This and that

I finally have a few minutes... Unfortunately, I have just come down with a bad cold, sore throat, achiness, etc. Since I am nursing, I can't take decongestants. Ugh! My hubby just took Jamie to Scouts and the younger boys ran along, too. Baby is asleep in her swing. I'm thinking I should probably become horizontal for a few minutes, but wanted to write some lines as I have been noticably absent lately. I'm good for pictures!

Dan won his baseball game on Saturday. The score was 11-5 and he got 3 runs. One of them was a home run, so he got the "game ball." He was so excited. Now they go into tournament play. I hope that doesn't last too long. The schedule as been crazy.

I have a few prayer requests: Please pray for Dan. He is "acting up" lately. It is like he is vibrating, can't keep his hands to himself, says unkind things, is very selfish, etc. It is really wearing on me. We are trying to make sure he doesn't get too much sugar or things with additives. Stu needs prayer for work. We haven't had a closing since last summer. I am very overwhelmed and so is he. Condos are selling and we have many under contract, but they need to be completed and are behind schedule. We need financial blessing! I am feeling discouraged in a lot of areas right now. Please pray for me to persevere and trust God. I haven't been able to sit through a message at church since the baby was born and I'm feeling like I'm in a spiritual valley. Not sure what else to say because there's so much... thanks!

A kid again...

Max has a blast skating for the 1st time!
Nancy takes a break to feed Eden...interesting!
Celeste with one of her best friends, Brandon

What fun last night! Our church rented out the local skating rink and I took 5 of the kids. (Dan had a baseball game and Stu was coaching.) I wasn't planning on skating and neither was Max, but we both had a real good time! I posted a few pictures. This was Max's first time and he was like a kamikaze skater--falling forward through space. I'm a little sore today, but not too much worse for wear.

Also, I took Celeste in to take the College Placement Test today. I about had an anxiety attack when I left her at the testing center on the campus to move the car. She's SO grown up now. Praise God, she's so smart, she passed into all college courses. We will hear in late May whether she's been accepted into the Dual Enrollment program. Thus starts a new phase in our lives here.

Heart of FL Air Show

Stu took Dan and Max to the Air Show yesterday. Also, their little friend, Ben, went along. They had a wonderful time looking at the airplanes and talking to pilots. My big brother, Ed, was there with Gainesville Police's helicopter. Ed is a Captain with GPD and, on a personal note, he is a helicopter pilot. He has his commercial license and is a certified instructor. Cool!

Little Road Trip

On Friday, Celeste and Jamie performed at the Lake City Relay for Life with Mimetime. Mimetime is a group of kids from our church that does Mime and some signing to Christian music. I drove up with Celeste, Jamie, Eden, Tommy, Lettie (a good friend from church), Isaac (mimer and her son), and Katie (Lettie's daughter). We had a good time! All of the Mimes and company went to Moe's for dinner afterwards with everyone. YUM!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. They include my Dad and StepMom (Pipa and Mima). Also, there is my younger brother, Jamie. We hadn't seen him in over a year--3 years for Celeste and Jamie. It was a crazy weekend and I was exhausted when we got home. It's a challenge to travel with 6 kids--but mostly the baby and the toddler wore us out! In addition, it was Dan's 8th birthday on Easter Sunday. I can't believe it's been that long. He's getting so big!

Mini vacation

We're in Sarasota for the weekend. I've taken lots of cute pictures, so I will be posting them when I get home. Right now the kids are outside playing yard darts with their Pipa. My brother, Jamie, is coming in later this afternoon. I haven't seen him since December 2005. Celeste and Jamie haven't seen him in about 3 years. We're excited!!

Put to the Test

Today is testing day. FL law for home schoolers requires that they turn in either a yearly standardized test or be evaluated by a certified teacher. We like to do the test. (I couldn't find an evaluator who would give me valuable feedback, so I gave up!) Anyway, Celeste, Jamie, and Dan are testing today and tomorrow all morning. Please pray for a good outcome! I hope I do well--it is a reflection on how well home school has gone this year. Usually my kids test many grade levels ahead. I'm hoping that continues! Meanwhile, I have to go get a shower before the rest of the younger crew gets up. Bye!

Gators Win 2nd NCAA Championship in a Row!

GO GATORS!!

84-75

GatorZone

Big kids come home tonight

Hi all! It's been a busy week here without Celeste and Jamie. I have gotten a lot more organized and we're functioning rather well without them, BUT they fly in tonight late. All of us can't wait to see them. Celeste is feeling under the weather. I think she has a bad cold/flu. Please pray for her. Jamie, Celeste, and Dan all have testing on Thursday and Friday, so I am hoping all are well at that time. 2 days! Then we're all going to Sarasota to visit my parents for Easter. It should be a great time! We haven't been down since last May. We like to go to the beach in May. Hope to do it again this year, too!

In other news, I've been using the cloth diapers on Eden. I think I finally figured out how to get the smells out of them with my very hard water and high efficiency (silly) washer. I am using baking soda in the wash and vinegar in the rinse. BTW, don't buy a Fisher & Paykel washing machine. They don't get your clothes clean. I may be purchasing something else here soon. I ordered more Chinese Prefolds (rainbow short) from Green Mountain Diapers. I also got some toddler diapers to try on Tommy. We'll see how that goes. I hope to get him potty trained one of these days. I am looking forward to my order arriving tomorrow. I also LOVE Motherease products. They have the absolute best covers. No leaks ever!

