Happy Valentine's Day!

A Favorite Valentine Memory

In 1987 I was living in the sorority house (Sigma Kappa, UF). One of my sisters came upstairs to tell me there was a really cute guy downstairs with flowers for me. I wasn't dating anyone at the time, so I was like, "Wow!" What a sweet surprise it was when I went downstairs and there stood my older brother, Ed! He had a card and some flowers for me (and a big hug!). Then he treated me to lunch. You're the best, Ed!

5 Things About Me

Amanda over at Moving Forward suggested I write 5 things about me. I'll just say that you may not know them. Off we go:

1. I grew up in Sarasota, FL. My senior year I went to the beach almost every day after school. (I got out before 1 p.m.) I love to scuba dive and anything to do with the boats, oceans, fishes, etc. I haven't been diving since 1990.

2. I have been married twice. My two oldest children, now 17 and 14, are from my 1st marriage.

3. I have been a hostess, sales clerk, store manager, teacher (3 years special ed), doctor's assistant, weight loss counselor for Jenny Craig, medical office manager, and a wife, mother, & home schooler. Wife and mom are my favorite "jobs!"

4. I am a major night owl. Typically, I am up until one in the morning. It's my time to get work done, enjoy some quiet, and unwind from each day.

5. Max says he likes the food I make. Cooking is not my favorite thing! Doesn't food taste better when you don't have to make it? I love to eat out! Okay, the real #5 is that I couldn't live without music. Music is such a gift from the Lord! It lifts my spirits and inspires me.

If you want to know a little more you can look at the 100 Things About Me in my sidebar. I'm just not that exciting. I am a Mom Just Like You...

Dinner

Dinner tonight was interesting. You know you live in a large family when... First of all, my hubby was at a meeting and Celeste was at work. That leaves 7 of us. Evidently, it was the crazy 7. Jamie is getting the last drink. He is serving lemonade to Tommy and the pitcher just explodes (somehow) and lemonade goes everywhere. There's sticky on counter tops, cabinets, floor, etc. Jamie tries to "mop" it up with a dishtowel that only spreads it further. By the time he sat down he was flustered. During dinner Tommy, 4, and Eden, 2, are making random noises and humming. At the same time, I am attempting to feed Joshua with my left hand while I eat with my right. He is babbling and screeching in between each bite. The older kids give me this look. I think we live in a "zoo" sometimes. Looking back it was funny. After dinner Jamie goes to get the mop to clean up. It has been sitting on the back porch in the bucket for 10 days. Not using that mop! Hands and knees got it done right, though. Stu came home and told me to get away. Needless to say, a trip to Starbuck's and the grocery store saved me from a lobotomy, lol!

Great Bloggy Give-Away

My friend, Amanda, over at Moving Forward is giving away a $25 in Usborne books AND a set of personalized note cards from The Note House. Go check it out!!!

Monday has been a challenge. It's no wonder I don't care for Mondays! My hubby just took Dan and Max to baseball try-outs. They will be on 2 different teams this year. While baseball has been a fun sport, I'm not looking forward to the differing schedules I'm sure they'll have. Jamie is currently practicing with the track team, too. Celeste is working, a lot, and taking 4 classes at the community college. We almost never see her! Tommy, Eden, and Joshua are tagging along with mommy and just being little--life is good.

Valentine's this week. It's nice to show your friends and family you love them. I am always overwhelmed by holidays such as this. I'm hoping to love on my family that day. Stu and I need some couple time. I'm praying for that to happen this week!

Max turned 8 this week. I will never forget he was 10 pounds, 5 ounces at birth! Maximillian Isaiah is appropriately named. :)
Joshua, this morning, just being cute. (9.5 months old)

I thought I lived in Florida...

You know, I thought I lived in Florida. Today the high is 45 degrees and the low is 16. Yes, you saw that right SIXTEEN! It's downright cold here. No worries, though, because it never lasts long. My 9 year old, Dan, loves to check on the weather. We found a wonderful site that has tons of weather information about every locale. Go to the Weather Underground. Once there you can mark favorites and keep track of the weather all over the country. It's fun!

