I'm Off!

Tomorrow I'm going to go on my first road trip by myself with six kids! Pray for me!!!!!

I will be going to La Grande to go visit my twin sis. I will first stop by Pendleton and do lunch with Mom. I think we will go to a tiny market that still has the real Jo Jo's and chicken strips with ranch. It's cheap and we can take them to Mom's if the weather is nasty or we can go find a park and eat them if the weather is nice. After that, I'll drive to La Grande. So I should get there about 1:00-1:30 p.m. That gives us lots of time on Friday to hang out.

We usually don't leave the house once I get there, but this time we are planning on taking the kids to a pizza buffet.

We will be catching up on American Idol and watching "A Dinner of Bitter Herbs" from Netflix. Sunday will be church, lunch then I'll be off again. It's a short trip, but should be fun.

I can't wait for Jackie to get to know Lily better.

Today has been busy. Homeschooled in the morning, made a Norwegian Peach cake, A quadruple batch of sausage gravy to freeze for breakfasts, made bread, ran errands, gassed up the Suburban, and paid the bills. I made Teriyaki Chicken and then made Thai rolls with the chicken for dinner. Oh, yeah I did three loads of laundry and packed six kids, too. I almost forgot to pack myself! Yikes, that would have been funny!

Flower Beds

I am just loving how my candy tuft is filling out (that's the white flowers). I eventually want all of this to be solid flowers. No dirt showing. it's taken me 3 years to get it that this.

The cherry tree fully bloomed.

This is pretty much all filled out now. I love it! Just a few bare patches.

Here is another angle of the flaux (sp?) and candy tuft. Those bushes are the left are going to be bright yellow in a few weeks. I can't wait to show you!

A Cheaper Plate for Large Families

I was complaining about how fast we were going through paper plates to my stepmom. She suggested that we use these fry boats that you can get at Cash and Carry. These boats are only $10 for 250 of them! You can't use them for anything that is too greasy or wet unless you have a paper towel or napkin on the bottom. They are great for desserts, snacks, sandwhiches, and sides. Just wanted to share in case you have a large family like ours.

Oh, you can also double them if you need them to be a bit more sturdy.

Building Character

Building Character

Dear Mothers,

A wise woman once said, "While we're focused on building character in our children, God is focused on building character in us."

"Maybe it's perseverance - we can't give up on them. Maybe it's patience - no one guarantees immediate results. Maybe it's humility - lest any man should boast! Maybe it's contentment - learning not to envy that mom down the street whose kids seem to have it all together. Maybe it's dependability - truly showing our children that we'll stick with them even when their behavior breaks our hearts. Maybe it's dying to self - doing what needs to be done, even when we don't want to. Like oh say. . . playing a board game with your kids when you'd rather read a book by yourself. (Ouch stepping on my OWN toes now.)And maybe it's for God to continue to grow our faith in Him, to truly remind us to walk by faith and not by sight. When we see what God can do in our children's lives in spite of all of our mistakes and shortcomings (both parents and children), we are reminded that truly it IS all about Him. It's not always easy, but it is about Him"

These words are from a homeschool mother, Nancy Carter. I admire her honestly and frankness as well as her vulnerability.

When we are having those horrific days of what seems to be chaos and madness, remember that God is using these children and sometimes difficult situations to refine us and build our own character. When we see anger spewing out of our children’s mouths and recognize our own voice, it hopefully makes us stop, repent to God and ask for His gracious forgiveness to cover our own sins. We are quick to point out our children’s faults, but are we as quick to admit our own?

This is something to think about. God loves US as much as He loves our children. He wants our impurities to be brought to the surface so we can impart our newly found wisdom or character change upon our children. It’s a win-win situation!

Don’t avoid those character-building moments, embrace them and you will be made whole!

From One Mom to Another,

Stacie

Lily is One Month!

Jessica and I put Lily in this pretty blue dress for Sunday. She looked so sweet in it!

I'm just loving my little Lily!

I didn't blog yesterday (that's weird). I just didn't have much to say. It was Steve's day off, but he ended up going to work from 12:00 to 8:30 p.m. So I had to Tae Kwon Do by myself. I dropped the older kids off and then went to get the oil changed in the rig, ran some errands and grabbed a decaf coffee and hot chocolate for the little kids. It turned out fine. Came home and made a new chicken recipe.

Super Moist Chicken

1/3 cup mayo
2 TBS of tomato sauce

Mix together and dip chicken tenderloins in it. Then dip into bread crumbs. Bake at 350 till they aren't pink. Doesn't take that long. Very easy!

We homeschooled in the morning as well. I got everything done by history. But I loved the fact that at night we were able to read "Hank the Cowdog". I love reading this book to the kids. It is so funny! You can really play up the voices and make it ten times funnier. I had to force the kids to go to bed!

Today is Mom's Morning Out. I will leave all of the kids here with Steve except Lily. It will be nice to get out. I will homeschool in the afternoon. Should be a mellow day. Steve will probably try to get overtime in the afternoon.

Steve and I watched "Yes Man". Don't bother. I can not believe how much cussing there was in a PG-13 movie! Yikes, two F-Words, and lots of others, and the sexual content was appalling. Also, "Australia" was not very good either. I didn't bother finishing it.

We are watching a lot of "I Love Lucy". The kids and I just love it. I can not believe what good clean fun it is. It is so refreshing! We can get them off Netflix.

Steve's making breakfast and Lily wants to be fed, so I better scoot!

Misc. Pictures

Jessica put Aunt Jackie's shower cap on Andrew while he was taking a bath. He looked so cute in it! Yes, Jackie, you left it here!

