Thank you.

::UPDATE::

This afternoon Andrew and Autumn both tested positive for RSV so I just ask that you would earnestly pray for our children.

Grace's 4th Birthday

2010-02-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

My Grace Noelle was born on February 1, 2006. She was such an easy baby and slept so wonderfully!

Today she turned 4 and is blossoming into such beautiful little lady.

Her favorite activities are coloring, crafting, and taking care of her little brother. When someone is hurt she is always right there helping me mend their hurt. Lately she has been very interested in helping me cook dinner. This week she made grilled cheese sandwiches with me coaching her, she knows how to toss a salad, and loves to help me cut up vegetables.

She's totally a girly-girl.

She loves having her hair done (which is not typical of a four year old), getting her nails painted and she loves to wear dresses. Grace's loves clothes! She gets so excited when I make her something. If I'm making something on the sewing machine she'll ask if it's a dress for her :)

Her appetite for food has changed. She no longer thrives off of bland food, like applesauce, crackers, and cheese sandwiches. She likes to eat meat now and she's the only one of my children that likes vegetables.

She loves going to the park and running carefree and finding little treasures.

She reminds me of me when I was her age ( like cooking on a camp grill with rocks and sticks).

She loves flowers!

She still loves her bunny that she has had since she was 10 months old and she also is still her Daddy's cuddle bug.

Happy Birthday Grace! I love you!

Menu Monday: Beef

2010-02-01T14:01:00.001-07:00

Sorry to be getting this up so late in the day, but it's Grace's 4th birthday today; I've been spending the day the way she wants me to.

On Sunday we had our friends over for dinner (they also have four children). Our dinner menu was:

Texas Rib-Eye Steaks (from Weber's Big Book of Grilling) we didn't grill the steaks because we didn't have any charcoal, so my husband cooked them on the stove top.

I cooked up some rolls, green beans, and Orange Julius for our drink.

For dessert our friends made some very yummy gingerbread cookies.

Texas Rib-Eye Steaks (with Chili BBQ Sauce)

For the rub

1 TBSP mixed peppercorns crushed
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder

Mix all these ingredients together and rub and press into 4 rib-eye steaks, about 3/4 lb. each and 1 to 1 1/4 in. thick.
Allow the steaks to stand at room temperature for 20-30 min. (I rub the rub on the steaks at lunch time and then put the in the fridge covered then I let them sit out a little bit before it was time to cook them)
Lightly brush both sides of the steaks with olive oil.
Grill over direct heat for 8-10 minutes; turning once during that time.
Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with the BBQ sauce.

For the sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 TSBP red wine vinegar
1 TSBP brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In a small sauce pan whisk together all the ingredients with 1/4 cup of water. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the sugar to fully dissolve and all of the flavors to blend.
Serve with the steaks.

I only got to take one photo (the spices above). By the time I remembered to take pictures the food was long gone : )

I wasn't able to get the MckLinky to work this time so just comment and link to your site in your comment if you would like to share something that you made this past week.

Next Weeks Menu Monday's Theme: PORK

Menu Monday

2010-01-25T10:40:00.001-07:00

I've decided to start something new and exciting for this blog. Each week I am going to make a full course dinner (full course dinner for our family is a main dish, side dish, a bread, a dessert and sometimes a beverage) on either a Saturday or a Sunday for my family and post the recipes with pictures and some comments about the process of making that dinner and what my family thought of the meal on the following Monday.

What started this idea?

I want to have a yummy heavy dinner that I can look forward to making once a week.
I LOVE to cook! But it is so difficult trying to cook a full course meal, or even a healthy one, with a three month old and three other children under foot. So I will be making this meal on the weekend when my husband is home to watch the children while I cook.
Websites that CHARGE for full course menus!! (Drives me crazy!)
After seven weeks of posting a dinner menu, I'll have a weeks worth of daily menus planned!!
And if other bloggers want to participate (with a MckLinky) you could, eventually, come to this blog and plan your menus for a week or a whole month!!! This would, of course, depend on how many bloggers participate.

So join me as I gather my cookbooks, plan something yummy to make this week, and I will post them next Monday with a MckLinky so that you can join in the fun!

And for the fun of it lets have a main course theme of BEEF.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2010-01-22T21:48:00.001-07:00

Northern Arizona has been making headlines this past week and here are some pictures of those headlines.

Two of the children playing and eating the snow at 7:00 in the morning.

Of course all of this is long gone by now but we still can look out of our windows and see this...

Mingus Mountain!

Three Months

2010-01-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

Andrew is three months old now. He has grown and developed so quickly I feel as though I'm in a time warp and the time just keeps going faster and faster! That's one of the reasons why I'm documenting his growth on this blog, (the other reason is because he doesn't have a baby book, but I do want to make one on Shutterfly some time.)

Andrew's growth this past month:

- He weighs 11lbs 2oz and is 24in. long

- He had his first Christmas (which most of the time he spent in Grammy's arms)

- He coos and smiles

- He has rolled from his back to his tummy a few times now.

- He loves to be held and cooed by women, but he doesn't do that for any men besides his daddy.

- He can scoot around on his back! He pushes his bottom up with his legs, while he's on his back, and some how moves his upper body. It's rather strange! :)

The weather outside is...

2010-01-15T09:29:00.001-07:00

not so frightful living in middle of Arizona right now. The snow has mostly melted off of Mingus mountain and there's hardly ever any frost on the car windows in the morning. So I will have to post a picture from Christmas morning. As we left for my parents-in-love's home there was frost on our car windows so I quick grabbed the camera out of its bag in the car and snapped some photos while my husband buckled everyone in.

The following are from Christmas time 2008 when we went on a day trip to see snow in Forest Lakes, Arizona.

Our first snowman ever!

If you haven't already you should join us at Rebecca's blog and post your foto Friday snow pictures too!

Our Blessed Christmas

2010-01-08T21:05:00.001-07:00

It's Foto Friday here again and this weeks challenge was holidays.

Christmas

This was our first Christmas ever with a fire place and a mantel! I loved it!

Our Joyful itty bitty Christmas tree.

For our Christmas we went over to my parent's-in-love home and my father-in-love made Italian Soup! It was so incredibly delicious. I think I ate three bowls of it!

He also made some peanut brittle that was simply perfect!

My mother-in-love made sprizer cookies and tasted good dipped in...

Hot Chocolate!!

We had a yummy Christmas dinner which I totally forgot to take pictures of! My father-in-love made the BEST trukey in the oven I have ever had. He had soaked the turkey in brine.

I just love their tree and all of the ornaments on it!

And there's nothing like ending the Christmas day with singing and play carols together.

Join Rebecca at her blog next week for snow pictures!

Just doing the Lords work

2010-01-07T13:12:00.001-07:00

Ever since I've started home schooling the children (Josiah started kindergarten, Grace started pre-school and Autumn started nursery school) this week I have been extremely plagued by my thoughts. Some of them are as follows:

- You can't do this with four children!

- Look at this house! How can you possible keep it clean and presentable AND home school your children.

- You've left your half of your husband's clean laundry piled up on the floor, He's going to be ashamed that you can't put his clean laundry away right after you take it off the line.

- Your husband ran out of clean underwear today all because of your laziness.

- Your kitchen would never pass food safety inspection because there's leftover dried on food on the pans and there's a humongous pile of dishes in the sink and you haven't empty the dishwasher of it's clean dishes since this weekend.

- Oh my goodness, look your tub!! Do you ever clean it?!?!

- Look your children want your attention can't you can't even pay attention to them?

- Look at you yourself! You really need to work out those love handles!

- and on and on and on it goes!

ARGH!!

I texted my mom and told her the kitchen was tormenting me. She later e-mailed me some encouraging words (which I really needed and appreciated by the way) and this poem. It is the last refrain from "Song for a 5th Child" by Ruth Hamilton.

"Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

After I read this I realized that I was trying to fit myself into this slim, tall, and attractive looking box called "The Perfect Homemaker" (whatever that is)! I was trying to please my desire to have a clean house. Don't get me wrong I really do love having a clean and attractive looking home, but do I need to have that at the expense of my children? There will always be laundry, a kitchen to clean, cobwebs to dust, and floors to wipe up, but I will not always have a little to sit on my lap and to cuddle with or a baby that needs feeding in the middle of the night or a girl that want to sit and color with me, or a boy to play ball for hours outside. If I don't appreciate now the work that God has given to me I will miss the lessons in loving my children as Christ loves me.

Last minute gift ideas, anyone?

2009-12-18T15:00:00.002-07:00

Here are a few gift ideas that can take you less than an evening from start to finish to make. I used the things I had around the house for all of the presents that I made (it would have cost me nothing , to make everything, if I had had enough poly-fil , matchboxes, and large wooden beads lying around).
Burlap dolls (you don't have to use burlap)

I had a ton of burlap that my dad got for me from a garage sale, so I used that for the dolls and for the teddy bear below. I used this pattern for the doll (I cropped this pattern on the computer and printed it out on 8.5 x 11 paper and taped it together to make it bigger) and this pattern for the dresses (I used only the front pattern for both the back and front). I sewed around the outside, because I like how the burlap frays, first on the sewing machine and then I had sewed a decorative stitch beside the machine stitch. And of course I embroidered the faces.

Burlap Teddy Bear

To make the pattern for this teddy bear, I traced around my son's teddy bear on paper. I used the same sewing technic as above except without the clothes.

I love how this one turned out!

Little Bunny Friend
Grace loves bunnies so I thought I'd make her one for Christmas.

I used this pattern that I found. The only thing I would do different is make the pattern twice as big, because it was a huge pain to sew and turn it right side out again (I almost gave up)! and DON'T use a t-shirt, like it says, because the first one I made ripped apart when I went to turn it right side out.

She even has a tail :)

Terry Cloth Kitty Cat

Autumn loves kitty cats, so this year I made her a terry cloth kitty cat. This one was a lot of fun to make. I had some old stretchy pj pants that I used and it was wonderful to work with. For some reason I couldn't get the darts in the pattern to work quite right, so I took them out and it turned out ok.

The pattern says to sew on the face when it's stuffed but I sewed this kitty cat's face on right before I stuffed it.

Josiah's Cape

Josiah is always wanting a blanket clothespined around his neck, so I make his a J cape for him for his Christmas present. I just sewed around the outside and machine appliqued the J on and made ties for the front of the cape.

Not so tiny Traveling Doll Houses

These where so much fun to make. I got the idea from this blog. She uses the little matchboxes, but I couldn't find those anywhere so I used the large ones.
This is Grace's doll for her house. I'd like to make more of these little flower petal dolls and I think I'll do a tutorial on them because I had to think for quite awhile on how to get the two beads to say together and not fall apart
and this is the bed for her dolly.
Autumn's dolly
Autumn's dolly's bed.
so what did I do with all of those matches..... I made a.....

Burnt Match Cross

I used the adult version on the DLTK website.

A Car Cozy

You can find these Car Cozies on Etsy for about $20, but I made mine for free. They are so incredibly simple to make, but I'm not going to try and explain how I made it.

I machine appliqued a road on the cozy for the cars to drive on.

and when the cars are all done driving you put them in their garages and roll them up and tie the cozy up so none of the cars fall out.

Enjoy making your last minute Christmas gifts!

2 Months Old

2009-12-16T12:25:00.001-07:00

My little baby Andrew turned 2 months last Friday. Time is a-flyn' so I thought I'd better hurry up and write his two month post.

What Andrew has learned this past month:

Likes to sit up in my lap facing out
Loves to look intently at his brother and sisters, especially Grace.
Started to learn to arch his back
He weighs 10lbs 6oz and is 23 inches long!!
He coos and smiles when I talk to him (I love it when babies start doing this! It melts my heart.)
When I get him out of bed after his naps or in the morning, if he's awake and fussing, I'll call his name from the doorway and he'll stop fussing and look around for me. Then I'll walk to his crib and say "Hi, baby." and he'll smile so big! I love having a happy baby.
He's slept through the night (11pm 10 7pm) twice this month.
He doesn't like to fall asleep in my arms anymore :(
He loves the attention he gets from everyone around him
He doesn't like to be alone. (what baby does?)

Cute Lil' Piggy Toes

2009-12-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday and it's another Foto Challenge.

Here are all my my children's piggy toes (that's what we call them here in our home)

Here are some of my favorite piggy pictures from my archives

Who needs TV when you have a...

2009-12-03T14:23:00.001-07:00

front loading clothes washer!!

After eight months of washing all of our clothes and other things on the gentle cycle (that's the only cycle that worked on my old clothes washer) My parents and grandparents surprised ( I mean I was so SURPRISED that I just broke down and cried my eyes out) me with a front loading clothes washer.

The funny thing is that when they delivered the washer, they had two for me! My parent's-in-love bought me the SAME exact one and it was delivered on the SAME exact day.

Because of the new clothes washer, our clothes are dry in less than a day now instead of two days (our dryer is electric and we have a propane hook up. It saves us money anyway to hang up clothes on the line and it lets me get a chance to get away from the noise)!

The children obviously love it and so do I!

Thank you Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, and Gail and Rich! You truly blessed me.

I've Been Busy Today

2009-12-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

I took the children's Christmas pictures today without any blood, sweat, or tears.

What do ya think?

Autumn at twenty-two months

Grace at three (almost four) years old

Josiah at four (almost five) years old

Andrew at almost 2 months old

All together now!

Foto Friday Challenge: Macro

2009-11-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

It's Friday again and that means today is the day I participate in the Foto Friday Challenge.

I love, love, love taking pictures in macro, in fact just about every picture I take is in macro, so I had to challenge myself and come up with creative ways to portray macro differently.

Here are my entries.

I love long eye lashes, probably because I don't have them, but my children do and that makes up for my lack of them :)

This is Josiah's eye

This is Grace's eye.

I love my wedding ring so I tired my hand at getting some sun flare in the macro as well. It's hard to get sun flare but I did get a little.

I've never done macro with words so I tried my hand at that as well.

You can participate in the Foto Friday Challenges as well at Rebecca's blog. The more the merrier!

Foto Friday Challenge: Leaves

2009-11-13T13:19:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across this blog, her name is Rebecca, and she has been doing Foto Friday challenges. So I thought I need to start challenging myself again with my photography and join in.

This past weeks challenge was Leaves so here are the ones I took. Enjoy!

My favorite season is Autumn, but living in Phoenix all of my life I never would see Autumn. Since we've moved up north this year, I could not wait to see and experience fall.

The first two are from the photo shoot I did of our family in Oak Creak Canyon.

This one is from our grape vines.

Grace helped my find the leaves in the last two photos.

You can join in on the challenges as well, just visit Rebecca's blog and watch for the Foto Friday posts!

One Month Old

2009-11-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Andrew will be one month old! I cannot believe how much time flies now! One would think that living in a small town in the country would make time slow way down, but it doesn't; it goes so much faster!

Andrew is such a sweet bundle of joy and he has, so far, been the easiest baby that I've had.

What Andrew did this past month:

Andrew can now hold his head up (sometimes) without it wobbling about.

On Monday he caught my eye and I smiled really big at him and he smiled a huge smile right back at me and he even got excited!

Obviously, he can breast feed really well now and it doesn't hurt me anymore.

He eats between every 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

He sleeps incredibly well and most of the time he falls asleep on his own in his bed (and sometimes without having to cry it out).

He has been to both of his grandparents homes. He even got to sleep on Grandma and Poppy's bed.

He was baptized into the family of Christ on November 1, 2009 (All Saint's day)

He weighs 9 lbs!!

Andrew's Birth Story

Andrew was due to be born on October 9th 2009. My husband and I had been praying (and a lot of other people had been as well) that he would come on this day. The way that we saw it, this was the only day that would work with the scheduling of my husbands work (he works an hour a way from our home and his parents and my midwife were an hour away as well), so to go into labor during the week day would have been stressful on me and my husband and the baby could have come when I would be all by myself with the other three children.

