Eden turns 11 months

Eden turned 11 months old on Tuesday, the 21st. She is crawling all over the place and pulling up on furniture (finally!). I still don't know if she will be walking by 1, but that's okay! Here are a few cute pictures of her. Also, Tommy turns 3 tomorrow!! I can't believe it! I'll put up some bday pics for him after that. Today we are taking Celeste over to the community college to find her classes because she starts tomorrow. Wow! I can't believe it! I'm very proud of my high school student earning college credit. She's so smart!

A recent picture

This is Eden (almost 11 months!), me, and Tommy (who turns 3 next week!).

I have another great blog post for you to see. It's from my momys friend, Amy Scott. Her blog is just a wonderful masterpiece. (Quite unlike mine!)

Today we're doing some school, running some errands, and Jamie is getting a hair cut. (Believe me, he needs one!) Saturday we'll be driving to Orlando to visit my friend, Valerie, and her family. Last year we had babies 5 weeks apart. Her daughter is turning one, so we're going for the party. We haven't seen each other since May, so it will be nice to go! I'll try to post some more pictures and updates soon.

An encouraging word

We have just started our homeschooling year today. I'm doing a slow start week. It's very hectic! I was quickly checking some things and found this post on Girltalk. It was very encouraging to me. Much of what we do as Christian, homeschooling mommies is among the mundane. Your reward is in heaven, Ladies! Reread all of Psalm 127. And while you're at it, if you homeschool, read Deut. 6, too!

I have LOTS to do, so I need to go! My heart is here with you, but my children are needing my attention in this current season. Blessings!

Wedding Meme

My friend over at Olive tree just did this in honor of her anniversary. I thought it would be fun to do it, too! I've been thinking about what to do for our 10th anniversary this December.

1. Where/How did you meet? We met at a police Christmas party. My brother, a sgt. at the time, invited me. Stu's roommate was on the squad, but Stu is not a police officer.

2. How long have you known each other? 10 years, 8 months

3. How long after you met did you start dating? Right away! We were quite taken with each other.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? 4 months

5. How long was your engagement? about 7 1/2 months

6. How long have you been married? It will be 10 years this December.

7. What is your anniversary? December 6th (Love that Christmas Wedding!)

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? Best guess would be about 90.

9. What kind of cake did you serve? It was yummy regular wedding cake made by an awesome local lady. Just beautiful and delicious! We had a chocolate groom's cake, too.

10. Where was your wedding? At First Baptist Church

11. What did you serve for your meal? We just had snacks as our wedding was in the afternoon. We paid for the wedding ourselves, so we were trying to keep it light.

12. How many people were in your wedding party? There were just 4 (2 of my friends and 2 of Stu's) and then Celeste was the flower girl and Jamie was the ringbearer.

13. Are you still friends with them all? We are still in contact, but don't really have close relationships any more.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? Yes, I think we both did.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? After the wedding, back at the bed and breakfast our whole wedding party was staying at, Stu was just so sweet to me. It was all decorated for Christmas and just beautiful. It was so good to finally be married.

16. Any funny moments? My son, the ringbearer, practically ran down the aisle and plopped himself in someone's lap when he reached the front of the church. He was 3 1/2.

17. Any big disasters?Not a one.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We never had a honeymoon. We had one night at the bed and breakfast. I would love to have one some day.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? The location of the reception. I couldn't book where I wanted it.

21. Greatest strength as a couple? We're committed to our relationship. We've been through hard times in many ways, but have stuck it out and are still in love.

22. Greatest challenge as a couple? Not enough time alone to enjoy each other.

24. Describe your wedding dress. It was long-sleeved and off-white. My friend beaded it for me. It was just beautiful! (I'll try to add a picture)

25. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Roses that were flame-tipped.

26. Are your wedding bands engraved? Mine is not, but his is. It says "One of Two" on the inside.

(The pics at the top of the post are: Our little wedding party, Stuart in his tux, Me and my little brother, Me in my dress, and Jamie.)

I am sitting here in a moment of relative silence. (If you don't count the toddler who's waving his baby sister's blanket in my face and saying, "This was Eden's," over and over.) We are going to pick Celeste and Jamie up at the airport this evening. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. My family will be whole again. I feel like I can get on with my life now. Summers are always a mini-depression for me. It's hard to adjust to having them gone. It's not like they grew up and moved out. That will be different. I am just praising God today that I will enjoy their company once again!

Goings on: Eden has not been sleeping well at night. She's been up a lot. I think my milk supply may have fallen off. Or it could be just a growth spurt. I increased her solid food intake in the hopes that she just needs more calories. I don't want to stop nursing now. She is 10 1/2 months, so I'm not ready yet. (I've never gotten past 3 months, so this is amazing!)