Yesterday was one of those days I would rather forget. Try nearly 4 hours in doctors' offices and 1.5 hours in transit and 15 minutes home in between... All of this with 5-6 children. No, don't try it because I already have and it's the type of stuff that makes your brain explode. Enough said. Have a super Wednesday! This week it's my favorite day.

Life is Full

I am currently reading aloud Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The boys are really enjoying it! This evening, at the end of the 3rd chapter, they were clamoring for more. But alas, it was already past bedtime. I am surprised at how much I am enjoying reading to them. We have really learned a lot about life in the late 1800's. So tonight I am feeling very blessed to be in my centrally-heated, cozy home instead of the 40 below weather in Almonzo's era with wood-burning stoves. We are trying a new approach to our homeschooling. It's more of a Charlotte Mason approach. I need something I can involve all of the children in; something that accommodates everyone here. Otherwise it can be crazy! In addition, we are using Remember Me Pockets for February from CurrClick. This is a fun and inexpensive "unit" study to do this month. We enjoyed doing some Groundhog Day activities today and learning about Laura Ingalls Wilder. There's more than we can do this month and it was only $4.99!

Also, a fun announcement: My good friend, Chris, had her 8th baby on Friday! She's a girl and so beautiful. Hop on over to Joyful Mother and take a gander. Congratulations to Chris, Donnie, and the whole family!! Jesus has surely blessed you!

For Today

--It started with a migraine. Yuck! Thankfully, Dan and Max were good with the younger kids while I rested my head for a little while.
--Joshua awoke at 6:20 a.m. for the 2nd day in a row. I think he's still "off" from me being gone over the weekend.
--Tommy is running through the kitchen and into the family room in a loop, over and over.
--Home school is complete for the day. (Certain children complained when schooling. You know who you are!)
--It's frozen pizza night. We have care group. LOVE those people!
--Celeste is getting ready for work and just got home from her classes at the college.
--Jamie is at a friend's house.
--The weather is dreary. I want a crisp, cold winter day. (Not too likely in FL!)
--Eden and Joshua are napping at the same time!!!! I need to go be productive... C YA!

A picture thought with Max

Math Helps!

Today we used 2 wonderful math helps. In order to practice his times tables, Dan likes to go to Multiplication.com. He really enjoys playing the trial version of a game called Timez attack. This is a free download. There are many other games to choose from on this site, also.

Then, today, Max was learning subtraction with borrowing. We found this short little video that really helped him to understand it. Base ten blocks would be wonderful to have. I may have to get some soon! It's going to take a lot of practice, but I think he'll get it.

A picture thought I'm sharing...

You can never have too much fun in the bath!

Fight the Freedom of Choice Act

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Please go to Fight FOCA and sign the petition. In addition, get involved and contact your state representative and congressman.

"Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." Genesis 1:26-31

Weight loss note: I just finished my first week on Weight Watchers and have lost 5.8 pounds. Woo Hoo! Today starts another week. I'm not as hungry today. Praise the Lord!

In which Eden gets her ears pierced...

She cried for only a minute and now Eden has cute little ears just like her friend, Jill. Celeste was a sport while holding Eden on her lap. The lollipop was quite a treat as E had never had one before. After 4 boys in a row, we're being girlie around here.

I'm doing Weight Watchers right now. I would start a weight loss blog, but I wouldn't want to bore anyone ;)! My good friend, Tara, and I are spurring each other on. I feel like I spend every day hungry, but maybe that will pass. I'll try to keep you up-to-date on how it's going. This week has a been a little rough with Sara's Memorial Service and our crazy schedule.

Joshua has his 9 month well check today. I will add info to his blog later today.

What's going on here

I've been up into the wee hours the past several nights working on a scrapbook for my mother-in-law, Sara, who went to be with Jesus on December 21st. My fil asked me to do it for the memorial service that's this weekend. It has been a trip down memory lane. I am hoping it will help others remember her as a vibrant, talented woman and honor her memory.

