Thankful

So much to be thankful for. Remember to thank the Provider of all for all of it. We are off to Yakima to my mother in law's for Thanksgiving. We will be back on Sunday.

I don't get it

It has been very busy at our house since Wednesday! Wednesday was Taylor's 11th Birthday. Our tradition is that on your birthday you get to pick breakfast and dinner. Taylor chose funnel cakes! I happen to love them, don't know if they really count as breakfast since it is really deep fried white flour and sugar but Hey you gotta live a little. The boys all decided (after I spent quite some time making the funnel cakes) that they did not like funnel cakes and preferred broccoli and ranch dressing for breakfast instead. Hmmmmm

Erik definitely has his quirks. The last few times we have gone to play UNO or UNO Attack I have to spend half and hour shuffling the deck because when Erik puts the game away he has to put it away color coded. No wonder it takes him forever to put anything away especially the dishes - they all have to be color coded by size and the plates have to be in the same order as the cups.

Then, when I was making Taylor's birthday dinner of homemade pizza Ruby put her foot in the garbage disposal and turned it on. I am normally quite calm but even this one did me in. I grabbed the closest towel and wrapped her foot in it and went to the Doctor. This has to be one of the strangest injuries that we have come across. Somehow between her toes and the top of her foot got the worst of it.

She did not require any stitches or have any broken bones which I was really grateful for.
I am very fortunate that Sean is so good at this kind of thing because he really cleaned it up good when he got home. Although he really does not understand that I was standing right there when it happened but children are quick.

The following day we went with two other families to Watermania in Canada. We go several times a year and plan ahead to go. It is a lot of fun and very affordable. We played most of the morning and Ian and Erik were really starting to enjoy the waves in the wave pool. I am always amazed at how much they improve in there swimming every time we go. After lunch we went back in the pool and the waves started not long after that. I was really feeling SICK but I attributed it to the pregnancy, I had to run to the bathroom!! Thank goodness I had friends in the pool to watch my children. Soon after that Taylor was yelling at me from the side of the pool, when I turned around she had blood pouring down her leg. I grabbed Ian and took Taylor to the first aid station. The lifeguard told me that they recently got a new wave machine and a lot of people had been getting hurt or sick from the strength of the waves (do you think it is time to turn the machine down?). To borrow Renee's phrase, I saw subcutaneous tissue. The lifeguard confirmed my fears as soon as we stopped the bleeding and told me it would definitely need stitches. My brain tried to imagine 12 people in the ER in Canada and I decided to call my Doctor back in the States. They said they could get us in as soon as we could get back across the boarder. So after showering everyone quickly and a fast stop at Starbucks (Eggnog Latte) and Tim Horton's (for Tim Bits) we dropped everyone off and headed to the Doctor for 3 stitches in Taylor's knee.

Taylor's Birthday Party was planned for 2 days later at Jump Zone and the Doctor said that she would be fine to go and jump. The worst part of the injury for her was the litocain to numb the area before the stitches went in. That and the Tetanus shot which I did not realize until too late that it was really a DTaP-- Ugh the frustration of it.

Then on Friday I was making lunch and went to dump out the pasta and Ian bumped into me and I spilled boiling water on his shoulder. Sean told all the kids to stay away from mama!! Fortunately Ian's shirt got most of the water and I got it off quickly so he only had a small burn but holy cow I am currently 3 for 6 in the injury rate, 50% doesn't look so good.

Please pray for my other children and their safety! I am really thankful we are all home and mostly healthy and mostly in one piece.

Craft Fair

Sean so graciously let me go to the Gift of Time which meant that he spent the day with Taylor, Aaron and Erik at the Craft Fair. The Barkers watched Ian and Ruby for us-- What a Blessing. We sold paper mache letters, snowman soup (hot cocoa mix), wooden swords,and wooden block snowmen. We shared a table with the Simpsons and they sold apple butter and chalk board place mats. Everything was very cute and the children were satisfied with their sales. We would have liked them to sell out but that is ok.
I went on Friday night to set up and another little boy said to me, "looks like you are going to have a baby soon."
I replied, "yes"
To which he responded," yeah, my cow is about to calf soon too."
I just had to laugh at the association going on in his mind.