On the mend...

Tommy is doing better today. This is considering he only ate 1 cracker yesterday and had about one half a cup of milk. (Which he tossed up overnight in his crib...eww!) I know I shouldn't give him milk on an upset tummy, but it was the only thing he would drink and I figured that was better than nothing. At least my hubby cleaned it up, yeah!

I awoke with a migraine this morning and Tommy was still recovering, so we had another day at home. It was a very hard day for me. Stu has been gone the past two nights until midnight. I REALLY miss Celeste and Jamie. I need to call them to see what they've been up to. Stu is on his way home from a meeting in Daytona Beach. It's late, so I worry. Praying that God gives him safe travel in that little car. Thanks for stopping by! May God bless you today!

Please pray for my Tommy who is 2 1/2 years old. He has a fever (102+), the shakes, is c/o his ear hurting, and he threw up on my bed earlier (yuck!). He was up in the middle of the night, too. He won't eat or drink anything. Eden seems a bit better today. Just a little cough and no fever. Jamie and Celeste are in STL and Stu is gone until 10PM. Great first day alone with the littles! I shall persevere...and do lots of laundry!

The friendly skies

I may not be posting much this week. My two oldest children, Celeste and Jamie, are flying out to see their Dad in St. Louis for a week. They leave tomorrow. We have LOTS on the agenda today. Stu will be taking them to the airport in Orlando. It's 2 1/2 hours to the airport and back--plus wait time. It's a long day, so I'm staying home with the younger bunch. Dan has a baseball game, too! Last night Celeste tells me she needs a new suitcase. We duct taped hers together for the last trip, but the TSA people removed it. Nothing like last minute! She's going to try to fit in my weekender. Oh the joys of travelling! (We don't do it too much with such a large brood. I haven't been on an airplane since 1994--I love to fly, though!) We are going to visit my parents for Easter in Sarasota. I really miss the beach and the smell of the salt water! Okay if this post seems scatterbrained, it is! That's how I feel today...

Celeste got her hair cut today. It is very pretty. Yes, the curls are natural. Something about this picture reminds me of Eden. Maybe it's her eyes. My cute girls!

I added a new recipe, so check it out!!

6 months and counting

Eden is 6 months old today! (And it is the first day of spring, yay!) I took her for her check-up and was pleasantly surprised that her weight was okay. Eden weighs 14 lbs., 12 oz. (40%) and is 26 inches long (50%). I will probably start her slowly on some more solid foods. She stopped sleeping through the night a couple weeks ago. I think she may be hungry!

We are so busy today. I had Eden's check-up, Celeste has a hair cut, I'm taking dinner to someone from church (almost forgot!), and Dan has baseball practice this evening. I have barely seen my hubby this week. It's crazy.

Celeste is in taking pictures of Eden. I guess I'm going to post one with this post. (She took 13 pics of her!) I'm sure you've seen SO many and know what she looks like. I'll try to get some up of the other kids, too! I have a cute one of Tommy in a baseball cap. Have a super Wednesday! I'm off to nurse the baby before I take 'leste in for her hair cut...

A Clean Slate

Ahhh, it's Monday again! (As I sit here still in my pajamas.) I was telling the lady at the place I go exercise that Monday is a clean slate. It's a do-over from last week. You can always make a fresh start on Monday. It's like when we go to Jesus for forgiveness of our sin...He wipes away the offense and gives us grace. Monday is grace to go on. Yay! So it's not too bad that I haven't had a shower. I have made whole wheat banana pancakes for my family, done 2 loads of laundry, home schooled my 2nd grader, and fed the baby twice. It's a start!

Danny won his baseball game on Saturday 5-4! I was not able to go because it was quite cold and breezy. It was best to keep little Eden home out of that. He has a double header this Saturday. I hope to make part of that. Tommy has a birthday party to go to, so I'll have to leave early. We have such a busy week planned. I won't go into all the details, but I've never been so busy in all my life! Jamie and Celeste leave for St. Louis next week for spring break. It will be quiet while they're gone. I think I need the break from all the activities.

We're covering the book of James at church. It's my favorite book in the bible, pretty much. (I love Isaiah, too!) So why don't you read in James this week...

Yummy!

Eden had her first food today! My milk supply seems low and she doesn't seem to be getting enough--her weight gain is slow--please pray for us in this area! My friend, Kristy, suggested I mix momma milk with rice cereal. She loved it! Check out her pictures in my flickr badge to the right.

The Real Deal

Dan had his first baseball game on Saturday and here are a couple photos of the fun! They lost, but we all had a great time!

Little League

And so it begins, after years of waiting (on Dan's part), the first season of little league baseball. No T ball here, just the real thing. Practice began last Friday night. I made it to the 2nd practice and there's already a game on Saturday. Hey, the kids don't even know all the rules yet! The last picture is of a couple members of our pep squad, Jamie and Max! This latest installment of America's pasttime has truly made our schedule crazy, but I know one 7-year old boy that couldn't be happier...

A little report

Baby Eden found her tongue today! It is so cute how she sticks it out all over the place. I wasn't able to get the best picture, but I'll try to post one. Also, she decided biting mommy while nursing was fun today on several occasions. I tried to "get her attention," but she just thinks it's all fun and games. Any ideas? She did fine during her nighttime nursing, though. PTL!

**Update--Eden has done better over the past couple of days and is rarely biting. I'm glad because nothing that I have tried has made her stop!