Tonight, I have a mom's meeting. Usually I go alone, but I'm taking the baby this time. He's increasingly active now since he's about 9 months. He follows the big kids around like a pro--crawling, of course! I'll have to take a jacket tonight. The low is forecast to be 30 degrees. Yay! it's finally winter in FL. We were all wearing short sleeves and some us wore shorts up until a few days ago. A friend of mine is in MN and their temps have been 20-40 below zero. That's serious!

Since I have been scrapbooking a lot lately (in my free time, haha!), I have been working with my digital scrapbook program. I recently found this site that I want to share with you. They have a lot of cute digital goodies. Their weekly newsletter comes out on Saturdays and offers discounts. Check it out!

Care Bear Love

Care Bear Love
Originally uploaded by mommy7fl

This child is just too cute! She had just gotten up from a nap and she always has to have her Care Bears.

Piggies and M-ade

Eden is now just over 2 years old--27 months to be exact. If you remember, this feisty little girl had no hair for the longest time. Finally, she has her hair in pigtails! She calls them "piggies" and asks for them almost daily. Another cute thing she is saying now is "M-ade." She has eschewed regular juice in favor of "M-ade." (I only use it as a treat, though.) In addition, she is now sitting at the big table with us in the Stokke Kinderzeat which she calls her "kindermaseat." I love how cute they are at age 2. It's not even close to be terrible...

Recently Read

When Stu asked me what I wanted for Christmas, the book 20 and Counting! by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggar was at the top of my list. Why? For the past 4 years I have been fascinated with all things Duggar. They are an inspiration to me. Their children are bright, industrious, normal, and love Jesus. Even as an older mom, I never stop learning. Who better to glean from than a mom to so many. This book answers many questions about the family. They have made bad decisions at times. Quite a few of them. (Just like me...) There are family recipes throughout. This has been fun. We had Poor Man's Pizza the other day for lunch. The next day the kids asked, "Hey, Mom. Can we have that pizza for lunch again?" All of this is just to say, if you're curious about the Duggar family and you need encouragement, read this book. It's for all families, big and small. Enjoy!

P.S. There are recipes posted on their website, too. Our family loves the Tater Tot Casserole!

P.S.S. If you have any books that have inspired your parenting journey please share them with me in the comment section.

Homeschool Science Help

I am always searching for resources that will help me teach my children about this amazing world that God made. Recently, I received a free publication that is "top notch." The Institute for Creation Research has been doing some awesome work. They publish some free publications, namely Acts & Facts magazine and a devotional called Days of Praise. You can sign up to receive these free at the ICR website. While some of the language in Acts & Facts may be too grown up for young homeschoolers, it is helpful for me to explain to my younger children and is age appropriate for older middle to high school students. There is a wonderful article on the human ear (and it's wax!) this month. You can read this issue online, but if you're like me, you just LURVE books and want to have something concrete to peruse. I hope this will encourage you in your pursuit to raise a generation that marvels at God's creation!

The beauty of a quiet spirit

God spoke to me today. He told me to be quiet (silent, actually). This was in regards to a matter of heart that I am having. If you know me, you know that is very hard for me to do! In being obedient to Him, I saw immediate fruit from my action. God is so good! After bringing 7 children into this world, my brain can be mush, so the Lord was so good to lead me to scripture, too. 1 Peter 3:1-7 is scripture that challenges us to be better wives and helpmates to our husbands. This is always a good thing. Marriage and parenting is a sanctifying process. Sanctification can feel like trial by fire sometimes, but I am reminded that I am always to glorify Him in all things. (Even when being quiet is the last thing I want to do!) My hope is that this verse blesses you. It is confirmation of God's amazing love. That He would not leave me, but be there and encourage me in the smallest of life's happenings.

"but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:4

Thank you, Becky!

I'm sure you all have noticed the new look on my blog here. Thanks go out to Becky Bilby. She has a little business that is raising money for the adoption of another child. They have 4 children, 3 boys and 1 hand-picked little girl. See my sidebar for a direct link to her webpage. She does headers, signatures, and other blog design. You'll be glad you check her out! I am very thankful for talented ladies like Becky!

