Homestead Happenings

Can you solve this puzzle?

An interesting puzzle has been presented to our family.


Miniman did this.  This baseball needed just a bit of a shove (which he happily provided) to fit into one of my wide mouth mason jars.  However I have no way to shove it out.  So far we have tried:  Holding the jar by the end and flinging it in hope the ball would fly out, oiling the rim of the jar and trying flinging.  I do not want to break my jar!  We have thought about doing the menthos and coke thing to create force to shoot the ball out.  If we do we will take video.

Suggestons?    Anyone?     Buehler?

Disneyland

Hello Readers.  Do I have readers?  I know I have a few and I must apologize to you.  It has been a long time since I have posted.  A lot has been going on and I have lots to blog about.  I will not try to do it all in order.  I'll just start with the pics I have and go from there.

Not too long ago we took a trip to Disneyland and California Adventure. 

Money is tight for us right now, as it is for many, so you may be wondering how we could spend so much for something such as this.  Well that is a bit of a story.

Back in 2007 we spent the day at the American Girl place.  Almost 2 years earlier out oldest two girls told me they really wanted an American Girl doll.  At $100 each I told them "no way" but after talking to Handsome Hubby we decided if they could save up the money they could not only buy the doll but spend the day and the AG Place.  If you don't know about AG look it up.  And yes, you can spend the WHOLE DAY at the AG Place. 

Anyway, as we were leaving we were discussing how well the girls did saving their money and how they did not spend on silly little things since they were saving for something bigger.

So we decided right then that when each child saved up enough to buy their own ticket we would take a family trip to Disneyland.  They saved their money, we saved some money, we took the trip.

To save money we slept in our trailer each night, packed our own food, and only purchase one meal each day in the parks.  While they search all incoming bags they do allow food and drinks to be brought in. 

We brought trail mix, crackers, cookies, bottled water, and packets of drink mix that are portioned for bottled water.  The $20 -$25 I spent on these items would have cost triple inside the park!

It was a lot of work packing, driving the long distance, etc.  I am glad we did!

Right To Life fundraiser

Our children recently participated in Right To Life fundraiser.  Most towns have a Right To Life chapter.  If this is a cause you support you may want to contact your local chapter to see how you can help.

Each of our four oldest children worked as a team to collected pledges from people to sponsor them for this walk.  When the pledges were divided each of girl raised the $150 needed to get a free Right To Life t-shirt. 

Here you see a some of the walkers.



They were glad to get the shirts but even more glad that the money they raised would go to fight against the abortion (murder) of the unborn.

After the 2.5 mile walk we enjoyed a small gathering put on by Right To Life to thank all of the walkers.  The children enjoyed balloon sculptures, face painting, and climbing the rock wall.   I enjoyed watching them.  No rock wall climbing for me, thank you.



We all enjoyed the day and are looking forward to doing it again next year. 

First lost tooth!

KittyGirl lost her first tooth!  I am not sure how long it will take for the adult tooth to grow in behind it since the tooth did not fall out on its own but was knocked out due to rough-housing.  I thought I would not be having anything like this until the boys were older.  Ha!  No prissy girls around here! 


Wonder why the tooth fairy will bring?  Does she pay extra for knocked out teeth?  In case your wondering....the rough play was not done in anger.  No children were punished as a result.

Two years ago..

LIttle Brother is 2 months old.

2 months old!  It has gone by fast.  Any parent knows exactly what I am talking about.  I am doing my best to enjoy every minute of it.  Here is a great picture of Little Brother, taken by Kit.


Total cuteness, I know.  How can anyone look at a sweet baby and call them anything but a blessings?  This little one is the 7th blessing from the Lord and I am still humbled by it.  The scriptures tell us children are a blessing.  Why do so many, even Christians, look at them as a burden?  I can not tell you how many times someone (even complete strangers) had told me I have too many children or that I should not have any more.  This thinking is completely backward.  Most will use money as the first reason for not trusting to plan their family.  Next is "time for yourself" and then there is the "overpopulation" lie. 

What world are we to be living for?  Not this earthly one.  My husband and I trust in the Lord to supply all we need.  We (especially here in American) do not need as much as we think we do.  Times are tight right now.  Handsome Hubby's job is tied to the housing market so we have felt the crunch.  Still we have more than we really need and know that the Lord will take care of us.