But on the evening of October 9th I started the early labor process. For me ,early labor isn't really labor at all. The contractions are very easy to get through, so I thought maybe I would see the baby that night. That's not what God had in mind! That Friday night I really hadn't slept hardly at all, just mostly dosed off and on between contractions. Saturday morning (October 10th) came and I was still having those early labor contractions, so I asked my husband if we could go to the park and walk around (walking helps baby's get into position), and we did, but nothing happened. All day I was fearful that something might be wrong, why wasn't this progressing like the other children's labors did? But I knew there was nothing wrong because I had had an ultrasound the day before and everything looked wonderful. So I just prayed and tried to catch up on lost sleep because I knew I needed to rest up for the labor, but I just couldn't sleep. Later, around 4:00 in the afternoon, I had a contraction that was different, so I had my husband call his parent's to let them know what the scoop was on my laboring and to be ready to come and pick up the children. Nothing really progressed after that. As the sun was setting that day, we thought it might be best to have my husbands parents come pick up the children just incase my labor did progress and so the children wouldn't be there to hear it and be frightened of it.

When my mother and father-in-love arrived, my very sweet mother-in-love gave me the most wonderful foot massage that I have ever had! And then she gave Autumn a foot massage too. It is so hard for me when my children have to leave me when I'm going to have another baby. I feel like I let them down and should be there to be their mother, but I'm torn between wanting to see my new baby and wanting to love on the children I already have. It is such a weird feeling to describe and it has happened with all of my children (except for Josiah because he's the oldest and didn't have any siblings before him). What made the separation even worse was that Autumn, my then little baby, didn't want to hug me or kiss me good bye and it about tore me to pieces.

After my mother and father-in-love left with the children my husband and I just sat and talked. After awhile, we decided that we should go to bed and come together as husband and wife, just in case it was going to be the last time and to see if it would jump start my labor. Boy! If one ever wants to jump start their labor, they just have to do what got them that way (pregnant) in the first place :) My active labor started at 8:00pm in FULL FORCE! My husband called the doula to come check me and I was at 4cm. The doula called the midwife to come and when she arrived about 45 minutes later I was at 9cm and I had gone through transition! So I hopped into the birthing pool We all thought the baby was going to come flying out, but, after checking me, the midwife found that my cervix was stuck at 9cm because the lip of it wouldn't budge to let the baby move down. The midwife suggested that I move to the bed so that she could help me move my cervix.

I've had two on the bed births and two water births and labored in the water for all four of them. For those of you who have labored completely on your back I don't know how you do it!! Such pain is so indescribable!! While my midwife was trying to help me all I knew was that I wanted to be back in the warm water and to be left alone! I think my midwife sensed this and after this point she just left me alone to do my own thing.

Finally the urge came push!! The baby's head must have been small because after I pushed his head out it felt like the head went back in, but the midwife said "Push more! Push more! You've just got to get the shoulders out!!" I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear those words! It was going to be over soon and I would have my baby! After another push the baby was out and in my arms. Oh the sweet joy to see something that God had made and helped me and held me in His hands to deliver me from. This may sound strange and weird, but I think I understand clearly now what the return of my Lord will be like and how hard it will seem to go on and to live for Him. One cannot know the day that they will see their Savoir, they don't know how long the "labor pains" will last, but all they do know is that He is coming and what sweet peace they will have to be held in His arms and be told,"My lovely bride". Then they will remember the pain no more!

Andrew Levi was born on October 11, 2009 at 12:53am. My active labor was only five hours! And I'm so thankful that that's all it was :)

A Nasty Little Weed

2009-11-06T13:39:00.001-07:00

We just happen to have the most nastiest little weed that grows in our back yard. I have no idea what it is called, but what I do know are the effect of it when it is touched.

When this weed is alive the stalks are red like the one in the picture above and the pokey things are green, like the one in the picture below. When the weed dies everything turns a light brown color.

The plant its self is about two and a half feet tall and it has little leaves at the base of it.

One day, a couple of months ago, my husband and the children were in our backyard trying to conquer the weeds that were growing in abundance. All of the sudden Autumn started screaming and rubbing one of her eyes and saying owie!!! We thought maybe some sand got into her eye but as I watched it the area around her eye was getting swollen and red and her tear ducts were going crazy; sending out tears to wash out whatever was in her eye. After about an hour her tear ducts calmed down and she was back to playing but the area around her eye was still swollen. As a mother I know that sand does not cause the skin around the eye to swell so I was puzzled as to what it was that had gotten into her eye.

When my husband was cleaning up the leftover dried up weeds that were in our garden in October, his hands started itching and swelling, just as the skin around Autumn's eye had done. The only weed that was in our garden was this nasty little weed. I cannot imagine getting ,whatever causes the itching from this plant, in my eye. So from now on everyone has learned to stay away from this plant and to never let it touch your skin and especially your eyes.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Baby feet are so adorable! I just can't get over Andrew's cute piggy toes!

Andrew is Jesus Little Lamb

2009-11-01T20:06:00.001-07:00

This morning we celebrated Andrew being baptized into the family of Christ.

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 19:14 (ESV)

Dearest Jesus, We are here

Dearest Jesus, we are here,

Gladly your command obeying;

With this child we now draw near

In response to your own saying

That to you it shall be given

As a child and heir of heaven

Lord, your Word is clear and plain,

And we will obey it duly:

"He who is not born again,

Heart and life renewing truly,

Born of water and the Spirit,

Can my kingdom not inherit."

Therefore we have come to you,

In our arms this infant bearing.

Here we shall forgiveness view,

May this child your mercy sharing,

In your arms be shielded ever,

Yours on earth and yours forever.

Gracious Head, your member own;

Shepherd, take your lamb and feed it;

Prince of Peace, make here your throne,

Way of Life, to heaven lead it.

Precious Vine, let nothing sever

From your side this branch forever.

Taken from Christian Worship Hymnal pg. 295

Back in the saddle again

2009-10-25T21:21:00.001-07:00

Today we took our first ever trip together as a family of six. We went to Oak Creek Canyon before it was too late to see fall. And I even was able to take our first family pictures of us! My favorite season is fall so to see all of the beautiful trees turning and to be in the woods with a slight chill in the air was heaven for me.

Not only did I need a break from the everyday grind, the children needed it as well. They were SO happy to be running around in the woods!

And here are our first EVER family pictures of all SIX of us

One Week Old

2009-10-18T20:59:00.001-07:00

Today Andrew is one week old! He is just starting to be awake just a little bit more.

Aren't his piggies cute?

Last night I gave him his first bath...

He didn't like it very much.

Isn't this so precious?

The boys hanging out together. Josiah was so excited when he came home to see Andrew for the first time. He loves him so much!

I have four children!!

2009-10-13T20:16:00.001-07:00

Andrew Levi

2009-10-11T20:25:00.001-07:00

Introducing...Andrew Levi McNeeley, born today at 12:52 AM, weighing in at 7 lbs, 12oz.

The Verde River Again?!

2009-09-29T13:41:00.001-07:00

We live near the Verde River in Arizona and lately I've been longing to be near it and just take in the outdoors. I think it has something to do with me almost at my time of labor and knowing that I wont be able to enjoy and hike around the river when I have a little one to be attending too. So this past weekend we spent a lot of time near the river and hiked.

On Saturday, Arizona was having it's annual free admission to any state park and museum day. Being penniless, we took advantage of the opportunity to visit Dead Horse State Park.

This is were I hope we can take our Christmas picture at. The foliage frames everything so nice. and if you move to the bottom step you have this view, which is the next picture.

At the top of the stairs they were getting ready to have a Civil War reenactment.

They had a tent set up with some of the things you would see in the 1800's. Like

Civil War guns that you have to reload after each fire,

Pretty wicker baskets filled with yummy treats,

Books that I want in my library,

and women dressed up in my favorite time period of clothing.