Just around the house

Coming soon...blog changes. Woo hoo!

Today we are just hanging around the house. Celeste is a work and so is Daddy. I have been doing laundry (still!) and some light cleaning. I washed our sheets and put them back on the bed. Am I the only one that only has 1 set of sheets for our bed?!? It doesn't bother me, but just wondering... Grandpa will join us for a spaghetti dinner later. He is very lonely. Please pray for him. "God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68:6

My cute kids

Celeste 17, Jamie 14, Dan 9, Max 7, Tommy 4, Eden 2, & Joshua 8 mos.

Sara

Sara Louise Watson Palmer

April 17, 1929 to December 21, 2008

Here is Sara with Richard. This picture was taken to honor their 50th wedding anniversary which occurred in 2004. Though we will miss her greatly, we know she is with Jesus.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4

Due to special circumstances, I was not able to be there when Sara went to meet her Lord and Savior, Jesus. However, I was listening to the song "Come to Jesus" by Chris Rice at the exact moment. God was so good to give that to me and I want to share it with you. Please listen...

Duggars welcome baby #18!!

See the news here and here. The Duggar family also has their own website with more information on their family. I love the name Jordan!

A nice family I know from momys is expecting their 15th. The Jeub family has been on TLC in the Kids by the Dozen programs. www.jeubfamily.com You can check out their Christmas letter at their website.

I have a friend in MN, Beth, who should do a show, too! You can visit her webpage here.

It's large family day! Enjoy!

A fever "to go"

I am running a low temp today and feel cruddy. Some of that is a result of a problem I had last night due to a sick baby. Not. Much Sleep. I'm holding the puny feeling little guy right now. Tommy looks the worst. He's all red-eyed today. Jamie is still coughing. It's at least day 18 on that. He has midterm exams today, Thurs., and Fri.

Stu's mom moved out of the ICU, but progress is little right now. My prayer is that she would be able to come home to her new condo and be more comfy there.

Gotta go! Typing one-handed with whiny baby and need to make lunch for the kiddos.

My good friend, Tara

Tara is holding Anthony (3.5 months) and I'm holding Joshua (7.5 months)

Although Tara is 13 years my junior, I really love my friendship with her. She is a blessing to me and I thank God for the gift of her friendship!

Recents

On Sunday, our family television stopped working, but luckily Stu's dad had an extra one laying around. It can be a useful tool--especially when one wants to take a shower! Then, less than 24 hours later, my oven pooped out on me... I was making fish sticks for the kids for lunch. That's kind of hard to do when you open the door to cook them and it's cool as a cucumber! Luckily, we only needed a new baking element which was $40. Hubby picked one up. Yay! Celeste is having issues with one of her grades from college. We're trying to get that ironed out. Jamie has been sick with a cough and had a fever all weekend. He is a bit better with no fever, but Dan, Max, & Tommy now have fevers. Oh well! That's our week, so far! I know it will get better.

Also, Stu's mother, Sara, is still in ICU. She may move to Hospice soon. Please pray for her. Thank you!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thess. 5:16-18

A Commercial Crash

Well, wouldn't you know it, our family room television died today. I guess that's okay because it was given to us. You can bet we're not buying a new one. It's just a bummer. We'll take the small one from our bedroom and put it out there. I think my fil has one we can "borrow" for a time, too. Hey, it's self-preservation here. I use that TV to play Baby Mozart for Joshua every day so that I can take a shower...

Stu's mom is not doing well. Continue to pray for her and the family. Stuart and his father are really having a hard time with her decline in health. God is sovereign!

Uh oh, I hear my baby crying, so I have to go!

Plea for Prayer

Grandpa & Grandma at Eden's 1st bday in Sept. 2007
Grandma holds Joshua (July 2008)

Grandma visits Joshua when he is born on her 79th bday in April 2008!