Toddler is now dancing on his sister's blanket in front of me and exclaiming, "Ow, ow!" I don't know why. We'll be starting school probably on August 13th. I need to get more books, but am waiting on closings. Please pray for my husband's business. The Lord has certainly blessed us with several new home listings, but we need for them to sell in order to support the family. I covet your prayers! Okay, off I go to get ready for the big kids!

I'm just hanging out biding my time until my family is all together again. Celeste and Jamie will be home in 1 week! Yahoo! (That's what we say in the south when we're excited.) No one has come down with chicken pox yet and it's been 15 days now. I'm still hopeful, though. Also, I have lost 4.5 pounds in the past 3 weeks. Not nearly what I wanted, but it's progress. I had to back off a little bit because my dieting was dinging the milk supply for Eden. Slow and steady will be fine! I don't know how long I'll be nursing. Check back with me when she gets her two front teeth---ahhh! Eden turned 10 months old last Saturday. She is crawling all over the house "combat style." It's very cute! She is still a wonderful baby with an easy temperament. PTL! I'm washing the big kids' bed linens and thinking of this time next week. I've been reading in the book of Job lately. It's good. I need to work on perseverance and patience--especially with my younger children. I'm also thinking about doing some commenting on home school curriculum I have used. When I can formulate some concrete thought one evening, I'll take a stab at it. Toodaloo!

Celeste & Jamie

Celeste and Jamie are coming home in 12 days! Yay! Here are 2 pictures. Celeste's friend, Karyn, flew up and visited for an entire week. They went to the Arch, the Zoo, Imo's pizza, the movies, etc. Also, there's a great pic of Jamie and Celeste together. I miss them SO much!

Sarasota Trip

It's been a week, but I wanted to post some pics from our trip to Sarasota last week. There are so many! I'll put a few here and here is a link to all the rest. Enjoy!

Of course, life is very busy and time gets away from me. The good news, for me anyway, is that my big kids will be home in 3 weeks! I can make it that long, I suppose! And there's no bad news. Well, other than I exposed my children to chicken pox yesterday. Yes, on purpose. It's so much better to get it young and have a natural immunity. We'll deal with it if it happens. I had them when I was about 9. Weird thing, we were on a family vacation when I came down with them and neither of my 2 brothers got them. And we rode in the car from FL to Iowa together. You never know, do you? Well, we're off to visit my parents for the weekend. My boys are hoping to make it to the beach. I'll try to post pics when we get back. TTFN!

Memories...

Here is a picture of me from college. (I'm the one in the flowery dress.) I have a goal to lose weight--10 pounds by the time the kids come home in 3 1/2 weeks. Of course, I have a lot more to lose than that! This is my inspiration. Great picture! Those were the days!

Sometimes you feel like a nut

About a week ago I posted about some of my favorite things. I mentioned boiled peanuts. Well, Stu stopped at a roadside stand yesterday and bought 2 bags of them. Woo hoo! So we ate the first bag up, yum! We're just going to hang around home today. Stu's parents are coming to visit the children. His mother is undergoing chemo. Since everyone is currently well, she can come over. Please pray for her. She is 78 years old and is fighting cancer a second time. Now it's time for me to go feed Eden some breakfast! TTFN!

Blurry

As I sit here looking at the screen I am thinking it's a little blurred. Okay, only with my left eye. I picked up contacts today after not wearing them for 10 years. I suffer from terribly dry eyes, so many years ago quit wearing them. Well, wouldn't you know it, my Optometrist is out of town until July 9th. This is a sample pair that they had to order. Anyway, the R is comfortable and clear. The left is blurry and feels like there's a rock in it. I go p/u another pair next week--different brand. Maybe that'll be better.

Anyhoo, I'm going scrapbooking tonight. It's the first time in 6 months. Way overdue! I have a feeling my hubby is going to be home late, though. Bummer! I need to go feed Eden. She's crying at me from her jump up. Have a super weekend!

Out with the old...

Our old stinkin' washer...
The Sears guys bring in my new one this morning...YAY!
My new Kenmore Elite HE2 Plus!

This is a little review by me, your above average (with family of 8) consumer. In December of 2004 we moved into our new home. At this time, I purchased a new washer and dryer. They are both Fisher & Paykel Ecosmart units. Over time we were having many problems with the washer. It would leave streaks of black on our clothes. It turns out it was build up on the inside of the stainless steel drum. I had to use Cascade dishwasher detergent to clean it out periodically. Also, I have replaced at least a dozen shirts in the past year because simple stains would not come out. (Read: clothes are not getting clean.) Fast forward to going almost full time with cloth diapers for Eden. I tried everything to get the smells out and it just wasn't working. I realized several things after examining the wash cycles of the F&P: It only uses cold water on the cycles (except permanent press), it doesn't fill up over the clothes even if you set it to do so, it only rinses the clothing for 1-2 minutes! Then I went and read reviews on Epinions. Oh my goodness! SO...my husband bought me a new HE2 washer that was on SUPER sale at Sears. WOO HOO!