The Confederate solders.

The Union soldiers.

Hummmm... Looks like a Confederate playing for the other team.

Yep, that's what it looks like.

On Sunday, we went to our favorite park and had hot dogs, Coleslaw, and Macaroni salad.

The children had fun having freedom to just run!

Children eating cookies after dinner.

I hope that next time I blog it will be about the new little one joining our family.

A prayer for a mother in labor

2009-09-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

I received this prayer in my home-birthing kit and I didn't want to loose it, so I'm writing it on here. I cried when I read it (but I cry at anything these days).

Dear Father,

thank You for this new baby.

Would you protect and nurture this baby and bring this pregnancy to full term.

In labor, would You remove all fear and replace it with faith and expectation.

Please give those attending the birth wisdom to take the best care of mother and baby.

Please let this baby be born normal and whole, healthy and strong, and at home with no complications with baby or mother.

Father, thank you for hearing my prayer, for I pray in the name of Him who is called

Wonderful,

Counselor,

The Mighty God,

The Everlasting Father,

The Prince of Peace.

Amen

By Donna Wilson

Do you ever get that feeling....

2009-09-18T15:44:00.001-07:00

like someone, or in this case, something, is watching you?

This little guy has made it's home outside our laundry room door. He loves to sit on the window and watch me hang up laundry.

Do you have the Joy?

2009-09-07T20:19:00.001-07:00

Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child shall not enter it.

Mark 10:14-15

Oh, Just... whatever.

2009-09-04T21:50:00.001-07:00

The Adventures in Grace

2009-09-02T14:21:00.001-07:00

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Last Wednesday morning, (8/26) about 8:00, after I had just gotten out of the shower, I hear Grace SCREAMING at my bathroom door. I quickly opened the door and notice that there is blood all over her hand. For her, this is a usual occurrence, that is,to have blood somewhere on her, because she is always getting a bloody nose (just like her mother did when she was her age). I brought her over to the tub to wash the blood off, but one part wouldn't wash off! I thought "Oh my goodness! It's not a bloody nose, She's almost cut her thumb off!" I quickly ran and got her a towel to put pressure on it while I threw my clothes on and grabbed the other two children out of their beds and threw their shoes on them. I tried to call my husband but I just left a message telling him we were going to the hospital and that I'd try and call him sometime and that I couldn't find my cell phone. And then we were out the door to the hospital. I want to know why they make Emergency Rooms SO hard to find?! Where we live the ER is down a side road in the back of the hospital. But I did find it eventually. When I did find it they told me that my other two children, Josiah and Autumn would not be allowed to come back to the ER because it is flu season and that, if I don't have anyone to come and watch them, then they would get a volunteer to watch them.

What?! Here I am with three children and I'm eight months pregnant with my fourth child. I'm new to the town and only have one friend, who just happens to have four children of her own (and I don't have her number) with me), and I cannot get in touch with my husband and they expect my children to stay with some stranger, who I don't even know, for who knows how long!? Please, Lord, Just let my husband show up.

I must have given the nurse, that checked Grace in, a overwhelmed-bewildered look, because the next thing she said was "You know what? Let me go talk to the manager about letting all you guys stay together." Thank God for a generous managers and no runny noses for the children!

Once we were ALL in the ER they gave Grace some Tylenol for her pain while we waited for the doctor to see her. By this time I realized that none of us had eaten breakfast and I started wondering the usual mom things, like I wonder if I have any change in my purse for the vending machines and where they might be if the hospital did have vending machines and how would I possible get to them without leaving anyone alone? But God always supply's, in someway, for our simplest needs. A nurse came in and was so amazed that all of my children were so well behaved and she asked me if I wouldn't mind if she gave them some apple juice. So we had apple juice for breakfast.

The doctor that Grace had was so wonderful. I've never ever had a nice, relaxed doctor in the ER before. He examined Grace's thumb and told me that he's going to need to numb her thumb up to actually get down and see what is really going on. I so much wished that I could have taken her place or maybe just have held her to soothe her, when they had to give her the numbing shot. But once her thumb was numb and the doctor was actually able to look around he saw that she was still in pain and that her thumb was cut below the nail and to the bone. I was going to have to take her two hours away to see a hand specialist at another hospital. By this time it was 11:00am.

Ok, Lord, how am I going to do this? So I asked one of the nurses if there was a phone that I could use and there was. So I started calling my husband over and over again. I did tell him I would call him sometime. I don't know how many times I redialed his number, but the last time I redialed I just left him a message with an update on what was happening and that I really needed him there. That's all that I could do. So now my prayer was; Lord, show me what to do and please provide, like you have and always will, a way. I don't know how many times I prayed that but, the next time the nurse came in she brought in the phone and said I had a call!! Praise the Lord, It's my husband!

That's when I totally lost it. I just wanted him to be there and be the strength that I didn't have. Through sobs I told him what was going on and he told me that he hadn't received my first message from earlier in the morning until then and that he was 30 minutes away and would be there as soon as he could.

So to make this incredibly long story short.

- I took the children to my friends house when my husband arrived at the hospital.

- We did go to the other hospital that was two hours away to get Grace's thumb operated on.

- I never ever want to see another child of mine under conscious sedation.

- After Grace's operation she finally could eat something, and she really wanted strawberries (which is her favorite thing to eat) so we took her to a near by Jack-in-the-Box and got her some food and a strawberry smoothie.

- The day ended at 10:30pm

- Grace's thumb is now intact and healing beautifully in a cast.

- Oh, and by the way, never slam a door when there are fingers where the door is hung, because now we know what happens.

- Note to self: Remember, God is my strength in times of weakness, not my husband.

Grace and her not-so-much-loved cast "playing" in the rain.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T12:37:00.001-07:00

How to keep a toddler occupied, for 45 minutes, during dinner prep.

Creamy Chicken & Chile Enchiladas

2009-08-31T13:20:00.001-07:00

I cannot find this recipe anywhere except on the can that the enchilada sauce comes in, So I thought I'd put it on here before I was never able to find the recipe again. I have never been a huge fan of enchiladas until I made this. I'm making this on Friday so I'll try to remember to take a picture and put it on here for you all.

Creamy Chicken & Chile Enchiladas

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 20 min. Ready in: 30 min. Servings: 6

Ingredients

1lb cooked & diced boneless chicken breasts
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 4.5oz can of chopped green chilies
12 flour tortillas
2 10oz cans green chile enchilada sauce
shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
Warm up cooked and diced chicken, cream cheese and green chilies in a pan (or if you're running out of time, warm it up in the microwave) until cream cheese is melted.
Spoon chicken filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.

Daybook Wednesday, August 19, 2009

2009-08-19T14:23:00.001-07:00

Outside my Window...It's a little breeze, warm (95 degrees) and birds are eating from the bird feeder that my mommy-in-love gave me.
From the teacher's desk... Josiah is learning the sounds of the letters and can read the words man, ran, fan, and Sam by himself. He's also practicing writing the letters m, a. n, f, s and his name. I am using Word Mastery by Florance Akin (you'll need Adobe to view the book). Grace is currently working through a workbook that I got at Wal-mart. It has just a mixture of everything in it. She wants to do what Josiah is doing (she is learning the sounds of the letters, but not writing them yet) but she is just not mentally or physically read for that yet. Autumn is my little side kick when it comes to school time. She likes to sort things and make a very big messes (which helps in teaching her how to clean up) and she loves to color.