I humbly ask you to pray for my mother-in-law, Sara. She has been in the ICU since last Monday, December 1st. She is suffering from a reaction to chemotherapy which mimics pneumonia. (This is simplified.) Pray that her lungs heal enough for her to be able to utilize home oxygen. Pray that her oxygen saturation levels would increase. Pray that depression would not overtake her. Pray for her mouth and nose to heal, so that she may be more comfortable. Pray for strength that she may walk again. She is a dear woman that our whole family loves. Please pray for her husband, Richard, of 54+ years. He needs rest and peace. Thank you!

AGCC Christmas Gala

Stuart & I at the party--we just celebrated our 11th Anniversary on Dec. 6th!
Me, Charity, & Teri--I liked this picture.

Celeste and Karyn before the party. They were real cute!

GATORS WIN!!!

GATORS WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP 31-20!!!!!

My little corner

My little corner of the world is a good place. It’s the place where Jesus has me right now. I see lots of little messes and messy faces. I see kids loaded in the car going lots of places. My little corner is up late and up early. Here, I am thankful. Thankful for such a large, wonderful family which I could have never imagined in a thousand lifetimes. Thankful for a dedicated husband who cares for us so deeply. Thankful for Josh’s baby toes, and Eden’s nose, Tommy’s smile, and Max’s freckles, Danny’s jokes, Jamie’s guitar music, and Celeste’s good company. Endless hours of laundry and dishes may be daunting, but get done with the many hands that make light work. My little corner of the world is a good place. It’s the place where Jesus has me. Right. Now.

Low Places

A "picture thought" I'm sharing with you...

Max feeding Joshua. He's a good big brother.

Being transparent...I'm feeling quite down right now. My life has many huge mountains and I can't see the other side at all. It's an effort to just get through the day. I'm trying to think on this verse today: "And those who know your name put their trust in you,for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9:10

Thanksgiving Update

Joshua takes a nap on the couch with Max.
Joshua is sitting up quite well!

Tommy drew this picture and said, "Mommy look. It's my dancing boy." How cute!

Well, after a few hours in the kitchen sink, the turkey did thaw adequately. My cousin, Jeanne, helped me prepare it and it came out just right. Thanks, Jeanne!

It's a quiet weekend around here. We're hoping to put up some Christmas lights--probably tomorrow. We need the clips that attach them to the shingles. It seems they got thrown away last year. On our "date" tonight, I'm sure Stu and I will pick some up. Jamie comes home tomorrow. He was missed by all! Currently, the two youngest are napping. Yay! I'm doing laundry and a some light cleaning. I signed up for twitter. Look for updates in my sidebar. It seemed interesting, so I thought I'd give it a try!

Joshua 6 1/2 months old
Eden, 2 years old

Thanksgiving musings

Okay, so hey, it's Thanksgiving on Thursday. I have only had it at my house once (in 1993) and I didn't cook the turkey. So we embark on the adventure that is preparing a turkey. My Dad calls me yesterday to remind me to put it in the fridge to thaw. Ok, that's done. But today it seems no more thawed than yesterday...mmm. Well, just have to watch and see what develops. I'm going to do green bean casserole, a potato casserole that Stu loves, rolls, and pumpkin pie. We have another family joining us and my cousin is supposed to come, too. It should be a nice little gathering.

I'm still worried about this turkey. Mom of 7 cooks turkey. You'd think I would know how to do these things. Time to visit the allrecipes site and check out what to do!

I have a new love...caffeine. Never really thought that much about it before. I'm really liking McDonald's sweet tea. I get to have one every now and then. And Celeste treated me to Starbucks today. That mocha truffle espresso was REALLY good. I don't own a coffee maker, but I could see the benefit to it. I swore off caffeine in 2003 when I was taking more care with my health. I don't see it as a good thing, BUT I sure do have more energy when I consume it! Not a down side to that proposition!

This Week

My girls--Celeste, 17, and Eden, 2.
All of my cowboys--Max, Tommy, Dan.

Celeste & Jamie

Little Mr. Mischief

Joshua cut his 2nd tooth (bottom front left) and started crawling for real. He turned 7 months old this week! I can't believe how big he is already! He is pulling up on things, too! The problem is his poor balance. Many crashes later, he still hasn't learned his lesson. Joshua is consuming 4 jars of baby food a day and 5-6 bottles. My prediction: another Max. My pantry shudders in anticipation...