I am thankful for each one if my children.  If the Lord should bless us again I would be thankful again.  Will I grumble about the discomforts of pregnancy, labor, and the trying newborn days?  Sadly, the answer is yes.  It is a weekness of mine.  Yet I will still be grateful.  I tell my children: "I am so glad the Lord let me be your mother.".   It is true.  I am glad.  I have been given the blessing of carrying a growing baby, delivering that baby and holding him/her in my arms.  If you think babies are not a blessing just ask someone who can't conceive, has lost a child, or has waited years to adopt and they will tell you differently.

Wake up church!  Step away from the world and raise quiverfulls of children for the Lord!

Our littles....

Right now there are 7 children in our family.  3 of them are under the age of 4.  I called them our "littles".  Here they are.


As you can see Little Brother gets lots of kisses.


From left to right:  MiniMan, Little Brother, and Munchkin.  Adorable, aren't they?  I have to  be careful not to let all that cuteness let them get away with things.  I must be strong.  

Like Father, Like Son

Little Brother Update

Little Brother is doing well.  He gets lots of kisses and attention from the children.  Here are a couple of new pictures.


Yes I look tired but that is just life with a newborn.  I'm used to it.


Isn't that picture just too cute?  Kit takes good pictures.

That's all for now.  I have a baby to nurse.  They don't stay tiny for long.

Happy Birthday SuperGirl

SuperGirl is turning 8!  She only asked for one thing.  It involved this...

Where we had this done.....

Which resulted in a very happy birthday girl...

Watching her and thinking about how fast she is growing up made this Mommy tear up for a minute.  I did manage to compose myself because I did not want to spoil her moment.

Happy Birthday SuperGirl!

Birth Story #7

OK I am going to attempt to write out the birth story while it is still fresh in my mind.  That's the thing to remember this is the story according to MY mind and if you ask Handsome Hubby or our Midwife you may get a version that is a bit different.   After all, I was the one actually giving birth and I was a bit busy to be taking in every small detail.

Labor started Friday the 16th.  As usual I woke up with small contractions.  It was skate day for our homeschooling group so I set my mind on that.  When it was time to go I started feeling slight pressure with each one but I decided to go anyway.

So we went to skate (no, I did not skate) and I had a few there but nothing big so I went grocery shopping after that.  Fridays are pizza and movie night for us so after the groceries were put away the children started making their pizzas.  I made my pizza as well.  Hubby came home about that time.  By the time all the pizzas were cooked and I was eating the contractions were stronger.  I knew it was the "real deal" when I had to leave the room because I was irritated by the noise of the children during the contractions.  So as they watched their movie I went to my room and turned off the lights.

Hubby noticed all this and came in a while later.  I told him that he should set up the birth pool.  He asked if I should call to arrange care for the children and I told him I thought they would be fine staying home since it was almost bedtime they would just sleep though it all.  He agreed.

So Hubby got the pool ready, finished watching the movie with the children, said prayers with them, and got them all in bed.  He then turned on the TV to the classical music channel since that relaxes me and it would give the children something to hear (besides me!) if they woke up during the night.

About 9:30 we decided to call the Midwife since she lives 1 1/2 hours away from us.  Hubby needed something to do beside stare at me so he popped a movie into his laptop and gave instructions for me to wave at him with each contraction.  He had earphones in as to not disturb me.    The midwife arrived about 11:15.  By this time I was in the pool.

So the midwife and I chatted in between contractions and Hubby watched his movie.  By the time his movie was over the contractions were getting serious and I needed him by me.  He is great at talking me though them and just hearing his voice and touching his arm made me feel better.

According to hubby, I hit transition around 2:30 am.  He has had enough birth experiences to know what he is talking about.  Since before transition I had felt pressure on the sides of my pelvic bone but not really on my cervix.  After transition I started to have some back labor.  This bothered me and I started to wonder why the baby was not descending.  I tried various positions but they only resulted in more pain that made it hard to stay on top of it.  I don't know what time it was but I reached a point where I was worn out.  Being in a birth pool is not like laying on a bed.  You have to hold yourself in whatever position you are in and I was getting too tired to do that.  So I told Hubby I wanted to get out.  Since I delivered MiniMan in the water Hubby was worried that the delivery would be harder and I would be upset later if I did.  So he told me to stay put. 