I am thankful for... My husband, my children, where I live, and the job that my husband has.
One meal on the menu this week... I'm going to give you two meals!
Last night I made Pacific Rim Wraps with Creamy Citrus Dressing from Nestle's Very Best Baking website. I didn't have cranberries or almonds or sugar snap peas so I mixed in Mozzarella cheese and peas from the freezer. While I was mixing up the dressing I wasn't to sure about what it would taste like, but I shouldn't have worried it was SO yummy!
Tomorrow night we are having our friends from church over to have hamburgers and hot dogs. I'm planning on making Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad from AllRecipes.com.
I am wearing... gym shorts and a gray and white stripped top.
I am reading... Sherlock Holmes yes still, but I am on volume two.
I am praying for... this baby to come on Friday, October 9th in the evening or that weekend. It would be so much less complicated and scary if it happened that way.
Bible verse of the week... Our memory verse this week to go along with our word of the week Helpful
Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
I am creating... nothing right now just working on keeping the house clean.
Reflection of last weeks happenings... Tiring
What's happening this week... Friends over tomorrow night and going to Prescott for a midwife appointment.
One of my favorite things... the sunlight in the evening.
Here is a picture(s) I thought I'd share with you... just some random pictures from the past couple of weekends.

These were taken at our local park

Finding rolly pollies with Daddy

Ring around the rosy with Daddy.

I <3 Faces Week 32: Bubbles

2009-08-17T21:02:00.003-07:00

Here is my first entry in the I <3 Faces photography blog. The theme, of course, is bubbles. Josiah has been learning how to blow BIG bubbles just like mommy!

Verde River Fun

2009-08-11T13:43:00.001-07:00

This past weekend my Mother and my Brother came up from the valley to spend the night at our home. We took them to see the "sights" of our area that we live in.

I forgot to tell him to put his arms down when I told him to smile :)

My brother Shane is on the left.

My mother holding Autumn.

The most wonderful husband in the world!

And what trip to the Verde River wouldn't be complete without some wildlife! This rattlesnakes head is facing the orange rock at the top right of the picture.

No longer a baby!

2009-07-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

My littlest, Autumn, is no longer a baby. I want to cry!

Stop and smell the flowers

2009-07-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

27 Weeks, Josiah's learning, and a paid vacation?

2009-07-10T13:32:00.001-07:00

This pregnancy is going way, way, way to fast for me. I hardly feel connected to my little baby bump, but God will supply the love that I need for this baby and I will love this little one like I love the other three little children that I have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josiah is leaning to read, write, and draw actual pictures! It's amazing! Oh and he is even learning how to write his name! For those of you who wanted to know I'm using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

See the grasshopper he drew at the bottom?

He drew a picture of people holding happy face balloons.

He LOVES coloring on the white board.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So how do I explain being paid to go on vacation....?

As most of you know earlier this year my husband was laid off and he took a job up in northern Arizona (I say up because we lived in the valley) and we moved our family up there. For about three months now he hasn't really been getting much income (but when he has it has totally been the Lords doing) because, who wants to buy a roof or windows when they can hardly make enough money too. So basically we've been scraping by and living on our savings, that we so wisely saved up. He was offered a job to work for a Armored Truck company and he decided that we've had enough of the living off of no paycheck thing, so he took the job and has paid training this coming week and the week after. The cool part is that he gets to take his family with him on his training and the company is paying for the hotel (which just happens to be a resort!). This is many prayers answered in one!! When my husband first applied for the Armored Truck company and he had an interview, I prayed that this job would be the way that God would provide the financial, physical, and emotional break that we needed as a family. Isn't God amazing?!?!

So I am happy and oh so excited for this all around break from the past three month and that there is a benefit to it all.

Next time I'll be posting about our vacation!

Summer is Here!

2009-07-03T14:13:00.001-07:00

Look what bloomed yesterday!!

Our sunflowers this year are enormous!! This one was the first to bloom. The tallest one, right now, is about 9 feet high! Obviously the bees are loving them.

A Picture post

2009-06-25T14:05:00.001-07:00

For my 26th birthday, June 15th, my husband took the day off from work to shower me with love and attention.

Nothing like not having to cook breakfast in the morning and eating a cinnamon roll doughnut.

My husband took us all up Mingus mountain and we had a picnic.

We played on fallen trees and stopped to smell the flowers along the way.

We even took a family picture!!

My husband tried his hand a whittling and made a happy face :)

We then went to catch some beautiful views of the Verde Valley.

I wish I had gotten to take a picture of the dinner that my husband made me. He is not one that is a professional in the kitchen, but he made me the most tastiest dinner. I am so proud of him!! He even went so far as to make me a brownie cake!!

HE MADE THIS!!! It was so yummy!

We then played pin the tail on the donkey.

I had such a wonderful relaxing day and I completely enjoyed!

Thank you, my dear husband, for making my day special.

Just a little something to brighten your day

2009-06-12T20:56:00.001-07:00

Autumn singing a solo.

Crawdads, Corn, & Children

2009-06-08T15:01:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-love, Gail, told me that I needed to write in my blog again. So here I am, being a good little daughter-in-love, and obeying :)

Let me see...

On Saturday I took the kids to the Arizona Crawdad Festival, where my husband had a booth set up for his work. I didn't get to take any pictures because, well, I had three kids to watch after, but there were plenty of moments that were perfect and we made memories together. We ate some delicious $5 BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (the crawdads where $15 for 5 lbs and I really dislike them so we didn't eat them) and some homemade chocolate ice cream. My husband told me he had some alligator-on-a-stick to eat. Some lady gave my husband one of those 5lb pans to take home FULL of crawdads.

I love Sundays around here. I try to make it stress free and have all of my chores done, the house clean, and the yard picked up by Saturday evening. Sundays are the only days that my husband gets to take off from work, so this is a MUST for me to do.

[He feels that Sunday is his day to play catch up. He tries to fit too much in and doesn't relax (which is what he really needs) and ends up being so frustrated and annoyed that there aren't enough hours in the day to do what he wants to get done. My Husband is such a hard worker and when he comes home I just want him to be relaxed.]

We "surprised" the children by putting a crawdad on each of their breakfast plates. Josiah gave a funny grin, Grace said she didn't want it and Autumn looked at us like do I have to eat that? It was so funny! And we did give them regular breakfast food :)

After church us girls had some pancakes (which reminds me that I NEED to put that recipe on here. They are so good!) for lunch, while the boys had their crawdads.

What a brave girl! :)

This is what Autumn thought of them! (her yucky face)

This is how many the boys ate. (Josiah lined them up after eating them)

Oh, and do you know what you are supposed to do with crawdads after you eat them?!

At one of my husbands appointments a couple of weeks ago, a very generous man gave us some homemade concentrate compost tea to use in our garden. So after our very long Sunday afternoon naps, we got up to put it on our highly fragrant rose bushes, watermelon and on our dozen corn sprouts.

After tending to the garden we all felt like having a picnic. So we packed everyone up and went to the Horsey park (an area park that is next to a horse ranch) and ate some pizza and cherry limeades from Sonic. After dinner the kids caught some frogs and snails in the bushes and climbed up the gianormase trees in the park.

See, now aren't Sundays so relaxing in the country?

I'll leave you with sweet peas.

For Sale

2009-05-28T14:43:00.002-07:00

Just stopping by to let my readers know that I am know selling my photography on my Etsy Shop . Please stop by and say hi!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
thisislife.etsy.com

Just a reminder to...

2009-05-24T20:54:00.001-07:00

At the half way mark!

2009-05-22T13:06:00.001-07:00

Today I am 20 weeks!! Can you believe that? I can't.

Mother's Day

2009-05-09T20:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's day to my Mommy, to my Mommy-in-law, to my Grandma, and to any other mommies that read my blog.

Parmesan Pizza Crust

2009-04-30T22:08:00.001-07:00

Prep: (without children underfoot): 20min + rising Bake: 20min. Makes: 2 9in pizzas (this feeds 2 toddlers, 1 preschooler, and 2 adults)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP sugar
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.

2. In a large mixing bowl mix together the bisquick, cheese, sugar, 1 TBSP of oil, Italian seasoning, and 1 cup flour. Mix in the yeast water. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 min. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the cop. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 min.

4. Punch dough down; divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 9 in circle, transfer to to pizza pans that are coated with cooking spray. Prick dough thoroughly with a fork; brush with remaining oil (I always run out of oil so use more if you do run out for both pizzas).