I had a wonderful visit with a good friend, Katrine. She is 5 great boys ages 9-2. My boys really had a blast running around her 2 acres outside and I enjoyed "adult time." (Although we were interrupted on many occasions!)

Jamie flew to St. Louis today by himself. He is spending the week with his Dad. I'm sure he will have a super good time. Celeste is working like crazy. She has 2 exams and 2 papers due on Monday for classes, so there won't be much social time. She's a bit stressed out. Please pray for her. She lost her glasses a week ago. We thought they would turn up, but haven't. New ones are not in the budget, so I'm just praying they'll magically appear. She wears contacts, but can't wear them ALL day. I'm not sure what we'll do... Pray God would provide an answer.

Joshua Eats

Joshua started eating solid food yesterday. He's been taking 7 bottles a day and waking a lot at night, so I just couldn't do it anymore. Check out his little blog. Celeste found a very pretty black dress for our church Christmas social for $40 today. It was fun to go shopping with her!

We're off to a ladies' meeting tonight and Jamie is cutting up some ham for our simple dinner. We're having Ham & Black-eyed peas. I get three cans of the peas, 1 circular thing of ham diced, and 2 1/2 cups of rice and mix them together in a pot on the stove on warm. We're just having broccoli with it, too! The kids love it. I put a little ketchup on mine :).

A tooth

Joshua cut his 1st tooth yesterday! He is 6 1/2 months old. He ties Dan (now 9) for being the earliest teether. I will start with baby food soon. He is consuming lots of bottles right now, so I'm thinking growth spurt. Also, he has been horribly constipated (sorry if that's TMI) since going on Good Start formula. I have been giving him a bit of diluted apple juice to help with the problem. Hopefully, that will improve.

I'm not going to say much about the election. What do you expect when the government is training the minds of tomorrow?!? See this article.

Arachniphobia

My son, Jamie (14), made this spider cake in his culinary class at high school. His group of 5 students made it early in the week last week. All the students from the culinary classes judged the cakes and this spider cake won. It's really cool! (Then they ate it!) Jamie came home with his first report card today from high school--5 A's and 1 C+ in honors geometry. Great job, Jamie!

Homeschooling is going better than expected. Life is busy. Right now Celeste is at work at the local grocery, we've got Eden in bed, the boys are getting ready for bed, and Stu is rocking the baby. There's also loads of laundry going. I'll be folding while I watch 17 Kids and Counting tonight!

Useful Educational Tool

Recently, I purchased the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD for my 4 year old son, Tommy. He has had a hard time learning his alphabet. At first, he wasn't that excited to watch it, but now he is even asking for it. The exciting thing is that he is really learning his letters now! We are also using Rod & Staff's Early Learning Workbooks. I highly recommend the Letter Factory and these workbooks for your little one. Tommy loves to color and the workbooks have a lot of that. I find that Tommy needs more review with each letter and number, so I make my own worksheets for this. Gluing beans to each letter is a fun little activity Tommy likes. If you have an Aquadoodle mat you can practice writing letters over and over. I hope this is helpful to someone! I wish I had had this video with my older kiddos.

Picture thoughts

Max is without front teeth as of yesterday!

Eden discovered swinging this week...

Yesterday...

Yesterday began like "one of those days." I got out of bed because I could hear Eden "singing" on the monitor. Joshua was still asleep in his crib in our room. I get to the kids' hallway and I smell the lovely odor of pee. Tommy comes out and says, "Mommy, I'm really sweaty." "Son," I say, "that's not sweat." By the time I get him in the shower, strip the bed, and get the laundry started, Eden is screaming she wants out of her crib, Joshua woke up and was crying for a bottle. I am glad today was better. Celeste watched the younger set and I had a quick lunch with Stuart. Just us.