The Gift of Time

I had the pleasure of being invited to my dear friend Kelly's Gift of Time Party. I am not sure how many years I have been, but I look forward to it with great anticipation every year. This is just a few of the wonderful group of women that attend every year. On the far Left is my mom, Carri (9 children) Renee (13 Children) Kelly (our wonderful hostess with 3 elves, I mean Children) Me (Very pregnant with #7) and Lisa (Pregnant with #6) It was a fun group to sit with and work on projects as we had lots of parenting humor and discussions on keeping Christ the center of Christmas.

It is always a treat to go with Renee because between us we have 20 children so it is hard to find time to actually have a complete conversation. The 4 hour drive just flew by as I continually pick her brain for creativity and inspiration.

When we arrived we were served these delicious appletini drinks by some very well mannered young ladies and gentlemen.

Next, we had a delicious lunch of cheddar cheese scones and homemade chicken noodle soup. I love the detail that Kelly puts into everything she does. In the bathroom is a cute little tray of anything you might need (perfume, breath mints, stain remover wipes, you get the idea). When we arrived we were given a goal sheet and with the completion of each goal we receive a gift. The first few time that I attended I had really lofty goals, now between all the fun and festivities I reduced my goals dramatically. I had eat lunch, eat dessert, open my project that I was working on. and a few other very attainable goals.

I loved the mugs which were one of our gifts from Kelly.

Gideon was such a great server you just couldn't turn down his bacon wrapped bread sticks, or cheese and crackers or chocolate that he came by to serve with a smile. As always, the time went so fast and I was so blessed to be surrounded by such loving and God Fearing Women.

Kelly and my mom, two of the most beautiful women I know.

Open House

The house is a flurry of activity today. We are fininshing up getting ready for the craft fair at Blodel Donovan tommorow. Looking at stuff like this on the floor makes me really glad that I have a vacuum. The cats do not mind any of the activity going on around them, in fact they are thankful for a warm spot. Usually they are banned to the outside.

Taylor has been very busy working on the snowmen that she is selling. It is great to see how well her and papa work together. We are praying that all our stuff sells! She is learning that to do a good job and make a project that will sell is a lot of work and takes a lot of time.

Aaron really stepped up and helped me when Erik got frustrated that the glue was sticking to his fingers and he could not get the placement of the eyes exactly where he wanted them. Ian just loves to cut and really wanted to help.

Ruby just loves her papa and it is so heartwarming to hear her laugh and watch them play. Ruby does not like the mustache either (way to go girl!!) she says papa poky when he kisses her.

Erik finally helped me with his snowman soup packets. He mixed the hot cocoa, filled the bags, added the marshmellows and candycane stir stick. Way to go!!

Caught Ya!

Sooo, I was right Sean really enjoyed about half a bottle of the hot fudge sauce. He had the stomach ache to go with it. Never fear though I still had plenty to go with my Peppermint Ice Cream. I had a doctor's appointment today and he is estimating that the baby will be close to 9 pounds! I was really hoping for a smaller baby. I would blame it on the ice cream but really does it count if it doesn't stay down?

Man Day 2

Today was what we named 'Man Day' The funny thing about that is I usually have the camera and take pictures of what the girls do on man day and have nothing about what the men really do. Today was Deanna's turn to plan the activities for the girls. I was really impressed at how well Ruby did listening and watching and 'helping' where she was really able to help. Deanna taught the girls a different technique to making apple sauce. I learn new things all the time while home schooling. Her lesson was about being a new creation in Christ. The girls took old things (apples and pine cones) and made them into something new (applesauce and Thanksgiving name card holders).

Taylor is very careful about how she does her crafts and there is (in her mind) a right way and a wrong way) She is becoming more like her papa every day. She carefully counted how may people would attend our Thanksgiving dinner and made one for everyone plus a few extra in case someone else comes.

Ruby LOVES Honor and Justice and prays for them faithfully every night several times, so when we get to spend time with them she is in heaven. I really hope that she likes our baby this much! She even shared Two-y (her special blanket and baby) with them.

The men went to Phil's shop and learned how to make treasure chests. They are really cool and it is a good thing because we now own 3 of them. Aaron took the project and ran with it- he worked very independently and was careful to follow directions. Erik was all over the power tools and couldn't get enough. Ian just liked being there and did some of the work with a lot of Papa's help. Taylor's favorite part was the impromptu fashion show the girls put on for us. The boys said they liked being in Phil's shop and making things with Papa.

I am so blessed to have like minded friends who want to train their children in the way of the Lord and are an encouragement to our family.