5. Bake at 400 degrees for eight minutes or until lightly browned. Spread with desired sauce and toppings. Bake for 10-12 minutes longer or until cheese melts.

Spring has sprung

2009-04-28T21:23:00.001-07:00

Just a picture post of spring time in our neck of the woods.

Caution: Blind Curves Ahead

2009-04-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

It has been such a nice break from posting on here and, to be honest, I haven't missed it that much. But I will keep on posting because because sometimes I get an itch to write and because of the new circumstances in our lives.

Last time I wrote I announced that my husband was laid off from his job. As of March 20th, exactly 5 weeks from being laid off, he was offered a job. Now this job just happened to be 2 hours away from my parents (also 2 hours away from were we lived) and 1 hour away from his parents. So to make a long story short all was said and done (like finding a house to live in, signing a lease for the house, packing, and moving) in a week (this was completely God's timing) and he started work on March 30th.

Can I say completely EXAHSTING!!

This move is/was so hard on all of us. So many memories that happened in our old house. So many friends that we had made, such as our wonderful neighbors across the street. Josiah even said that he misses his big blue room and doesn't like his new small room. So many family get together's that we will be absent at. And a cat, that my husband and I have had since we had been engaged, to leave behind. I am missing everything familiar. But this is were God wants us to be, out of our comfort zone, taking us out of our molds and shaping us in a different environment. Using us for His kingdom.

Me and my husband's dream has always been to live in a small town, live on a good size land, and live some place where it is a lot cooler than the Valley. I have prayed earnestly for that. I thought that that prayer would be answered maybe when we were "retired", but God has answered that prayer sooner than I expected it. So this new job, new house, AND new town is so bittersweet for me in the sense that it requires me to live somewhere where I know no one and somewhere were I can raise my children in the fresh cool air, in a laid back style of a small town, and where evil is so much more hidden for my children's eyes.

I will leave you will a couple of picture from the area around our new home.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:23:00.001-07:00

This is what we woke up to this morning! Easter snow on Mingus Mountain!

The children's Easter pictures (thank you Grammy for their beautiful outfits!) This is the first try!

Josiah's saying "ok lady, that's enough! I've got things to do!"

These are at home, the second try.

2009-03-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

A new journey has begun

2009-02-21T11:16:00.001-07:00

Well it finally happened yesterday. My husband, after four years, was let go. His job was extremely expendable and, the way the economy has been going, we've been expecting it.

Here are some verses that have popped in my head this morning.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of you faith developers perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, than I am strong

This thought occurred to me yesterday, as I took the children on a walk.

One really cannot know what will happen in a hour or in a day.

One can get so used to living thinking that everything is in their power. That their job will be there tomorrow. That their lives will go on forever. That there will always be money in the bank and that there will always be food to eat. This just goes to show that God IS completely in control of everything. He provides for us, His lowly creatures, everything we will ever need. One must be satisfied with that and considerate PURE JOY to lose everything. I cannot say that I'm jumping for joy that my husband lost his job, but I am joyful in the fact that my God WILL provide, just as He always has in our life, and that we will get to witness him working in our lives.

Brownies

2009-02-12T13:17:00.001-07:00

Tara's Favorite Brownies

Prep. 20 Min. Bake: 25-30min. Oven: 350 degrees F Makes: 16 servings.

Ingredients:

8oz semisweet chocolate (I use semisweet chocolate chips)
3 TBSP butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8 pan* with foil so that it extends half way up the pan sides. Grease foil. Set pan aside.
In a large sauce pan cook and stir the chocolate and butter over low heat until chocolate and butter melts. Remove from heat and let cool.
Meanwhile; In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy Add the sugar, water, and vanilla; beat for 5 minutes of until mixture is thick and lemon colored. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until completely combined.
Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 min. or until edges of the brownies start to just pull away from the sides of the pan.

* I like my brownies a wee bit undercooked and thick, but you can use a 13x9x2 inch pan if you prefer your brownies that way. I have never tried this recipe that way so you'll need to watch those brownies when their cooking; Maybe cook them for 45min.

#4

2009-02-09T13:01:00.002-07:00

We found out this past weekend that we are...

This sweet little bundle of joy will be due to arrive on October 9, 2009

Also check out my new photography blog

Herbs: Garlic (the herb that started it all)

2009-02-05T15:39:00.001-07:00

Note: I am by no means a doctor, a nurse, or a master herbalist. The ideas and suggestions that follow are not intended as a substitutions for the medical advice of a trained health care professional. These are my own trail and errors of the herbs that work for our family.

A couple of years ago I became very interested in the use of herbs for an alternative for ordinary sicknesses, like the common cold, the flu, and head aches/migraines; things of that nature. I really don't like taking prescriptions or over the counter medicines unless its absolutely needed and herbs would actually not help at all.

GARLIC

This herb interested me in herbs

Garlic Allium sativum: Is high in Vitamin B6 and C. It's a natural antioxidant and is shown, in my family and in my parents family, to prevent sicknesses.

Garlic Poultice (this article first got me interested in garlic): I have seen this work wonders in our family. it has heal everything from ear aches in the children, to swollen lump nodes in my husband, to my canker sores that I get every once in awhile.

How we make a poultice:

lay out a double thick paper towel (you will be putting the garlic in it)
Break of 2 to 3 cloves from the bulb (for children I use 1 clove as it can burn their skin very easily) and remove the papery skin.
Crush the cloves, with either a bottom of a glass, the side of a butcher knife or in a garlic press.
Place the crushed cloves in the center of the paper towel and wrap it up (this is the poultice)
(Now you are going to prepare the poultice to use) Put warm water from the tap in a shallow bowl and place the poultice in the water for 5 seconds; remove poultice from the bowl and squeeze out the water.
Place immediately on desired spot. (On a swollen lump node, on the outside of the ears, on the bottoms of the feet (alternating every 30 seconds for 4 reps), back, or chest. Just Note that when you do place this on the skin it will burn so I normally wait until I feel the burn and I take the poultice off for about a minute and place it back on the desired spot.
You can use this as much as you want. When I feel a mouth canker sore coming on I use the poultice to relive the pain of it (placed on the outside of my mouth) and when I feel the pain coming back I make another poultice

Garlic Oil: My mom has been known to put garlic oil in our ears, when my brother and sister where young. We would complain of being sick and we would never get sick because of her putting oil in our ears. I use garlic oil in infant ears because the poultice is a little to strong for baby skin. I get my garlic oil at the nearest Sunflower Farmers Market, but it is available in just about every health food store.

Sites to Visit: Garlic Central, Bulk Herb Store

Happy Birthday Grace!

2009-02-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Today is my little Gracie-girls birthday and she will be three. And to commemorate her birthday I would like to share a poem that I wrote.

Grace

My sweet little Grace

you are so beautiful

From the day you were born

you have shown me how to show grace to others

You are so kind and caring

You help out when you aren't even asked too

I am so overjoyed that God showed me His grace

by blessing my life with you.

I love you very dearly

my little girl.

Graces Baby Book

2009-01-29T15:40:00.001-07:00

View Project at Shutterfly

Anyone up for an update?

2009-01-07T15:45:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this post will probably be very random, so I'll apologize before hand.

Quote from the movie Into Great Silence that I thought explained why church symbols are so important to keep.

If you abolish the symbols, then you tear down the walls of your own house... When we abolish the [symbols], we lose our orientation. Instead we should search for their meaning.

This quote brought to my mind the following. Some of the symbols in the Lutheran church are the liturgy, Advent Wreath, the church year; such as Lent, Advent, Easter, Pentecost. Other "simple" symbols are baptism, communion, the altar, the altar clothing and the vestments. If my church would abolish these symbols, I know (from experience) that I would loose my orientation. If my pastor (God forbid) failed to feed the congregation both the Law and the Gospel in his sermon, we would still be given that "food" through the liturgy. If the celebrations throughout the church year were abolished would the congregation ever ponder the sufferings and death of their Savior (Hebrews 12:2), such as one is to do during Lent? Would the congregation forget that their pastor serves them as God's representative if he only wears Hawaiian shirt and jeans at the altar (what would have happened if Aaron had worn a Hawaiian shirt and jeans going into the Most Holy of Holies, in the Old Testament)? On the surface these symbols may seem out of date, old fashioned, and, dare I say, boring; but before a church throws them all out the pastor AND the congregation should search their meanings out. They may find out that they love the old, boring, out-of-date symbols even more than they did before.