On a good note, gas here is down to $2.42/gallon! I was able to fill up my Suburban ALL THE WAY for the 1st time in at least a year and a half!!! (I have a 44 gallon gas tank. It's a '99 and in 2000 Chevy reduced the tanks to 32 gallons.)

A glimpse of home

Here are a few pictures from around the house from now...midnight. I didn't clean up...but it actually doesn't look that bad.

This is our homeschool room. It seems the table is always cluttered which doesn't leave much room for actually getting work done there!
This is my family room. I feel like I live in a daycare...haha! Joshua sure does have lots of equipment. I nearly tripped over the exersaucer which was beneath my feet as I took this picture.

My sink area. Not too bad. I just need to load the dishwasher and it will be ship shape.

Okay, this is my side of the closet. 2/3 of the closet is unseen and a mess. (Not pointing fingers, but someone I share the room with is a packrat...) Keep in mind that more than 50% of these clothes are maternity or too small for me to wear!

Our fridge. Seems kind of bare for a family of 9. We just cleaned out all the leftovers for dinner tonight. We went through 3 bags of apples last week!

It's a Gator Holiday

I hear little ones in their cribs, so this has to be short...

Today is our local holiday. It is University of Fla's homecoming weekend, so the whole town is off today. (Well, all the schools are closed.) I have 2 kids off and we're taking a homeschooling break, too. Will we do anything special? I don't think so. There's a parade, but it's 100% chance of rain today--it was just raining a few minutes ago. Jamie is having a friend over and Celeste is babysitting this afternoon. I think I'll try to get caught up on the laundry and maybe clean up in a hot spot.

In other news, the political front is heating up. Please get out and vote on November 4th! You can bet I'll be voting. I'm not voting for someone who associates with known domestic terrorists and supports killing babies. Watch Fox news at night and see what's being reported.How can someone, in good conscience, elect a man that has such an obvious Muslim name after the 9/11 attacks? Also, he believes we should "spread the wealth." That's socialism. I think this nation has lost its mind. I am praying for the election. God is sovereign and He will allow what He will allow. In the meantime, my vote is for McCain/Palin.

Great Loss

Celeste and Jamie lost their Grandmother, Loray Dailey, yesterday. She was a wonderful lady and will be greatly missed. We know she is dancing with Jesus now! She was a wonderful mother-in-law when she was mine. Please cry out in prayer for peace and comfort for the Dailey family. Thank you.

Love.Life

Recently, my daughter came to me and expressed her desire to help the Pro-Life movement here in our community. Let's save God's precious little ones. Her goal is to raise awareness and garner support for our local organizations that help women make the choice of a lifetime. Here is a link to her intro web page. She named it Love.Life139. Those who are interested in contacting love.life in order to offer support, please see the email link at the website. If you live locally in the Gainesville area, I implore you to go to The Women's Resource Center website and make a donation. During these challenging economic times, they are in need of your support. No donation is too small. Go there and tell them Love.Life139 sent you!

Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Matthew 25:40

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

Revelation

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Rev. 7:16-17

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4

Two good songs that inspired me today: No More Pain by Point of Grace and Lean on Me by Kirk Franklin...

Fewer words

Me babywearing Joshua.
Josh peeks out of his sling.

It has been a busy week here. What week is not? There's been football games, church events, homeschooling, appointments, but best of all is a ladies' fun night tonight and I get to be with the big people. Yay! At times I just need a break. Tomorrow I'm going to do some scrapbooking, too. Life is...well, life--right now. Not too much I can say about that. Phil. 2:14 says, "Do all things without complaining or arguing..." That pretty much sums it up and it's what I'm trying to do. So, lately, I'm a woman of fewer words. Life is challenging. Thank goodness there's Jesus!

The week in pictures

Joshua, 5 months old
Nancy, holding Jamie's biggest fan...

Jamie at his recent NHS vs. PK football game.
Eden's all ready to cheer on the FL Gators!

Eden Is Two

My little girl turned 2 yesterday. I can't believe it has gone so fast! Right now she absolutely loves to color. She is talking more and more, but we can't always understand her. She seems to have her own cute little language. Eden is the sunshine in our lives right now--so cute!