The midwife did a check on the baby since I could not feel him.  She then told us that it felt like he was presenting bottom first.  I must admit that was the point where I got a bit scared.  When I said this Hubby and Midwife reminded me that God is in control and that everything would be OK.

A while (don't know how long) later I told them I HAD to get out of the pool.  So they got the bed ready.  Once I was able to lay down and completely relax I was ready to push. Midwife being duly concerned was in a hurry to have the baby out.  Hubby coached be wonderfully through the pushing.  Not too much later it was all over.  Turns out he was presenting head first but, like his brother, was completely in the bag.  So when the midwife felt him in the bag  with gloved hands it felt like his bottom.  Completely understandable.  He was also facing the wrong way which accounted for the back labor.

Not my easiest birth but not the hardest either.  I am glad he was born at home and that he is doing well.  God is so good!

We are pleased to announce the birth of our 7th blessing

Dressed up in his Sunday Best

Here is MiniMan dressed in his Sunday Best and ready for worship
Isn't he just too cute in that little tie?  Now I realize that many of my past posts have been about this little guy and not his sisters.  Well first let me say one motto in our house is: "Life is not fair." so I am not trying to keep everything "balanced" amongst the children.  Second, as soon as his sisters saw him they grabbed their cameras and started snapping away.  Those too little for cameras did their share of hugging, gushing, and telling MiniMan how cute he was.  I think he was quite tired of it with 2 minutes.

I will post about the girls as things happen, rest assured.
  
Mother of 6 blessings (and #7 due in Jan. 09!) from the Lord & Helpmeet to my Handsome Hubby who is my best blessing of all

Big boy bed

MiniMan is a happy camper in his big boy bed.  We thought it would take at least a week for him to make the switch but it only took 2 days.  The first day he napped in his bed but spent the night in the pack n' play in our room.  The next day, when we said it's time for bed he went straight to his room and lay down in his big boy bed.
Of course I had to get a picture.  Since this was taken we have put up a new valance and put new bedding on the beds.  Once I get the curtains finished I will post a picture or two.  I am waiting for the flannel I ordered to line the curtains with to make them more energy efficient.

His big sisters are taking turns sleeping in the other bed.  All of our girls share a room and the boys will share a room.  The new baby will sleep in our room for a while.  That is because it is easier to nurse a baby when they are only an arms length away.  So until his brother is ready his sisters will play the role of room mate for a while. 

Sleep tight big boy!

Mother of 6 blessings (and #7 due in Jan. 09!) from the Lord & Helpmeet to my Handsome Hubby who is my best blessing of all

My "big belly" picture

OK, I am putting this up for my Dad and other family members who read this that don't get to see me very often.  So here I am in all in my very pregnant state.

Mother of 6 blessings (and #7 due in Jan. 09!) from the Lord & Helpmeet to my Handsome Hubby who is my best blessing of all

Baby Countdown Update

Due to a funeral we will be driving 3 hours each way for a day.  I am NOT looking forward to that but we do not want to miss the funeral.  I have an emergency birth kit packed for the car but am praying we will not have to use it!  The boys' room is almost done.  Well it does not have the new floor and paint but it is to the "doneness" that I am able to achieve right now and it will have to due for the next 6 months.

Please pray that the Lord will grant the baby and I a smooth labor, delivery, and recovery. 

He's not a baby anymore

Our little MiniMan was sent to the corner for the first time today.
Is it mean that I took such a picture?    Of course he was not there long but it is just another sign that he is not a baby anymore (sniff, sniff). 

Mother of 6 blessings (and #7 due in Jan. 09!) from the Lord & Helpmeet to my Handsome Hubby who is my best blessing of all

The final countdown

We are in the home stretch!  Our newest blessing will be here soon and my nesting instinct has kicked in hard.  My poor family has been cleaning and I have been organizing as much as this pregnant body will let me.  I did not get some of the big projects done (2 closets did not get remodled) but I am slowly checking a lot of other things off of my list.  I will take care or the closets some other time.

Here is a copy of my countdown ticker:

I will try to remember to post pics of what we have done when rooms are actually done but they are not quite there yet.   Here is our progress so far:

Our room has been cleaned out, the closet organized, and room has been made for the birth pool.  All of the birth supplies are here and organized.  I still need to find a place for the sewing table so I can move the baby dresser so I can have the co-sleeper next to my side if the bed.  (Did you get all that?) Co-sleepers are great!  I wish I had it with all of the children.