Things that make me happy...

Okay, I am trying to concentrate on thankfulness today. If I don't, then I may have a complete and total meltdown. Here are some things that make me happy:

Boiled peanuts
Giggling babies
taking pictures and making slideshows
Scrapbooking
playing card games
Reeses
A good glass of champagne
Hummingbirds
Going to the movies
Sleep
The Beach
Hugs

Giveaway

Check out the cool giveaway at 5 minutes for mom. There is a link in my sidebar, but I don't think it's working, so use the one here! It's for an ice cream maker and bowls...kewl!!

9 months old today!

Eden Joy is 9 months old today! Oh, how the time just flies by us! She is such a delight for me. Currently, Eden is not crawling, but rolls around and scooches a bit. Also, she only has 1 tooth--she's had it for about 6-7 weeks. That second tooth should be in soon...I can feel it. I took her in for a check up this morning and here are her stats:

15 pounds, 13 ounces (10th percentile)
27.5 inches (50th percentile)
45 cm head (75th percentile)

We can see that she is obviously doing a lot of work in the brain area right now. I am hoping this means she'll be a smart one--read: easy to home school! She is my smallest baby ever. So petite! Other goings on are: Tommy has been sick the past couple of days. He had a high fever yesterday (103) and is eating very little. He's a bit better today. Dan and Max are bored, of course. We've been doing a little school here and there. We miss Celeste and Jamie terribly. (Momma cries.) They are at a camp this week in IL, so we can't even speak with them. 6 weeks to go until they come home. Hope you have a blessed Thursday!

Joy Inexpressible '07

Just got back from the Sovereign Grace Ladies' Retreat in Orlando--Joy Inexpressible. Had fun...wish you were there! Very tired now... Will try to blog more this week! I will post a link to the wonderful messages on how to have Joy in Christ when they are up. Smiles! Your hope is in the Lord!

**Update: the messages from Joy Inexpressible are available now. Go here to find them!

News

I've been following the story of the Morrisons and their sextuplets. The babies were born very early (just under 23 weeks gestation) on Sunday (my birthday!). Please be praying for their well-being. You can find the story here.

It's my 39th birthday. I am thankful for many things:

*My hubby, Stuart
*All of my precious children--they are truly gifts from God Himself
*My Savior, Jesus Christ
*Hummingbird feeders, Vera Bradley wallets, and a good steak dinner on the grill at home!

It's also my younger brother's birthday. His name is Jamie and he's 36 today. I hope to reach him by phone. I love you Jamie!! Thank you, God, for the gift of life You have given me. May I use it to glorify Your Name.

Last Day

Celeste and Jamie leave today for the summer.

They are headed for a week at Disney and then back

to St. Louis. Please pray for safe travel for them and

for their Mom not to be too sad...

Just a quick note to let you know that I've been getting ready to send my older children off for the summer. They go to spend time with their father in the St. Louis, MO area. Celeste and Jamie will be leaving on Friday around noon. Their family is taking a Disney vacation, so for the first time they will be picked up here in North FL. Things have been crazy (as usual). Maybe I'll have more time to blog late at night after my littles go to sleep--or early in the morning! Please pray for me. Life changes dramatically overnight when my teens (Wow, I have 2 now!) are not here and the adjustment is not always smooth. Dan, Max, and Tommy miss their big sister and brother a lot. It's hard for them. I need ideas to keep a toddler busy. Anything would be appreciated!

Happy 13th Birthday, Jamie!

Today is my oldest son's 13th birthday! I can't believe it! Now I have 2 teenagers in the house. We had a party for him last night. We cooked out and the boys (14 of them) shot off water balloons, played football Frisbee, and ran around with squirt guns.

Stats:

Clifford James

Born June 2nd, 1994

9 lbs., 2 oz.

21 inches

We named him C.J., but in 2nd grade he changed his name to Jamie. Also, I was induced 5 days early because my first baby was 9 1/2 pounds. I love you, Jamie!

Renewing our strength

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40: 28-31

Please join me in praying for Nattie, a fellow member of Women at Home (sidebar). She has inoperable stomach cancer, is a single mother of 2, and needs your fervent prayers.