It is currently 10pm after a long day and my husband just went to the store to get me some Dryers peppermint ice cream and Mrs. Richardson's hot fudge sauce. Oh the wonderful cravings of a pregnant woman. I secretly think he wanted the hot fudge sauce straight up, but I will take it!! Yum

On My Mind

A blog post just is not a post with out a photo. This was Ruby waiting, not so patiently for someone to please get her more water. Oh to have the troubles of a 2 year old. There are lots of new and exciting things going on around here.

• Taylor is turning 11 in 15 days and counting. I pray for her to have a good solid foundation in Our Lord and Savior. She has many friends but no 'girlfriends' that live close enough to play with on a regular basis and she really wants that. She is also getting better at reading but not on the level I would like to see. She is a great helper around here and tends to pick up the slack when the boys are not doing their share. I want her to experience freedom and peace. She is a Blessing.
• Our house is still on the market and we have not had any looks for a month now. It is hard for me to be patient and I really want some more space. I need to finish cleaning out Ruby's room to make room for baby. My craft and scrapbooking supplies are getting moved to Taylor's room and need some desperate organization. We also need to repair and paint the walls from the damage inflicted by Ian's cast. I need to be thankful that we have a house and that it has 4 bedrooms and be content with where we are right now. I am so happy to have friends in the area, they are truly good accountability for me and bring me such joy on a regular basis.
• One of my children does not seem to respond to my parenting. I have tried blessings, consequences, punishment, rewards, You name it. I am discouraged and continually pray for wisdom.
• The upcoming birth of baby #7 is such a time of fear and anxiety for me. It is a time of rejoicing and such a wonderful gift but I have a hard time trusting that all will go well. I have been reflecting on the Bible verses associated with Fear, please just pray for peace.
  

The Reformation

Our family does not celebrate Halloween, in years past we have turned off our lights and watched a move and ate ice cream sundaes. This year our Keepers at Home group decided to study and celebrate The Reformation which occurred on October 31st. We dressed up in period costumes with Knights, and Princesses, and people from Scotland.

Taylor was thrilled with her costume, she wears it almost daily. We found a wedding dress that is her size at a thrift store for $12 and I talked them down to $8 because of the small stain on the bottom hem.

Hezekiah and Ian are buddies. Ian just got his cast removed the day before so he spend the entire night hopping around from activity to activity. It was already very hot in there and he was wet with sweat, poor little guy.

The children divided up into teams and played Cobbler Cobbler Mend My Shoe, which was Taylor's favorite. They also played slay the dragon (Ian's favorite) and bobbing for apples (Aaron called it Apple Dipping) They had to do peninance and climb the stairs on their knees and put together a memory verse. We played pin the theses on the door, fishing, and Alms to the Poor, in addition to Catapult.

We listened to a story about Martin Luther and sang one of the original Hymns that he wrote. The time and energy put into the evening was evident but very much appreciated.

All the children had a great time and we were very happy to have Geaba with us to help tend the children. It ended up being a very late night but worth it!! Unfortunately we did end up with quite a bit of candy.

The next morning the children laid out all their candy and inventoried what kind they had. Ruby loved it!! I have found her hiding and eating out of her siblings bags.

Oh Happy Day!!

We went in on Thursday to get Ian's cast off. The nurses were a little surprised by how dirty and worn the 'new' cast was. The fiberglass saw was loud and Ian was a little nervous having a saw cutting toward his leg. There was not much chance of cutting his leg though, they had to work pretty hard to get through the two layers of cast.

You could see the first cast where he wore away the second cast and the dirt, and padding that got worn away.

Ian liked the tools that they used to pry the cast apart.

He cried when they took it off because he was used to the support that the cast offered. He said the pressure hurt. They originally told us he was going to get a walking cast for 2 weeks but the doctor said he would be fine. Hmmm. I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the bodies in the exam room and really did not want us back. They said his leg was 90% better with about 50% of the strength. He will not use the leg and really favors it.

I was not at all surprised at how dirty his leg was but the hair really surprised me. I mean who knew that a 4 year old get hairy legs?

You can see the size difference in the muscles on his Left leg that he has been hopping on verses the Right leg that has not been used for seven and a half weeks!!

Now if I could get Sean to patch all the dings in the walls caused by the cast. I guess I can tolerate the walker for another 4 weeks, but how do you keep a 4 year old from running and jumping on it when it starts to feel better?