Me. I obviously have not been blogging very much. I am sorry! Life get's so fast sometimes and before I know it I haven't sat and written anything for awhile. I do love to write, it's just finding the time to sit in front of this here computer to get it all out of my head. I have been writing in a journal and sometime I do post something from my journal like I did above.

My Husband. He was off of work from Christmas eve until the 5th of January. I did enjoy him being home for so long. He was able to spend time with the children and of course with his wife :)

Josiah. Has been learning how to "draw" on the computer. I taught him how to use the mouse and he has so much fun with it. He is getting so tall! He's about five inches above my elbow tall. I cannot believe that he will be four next month. Was it really that long ago that I birthed him? He's also becoming more territorial with his room and who can go in it :)

Grace. She is my little helper. I was going through my box of craft/sewing projects in my craft room and she came in and started helping me and asking about what everything was. She and Autumn are sharing a room now (no, there are no babies in our forecast) and she loves having a companion to be by her. So far it has been working out wonderfully. She will be 3 soon!

Autumn. She's walking!!!! She started walking a week before Christmas. That is her main mode of transportation. She's still my cuddle bug (I hope she never grows out of that). I've also have been noticing that she likes to comfort Josiah or Grace, and even me if we are crying or upset. It's so cute. She loves to talk on her phone! She will be one next month.

Random pictures of our month.

I wish this was a view of our backyard. We went up North to see snow before it melted.

Daybook Monday, December 1, 2008

2008-12-01T21:39:00.001-07:00

Outside my Window...It's dark and it's 62 degrees. I haven't been able to get in front of the computer all day.

From the teacher's desk... Josiah and Grace are going to be learning this week front, back, below, and above.They will also be tracing lines from left to right.

I am thankful for... to be back in the swing of things!

One meal on the menu this week... Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I am wearing... A teal skirt, a pink shirt, and hair in a pony tail

I am reading... nothing right now

I am praying for... faith

Bible verse of the week... 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge - because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

I am creating... I have one item on my gift list to finish and then I'll be done! Maybe I'll write a post on what I've been making.

I am hearing... The clock ticking.

Reflection of last weeks happenings... Lots of yummy food. Wonderful fellowship. Lots of laughs. Enjoying my husband while he had four days off of work. Watching my children grow right before my eyes.

What's happening this week... I got most of the house decorate today except the Christmas tree, which we will get on the 13th. My husband and I get to go on another evening date. We are going to go stocking stuffer shopping and getting some coffee/hot chocolate.

One of my favorite things... baby laughter

What's new with the children... Josiah. I love this boy to pieces. He's at that age where he tries so hard to act "grown up" but at other times he just acts like he is a three year old (which he is).

It's so hard for me to remember that Grace is just two and that I shouldn't expect her to do things that her brother can do. I forget that they are not the same age sometimes. She has been way into coloring. She actually colors the pictures and she tries to stay in the lines.

Autumn is just starting to walk along furniture and she can go from sitting to standing without holding on to anything. She likes flowers, kitty cats (she can say our cats name, Jack), and any stuffed animal.

Here is a picture(s) I thought I'd share with you...

It rained on Wednesday last week and when it rains the children know it means that they get to make a tent!

Today is my sister's 19th birthday!

2008-11-24T17:13:00.001-07:00

Before this week gets to much busier I just wanted to wish every one a

Happy Thanksgiving

Daybook Monday, November 17, 2008

2008-11-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

Outside my Window...Kids are playing outside as usual. The washer is doing a jig with Josiah's clothes :)

From the teacher's desk... We just got done learning about over and under and tomorrow and for the rest of the week we'll be learning inside and outside and front and back. I've been noticing that Josiah get really bored with what we have been learning so today I added another worksheet for him today and he's learning to draw left to right.

I am thankful for... yummy tea that makes my sore throat feel good.

One meal on the menu this week... My husband and I love bell peppers so while I was planning the meal plan for this week I came across Stuffed Peppers recipe. It calls for textured vegetable protein. I have no idea were to find that because I have never seen it while grocery shopping so I will be substituting it with shredded chicken.

I am wearing... A white skirt with blue, teal, and yellow flowers on it, green shirt, bare feet, and hair in a braid.

I am reading... nothing right now

I am praying for... For churches in America to forsake the fads that they follow and cling only to the gospel.

Bible verse of the week... Psalm 84:10b-12 I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed in the man who trusts in you.

I am creating... Just finishing up all of the Christmas presents and gearing up for Thanksgiving.

I am hearing... The children jabbering to each other.

Reflection of last weeks happenings... hmm.. The date that my husband and I went on was so wonderful and peaceful. We went to an art walk and the to Oregano's for buffalo wings and their cookie dessert. I got sick on Friday and had no energy to keep the house in order. I just have a stuffy nose now. Saturday we all went up North to visit with my parents-in-love and with a couple we used to go to church with. Oh and Josiah's Dr. said that he looks perfect so I am very thankful for that.

What's happening this week... I'm focusing on organizing my families Thanksgiving dinner this week

One of my favorite things... A clean kitchen

What's new with the children... Autumn is starting to be so independent that I think I'm going to cry. She also turned 9 months on Sunday. Josiah and Grace like to drink hot chocolate and they call it their coffee :) This morning Josiah said he wanted a Starbucks (he has never had a Starbucks by the way).

Here is a picture(s) I thought I'd share with you...

Aunt Brianne did Grace's fingers and toes this past weekend

Josiah and Grace did my hair on Friday. Isn't it lovely!? and Photographer Josiah took the picture.

Daybook Monday, November 10, 2008

2008-11-10T10:45:00.001-07:00

Outside my Window... I'm sitting in the kitchen typing this while the children are playing outside in the cool 59 degree weather.

I am thinking... that I can't wait for tonight.

From the teacher's desk... We are going to be learning On and Off.

I am thankful for... the hard working husband that I have.

One meal on the menu this week... Grilled Honey Mustard Brats

I am wearing... Let's not talk about that but I do have my hair down for once

I am reading... The Other Side of Love by Gary Chapman

I am praying for... Lots of things

Bible verse of the week... Ephesians 4:26 Be angry and do not sin.

I am creating... I found instructions for making dolls out of ankle socks! They are so adorable. I am making both Autumn and Grace one for Christmas

I am hearing... The children jabbering to each other.

Reflection of last weeks happenings... Sometimes I get so lost with were to begin cleaning the house that I just don't do anything about it. But I remembered FlyLady this time and she helped me get back on track.

What's happening this week... Surprising my Husband with a date, Josiah has a Dr. appointment and we are going to go up north to visit my parents-in-loves and see some friends that are dearly loved.

One of my favorite things... Seeing my children love each other

What's new with the children... Josiah went to go see a reconstructive surgeon last week to just check up on his head and he said that he might have a small fracture on his nose bone and to check up with his pediatrician. Grace is a drama queen :). Autumn is so tolerant of her brother and sister

Here is a picture(s) I thought I'd share with you...

A mother's touch of love

2008-11-07T20:58:00.001-07:00

Note: When I see posts of different blogs that I read and theirs is as long as this one that I have written, I have to admit that most of the time I save them to read later but then I never actually read them because I forget. If you have a hard time expressing your love to your child(ren), then please read this post. It is written for your encouragement and it is very personal. I know it is long but I feel that it will be worth a reading.

My daughter Grace is very emotionally attached to a stuffed animal that we call Bunny (because that is what it is, a bunny). I have nothing against having a lovey or whatever you want to call it. Now Grace does this special thing with her mouth to one ear (and only one ear) of her Bunny. I cannot describe how she does it so I will call it kissing (even though that is not what she is doing to her Bunny's ear).