Orlando Quick Trip

We went to visit my best friend, Valerie, in Orlando yesterday. It was a last minute thing. She has 5 children and I have 6. There were 3 additional friends over to make a house full of 14 children. (10 in the pool!) I made a little video of our little trip. I can't get it to post to Blogger, so you have to go here to see it!

Never Dream of It

Being a home schooling mother of many has its challenges. I have had a very hard time finding balance in my life since the arrival of baby Eden--who is a delight! I'm always trying to improve my approach to schooling and home life in a wise way that is pleasing to the Lord. Many times I fail miserably. Thank God for Jesus' saving grace! Girl Talk had a wonderful post a couple days ago that really encouraged and renewed me. The message was very simple, but profound. Read it here and just trust Him with the details. Our children are such gifts to us!

Bully Bully

Here are a couple pics Jamie took of Eden yesterday. He just loves her to bits! She turned 8 months old on Monday. I can't believe it. It's going too fast! She makes a cute little "bully" face frequently. He caught her doing it. Blessings!

God's plans, not ours

Check this out! I have been following their blog, too! And praying for them!

Oops, I forgot one! This one is done in "retro" color.

Girls' Day Out

Yesterday we had a girls' day. Celeste, Eden, and I spent most of the day together. Celeste had a well check and tetanus shot (she hates me now) in preparation for dual enrollment in August. A note: I don't normally do vaccinations, but tetanus is one we have decided to do. When I have time, maybe I'll do a post on this very controversial subject. We had lunch together at the mall, got our pictures done, and shopped a little. It was wonderful to spend a day with my girls!

Party On

Here are a few pictures of Celeste's party. It was a very fun time! They built the human pyramid at the Movie Gallery--ha! (Eli and Tyler were on the lower level.) Also, here is Celeste with close friend, Karyn. Life has been crazy around here, but I think I always say that. I'm in this season where I'm almost constantly overwhelmed with things. A couple of my children need to work on behavior and attitude issues. This has been weighing on me. Also, we have one going off to dual enrollment (at least part time) and I have a baby that's almost 8 months old. Life is a balancing act.

Please pray for my mother, Marilan Douglass. She has COPD and some serious mental health issues. She almost died this week and is currently on a respirator, has pneumonia, and is in the ICU. My brothers went down to see her yesterday, but because of my family responsibilities I could not go. She made a wonderful improvement yesterday (was writing notes to them on paper) which I believe is from prayer. Thanks!

Car Keys?!?

Today we are celebrating my daughter's 16th birthday! We are having a scavenger hunt and yummy bbq. There will be a dozen teenagers coming over. And my Dad is coming in from Sarasota. He's one of the drivers. It should be a fun time! Here are a few pictures of Celeste over the years and then now! I don't feel old enough to have a child driving. Wow, I guess time does fly by!

I'm struggling a bit right now. Being a mother of 6 children and home schooling can be challenging. I feel spread very thin. Please pray for me. I am having a very difficult time. Thanks...

We had some outside fun on Saturday. Stu and I got new sprinklers from Home Depot. The kids wanted to play in them...ALL the kids! They had fun and the dog (Jack Russell Terrier named Chipper) even had a good time! Here's Eden waiting for me to feed her. So cute!

Babies!

Congratulations go out to 2 of my friends. Misty had baby Simon on Friday, May 4th. He weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces. What a beautiful baby! He has 2 older brothers and 2 older sisters. Also, Stephanie had a 3rd baby girl early morning on May 5th. Her name is Elizabeth. She weighed 10 pounds, 10 ounces! Congratulations ladies! God has truly blessed your families! Now go get some sleep before those babies decide it's party time.

Psalm 128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Some pictures

Pearly Whites

Okay, so I'm excited. I wake up this morning and nurse Eden. I checked in her mouth to see if there were any teeth and behold, she has one just coming in on the bottom left! She will be so cute! I'm sure the other one is not far behind. Eden is 7 1/2 months old now. I think she is ready for food...we'll try again with her. She kept puking up baby food, so I took a break for awhile. Oh, Stu just reminded me that Max lost his first tooth this week. It was his bottom left, too! Symmetry! Have a great Friday!

Life goes on

Okay, as a mother of 6 I am having a hard time keeping up with everything! School is almost out...we're wrapping up our year. We've been busy concentrating on studies. I have 2 birthday parties to throw this month. Celeste is turning 16 and Jamie is turning 13. Two big ones! I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. Nursing the baby is time to relax, but I miss out on doing other stuff. With the price of gas going up I see us staying home more. My suburban only gets 13mpg. Ack! The price of a large family seems to go up. It's mostly in the gas and food that it's hitting us right now. It's all so depressing. And Jamie and Celeste will be gone for the summer soon...

My thoughts are out of order and jumbled today. Sorry about that!