The boys' room (I just love saying that!) has been finally cleaned out and the bunk beds were taken apart because MiniMan has learned to climb up but not down.  All the his sisters things are finally out of there and he is enjoying having a "choo choo drawer" and room to spread out all of his Hotwheels.  I still need to use some Target gift cards I have been saving to get a curtain and matching confortors for both beds plus some plain sheets.  If there is enough I may get the wall decals.  We are doing the room in trains and cars.  I get to do the boys' room!  Did I mention how much I love saying that? 

The girls' room still needs a lot of work.  I did get all of their fleece blankets sewn and they all recived new quilts for Christmas.  So at least they are toasty!  Their closet did get remodled a while ago and their dressers and finally out of the  boys' room and in the girls' room too.  Now it is a bit crowded so I need to get some of the tools and extra flooring out of there so they can walk.  On my "to do later list" includes setting up a vanity table, a dressing screen, and individual chest for each girls to keep her own things.

I still have yet to tackle the task of storing away some ready-made meals and I need to get the school room PC set up.  A BIG THANKS to Momma and her Honey for the PC outlet.

Better still a SUPER BIG THANKS to my Handsome Hubby for new new laptop so the children can use the flat screen from the old PC for the school room.  There is a lot I wanted to do to the school room but it is just not going to happen.  Boo Hoo. 

I am sure there is more but this post has gone on way too long!  If you are still reading thanks for sticking with me.

May you have a blessed day.

The Happy Holidays are over!

A while ago I posted about keeping the focus on Christmas and not getting into the buying frenzy that so many do during the holiday season.  I never followed up on it because I have been busy, busy, busy.  Here is what I have been up to:


These are 2 of my 5 daughters wearing dresses I made each of them for Christmas.  Silly me failed to get a picture of all of them together.  The dresses are simple to make.  But making 5 still takes times.

I also made robes for all of the children (6) but only 4 got new pajamas as I just ran out of time.  After all I am 37 weeks pregnant and sitting at the sewing machine too long is tough on my body.

Just because I was busy does not mean I did not enjoy it all.  Yes I should have started earlier but that is part of my point.  I hear a lot of talk of how the holiday are just "too busy" and some use that as an excuse to do nothing at all.  I think we must each take a good hard look at how we spend out time and money during the holidays and make sure we are doing what is best for our family.  For me spending all that time sewing was saving us money.  Who wants to spend $20 - $30 per child just for PJ's and a robe?  Not me.  My children like that what they get was made just for them.  Also, each time I see them wear it I smile.  Now that is a good thing.

So I hope you all had a good holiday season.  We did.   I was busy, it made me tired, and I am glad it is over but it was still good.  I think God is pleased with that.

Mother of 6 blessings (and #7 due in Jan. 09!) from the Lord & Helpmeet to my Handsome Hubby who is my best blessing of all

It's the most wonderful time of the year..

Yes that's right we are on Christmas vacation from school!  How I like this break.  The children and I sat down this morning and (well, OK it was almost noon but we ARE on vacation) we drew up our plan on what we wanted to do before Christmas.  Most of our list is of cookies to bake and gifts to make.  I am a list-maker so that us what I did.

We also are having a Chrsitmas party with our congregation so there is a list of things to make for that as well.  Our Keepers Of The Faith troop is doing a Nativity Play for the party.  Kit is the student director since she wrote the play.  Handsome Hubby is the Parent Overseerer.    All of the girls have parts.  They wanted to use MiniMan for Jesus but they were told know by Handsome Hubby.  You see they tried that last year and it did not go well.  Screaming and crying do not a good Jesus make.  Since Miniman is now stronger and able to yell "NO" very loudly he decided it would be better that they use a doll.  The children opted to use another toddler from the congregation who is MUCH more mellow.  She is very suited for the role.  Me?  I am the seemstress.  It took a while but all the costumes are done.  Yippe.  Check one off the list.  I like checking things off my list. 

There are still pictures to take, a Chrsitmas letter to write, and things to bake and make.  It is all a part of the fun of this time of year.  To me, the trick is to not stress yourself but to keep your list to the enjoyable.

May your Christmas be a time of love and fun with your family and pleasing to your Lord.   I will write more on that later.

Mother of 6 blessings (and #7 due in Jan. 09!) from the Lord & Helpmeet to my Handsome Hubby who is my best blessing of all