Now that I have explained her Bunny I am going to explain something about me, but keep reading, this will all make sense , hopefully, in the end :).

My Love Language, the way I show love and the way I know others love me, is Words of Affirmation. This means I show others that I love and appreciate them by encouraging them or complimenting them on something that they have done and vice versa. There are five love languages, and everyone, including little children, has some degree of all of them. My degrees of the love languages are as follows (in order from the highest degree to the lowest) 1. Words of Affirmation, 2. Quality Time, 3. Gift Giving, 4. Touch, and 5. Acts of Service.

Next I will explain the birth experiences I have had with my three children.

I had Josiah in a Birthing Center. I had a long labor and spent 3 hours learning how to push him out. I had a midwife that I did not like and she always seemed to be uneasy about everything. After Josiah had finally come out he, of course, was exhausted and needed to be put on oxygen right away. This took place across the room which, I realize now, could have instead taken place in the warmth and comfort of his mother's arms rather than on a cold changing table. After he was cleared from the oxygen tubes I was to breast feed him, but because he, and I, were so exhausted he would not latch on and the nurse told us that my husband needed to go to the store (after a long labor and hours of helping me push) and buy him some formula because he was STARVING (what I found out later is that the placenta gives the baby an extra boost of food just before it comes out, so they can survive awhile with out being fed). After he was finally "fed" the nurse would not leave and kept talking to us and did not let us enjoy our new addition to our family. Three months after Josiah was born we found out that we were going to be expecting our second. I was devastated. I had JUST done this!! I wanted to enjoy my baby that I had just had! Grace's labor and delivery (at the birthing center again) was a total of six hours. When I arrived at the birthing center the nurse was late so I had to sit in the waiting room that was full of other patients for an hour, In active labor mind you, and try to not be noisy with my labor noises. I had a midwife that I had never met before (because I went into labor on her shift) She was nice but it's kind of weird to allow someone that you have never met before help you with something this personal. After I had birthed Grace I was starving and my husband went to get us some food. While he was gone I didn't hold her or talk to her or anything. And this I regret very much now. Grace didn't gain very much weight when she was a baby and even now she is still small for her age. I hardly ever wrote in her baby book. Now Autumn's birth was absolutely AMAZING! I had her in her bedroom in a blow up kiddy pool in three hours. I had a Christian midwife who was SO encouraging through my whole pregnancy. She helped me become a thinking pregnant woman. She let me do things MY way and she let me be in charge of my labor. She believed in me. She let my husband be my husband by letting him help me with everything. Oh I could go on and on about how much this woman meant to me. But one thing she told me to do, as soon as Autumn was born, was to hold my baby close and love on her. And I think because of this positive and absolutely wonderful experience of a birth I have come to realize how I am to love a child. I feel that I, Josiah, and Grace were cheated out of this beautiful connection of touch immediately after birth. And that lack of connection still affects me to this day in the way that I show my love towards them.

Now that you have all this background information I will tell you about my experience of learning how to love.

Grace's love language is touch and I have a hard time expressing love to her in her language and don't really know how to speak her language to her because it is almost the last thing on my list of languages. I am not saying that I don't love her. I do love her so, so dearly. But I do not know how to express my love to her in her language, rather than in mine, so that she will know and understand it. I think, because of how my attitude was towards her pregnancy with her and not touching her after her birth, it is hard for me to show her that I loved her because never could and didn't know how. After realizing that her love language was touch I have slowly become aware of what her Bunny means to her. Her bunny is the replacement for the touch of love that I am to show her. Because of my lacking in showing affection towards her in her language she gets the touch that she needs from her Bunny and is satisfied. What an error I have made. I am so glad that I was able to experience a birth like Autumn's because if I didn't would Grace have grown up and still be kissing her bunny at the age of 16? I doubt it. But I do think, if I hadn't noticed, she would have gone looking for the touch of love that I was supposed to give her in other dreadful places. Bunny now sits on Grace's dresser and is only for her to have in her bedroom and when she is sleeping. I notice now when she needs to be touched, because she will get grouchy and mean towards her brother and sister. The first day I took her bunny away she cried so hard for it. But I knew that moment was my opportunity to love on her and touch her because that was what she needed. I am now slowly learning how to love with the sense of touch and am realizing that a mother's touch cannot and should not be replaced by anyone or anything.

Daybook Monday November 3, 2008

2008-11-03T14:46:00.001-07:00

Outside my Window... Birds are singing and it's only 82 degrees, but I do have the AC on because there is no breeze to move the air through the house

I am thinking... I need to upload some pictures to my facebook.

From the teacher's desk... We are going to be learning Top and Bottom this week

I am thankful for... Our home and the things that God provided for us to put in it.

One meal on the menu this week... The best taco salad that I have ever tasted. Hearty Taco Salad. I didn't have any taco seasoning but I did have Mrs. Dash's Southwest Chipotle seasoning on hand so I used that instead and I used one cap full.

I am wearing... Pink shirt, jean skirt, bare feet, and my hair in a bun as always

I am reading... Still reading Louisa May Alcott

I am praying for... Faith to trust in God's all knowing knowledge.

Bible verse of the week... Galatians 5:1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. KJV

I am creating... I haven't touched anything that I have been working on all week last week. I really need to get things finished.

I am hearing... It's peaceful right now because all of the children are taking their naps.

Reflection of last weeks happenings... For our Halloween we gave out candy, which was gone in an hour, and I had my mom, brother, sister and her friend come over for a Reformation Celebration. For dinner we had Papal Bull, which just happened to taste just like sloppy joes. Jonathan gave a quick history lesson of the Reformation. Then we made Stain Glass Windows and we were Ancient Scribes. For dessert we had a Diet of Worms cake. After everyone left and the children were in bed Jonathan and I watched Luther.

What's happening this week... The Elections : )

One of my favorite things... Taking pictures!

What's new with the children... Josiah fell last night and hit his head on a piece of furniture in Grace's room. His head was instantly swollen and kept swelling so Jonathan took him to the ER but he was released with an OK. He's just tired today but acting normal. Grace's was so worried about him last night and kept asking where he was. Autumn learned to sign milk this week.

Here is a picture(s) I thought I'd share with you...

My little Cornucopian trolls

Our pumpkin that Grace de-seeded, Josiah drew, and Jonathan carved.

Daybook Monday October 27, 2008

2008-10-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

Outside my Window... It's 90 degrees and a tad bit to hot

I am thinking... May be I should let the children go swimming one more time this year

From the teacher's desk... We are going to be learning Up and Down this week and I'm going to incorporate some things about Fall.

I am thankful for... Blueberry green tea

One meal on the menu this week... Baked Potato Soup

I am wearing... Yellow shirt, hair in a bun, jean skirt and bear feet

I am reading... Still reading Louisa May Alcott

I am praying for... The election

Bible verse of the week... Psalm 92

1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,

2 to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,

3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

5 How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!

6 The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand,

7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.

8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

9 For surely your enemies, O LORD,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.

10 You have exalted my horn ^[a] like that of a wild ox;
fine oils have been poured upon me.

11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

13 planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,

15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

I am creating... I'm almost done with Josiah's Sock Monkey and now I'm working on Jonathan's Christmas present (I can't tell you what it is because he reads my blog)

I am hearing... The AC running and the wind chimes blowing in the breeze.

Reflection of last weeks happenings... See What's happening this week

What's happening this week... Not quite sure what we are going to do for Halloween. This verse run in my head when I think about just going with the flow and doing what every one else will be doing on that day. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every from of evil. I'm still researching and talking to my husband about what we should do. Should we "celebrate" Halloween or should we have a Reformation Party (because we are Lutheran)? I'll let you know what we did next week

One of my favorite things... Baby cuddles

What's new with the children... Autumn can sign more.

Here is a picture(s) I thought I'd share with you... What do you get when you put two toddlers, a 8 month old, a laundry basket and a camera together?