Jess and Jaker's Man

I love both of these smiles! Candy, you look so happy when you babysit my kids. I guess, that's why I don't have any problem asking you. I know you adore them. You have been such a blessing to me!

Blooms and Smiles

My other cherry tree bloomed.

This is my favorite tree in my whole yard!

Jess put this neclace on Lily.

Lily's second smile. She first gave Marcus a huge smile, then I caught the tail end of this one. I hate the delay on digitals!

Cherry Festival Entrys

Jess grabbed candy for Jacob who was hanging out in the stroller.

This just looks weird! A cherry head? Never seen that one before!

Go National Guard! We enjoyed seing the Bradley tank.

Marcus is in the blue. He was invited to ride with Grandpa and Regina's wagon.

Cherry Festival 2009

Dennis and Candy saved my bacon when Steve went for overtime. We had promised the kids to take them to the Cherry Festival Parade. There is no way I could have done it myself. Especially, since the two older boys were not there to help.

Andrew looks so cute in his hat!

Lily was snuggled up in the Ergo, but I was freezing! I'm still cold.

Candy looks great here! She never coughed once during the parade. Usually, the cold makes her cough.

The Boys Buy the Pizza!

Josh and Marcus were asking if I could order a pizza for dinner. I really didn't want to so I through out, "if you want to buy it, you can order it." They had just deposited their money in the bank account so they didn't have any cash on hand. I told them they could earn it. I didn't think they would go for that. But they got inspired! They decided to go for it. I had to hurry to think of a bunch of chores for them to do.

This is what they did:

Josh: washed windows on the inside, cleaned all the cupboards and appliance fronts in the kitchen, swept the kitchen, bathroom, utility room and the dining room, and washed all the doors in the house

Marcus: vacuumed all the bedrooms and made my bed, he cleaned my bathroom and washed down both bathtubs, and he mopped the dining room.

I think that was worth 15 bucks, don't you?

The cool thing about this is that I was just praying to God this morning during my Bible study and telling Him how frustrated I am that I don't ever get to deep clean much. I want so much to be able to keep up with the housework, but some days it just doesn't happen. I'm lucky if I can cook, clean the kitchen, homeschool, sweep the kitchen floor, do the dishes and do 4 loads of laundry each day. I know it will get easier when Lily is older, I just hate living in a dirty house. So God answered my prayers today. Isn't that wonderful?

Andrew even chipped in $2 out of his bank. They were all so proud of themselves and I think that pizza even tasted better because of their hard work.

All for a pizza...

Good and Bad Attitudes Homeschooling

I love this picture. Josh is working diligently, and there is Marcus in the corner for smarting off. This is pretty typical at our house when it's time to homeschool. Marcus is EXTREMELY bright, but has a hard time controlling his tongue. Josh is starting to learn that it does pay off to have to go on break because it just takes that much longer to homeschool.

He is doing so much better on his math and phonics this year. It is very exciting! School has always been a challenge to Josh.

I'm starting to pay the boys to do some odd jobs. I asked Josh to clean up the mud room. He did a fantastic job! I love the fact that he took the time to organize it!

That was worth $5.00!

Mystery Tree?

Can you tell me what kind of tree this might be? It has these beautiful sweet smelling blooms in the spring.

I'm starting to get straw around my garden beds this time. I'm told it keeps the weeds down. The left bed has strawberries in it, and I've planted Chinese Snow peas in the back of the right bed. I'm do bush beans and tomatoes towards the front.

My Tulips and Candy Tuft

This is my favorite flower bed in the spring. I just love filling up that old wheelbarrow with flowers!

I planted that tiny pink geranium. I'm hoping it will spread and just be beautiful in the spring!

My daffodils are starting fade, but the flaux are blooming and the bushes are starting to bloom as well.

Their is my candy tuft! I plant more every year, so some of these beds are starting to fill in more.

Healing

I just went to the doctor today and he said I look well-rested and that I'm walking a lot better. Yeah! My hips and pelvis still ache and hurt, but I'm doing everything I can for them.

Yesterday, we just hung out. Steve was working and I decided to not go into town today. I sprayed weeds when Lily was sleeping and tried cleaning the house up. The kids played outside a bunch since the weather was so good.

This afternoon should be more of the same. I've homeschooled all week and the kids are doing really well getting back into the routine. I was expecting the worst, but Josh has actually been better than all three of them. His attitude has dramatically changed. Jessica's attitude is the nasty one now. We've had lots of breaks.

I just received all of my 150 plus pictures in the mail today. Oh, my I have a lot of scrapbooking to do! I can't wait till the end of June!

Bev Peters, if you read this, Thank you so much for the adorable card! I've never seen anything so cute! I love the eyelet for the binky!

Are Your Children Team Players?

Are Your Children Team Players?

I am a mother who firmly believes in teamwork! I have learned that the more children I have, the more we ALL need to work together to make our home a peaceful, happy place.

Do you just do things for your children because it is easier to not “make” them do it? Yes, it is a real hassle and a pain in the neck to teach your children to do chores the right way. It takes training and consistency! It takes TIME! Time is something that mommies seem to be short of. It also takes patience.

Do you want lazy, irresponsible children? Do you want whiners, who go around saying “I’m bored” or “I have nothing to do.” Giving them responsibility gives them something worthwhile to do. It’s training them for the future. It’s teaching them to be diligent in all kinds of areas. If it’s pets, then they are learning how to keep something alive! If it’s housekeeping, their future spouses will thank you for a well-trained mate.

I read this quote off of an email and I just had to share it with you.

“If Mommy does everything for them, then what we're really saying is that their "help" is not required. How sad. Put them to work; give them responsibility (and the privileges that come from it!). They are a part of the TEAM - an important family player! Give them a taste of real life so that they can grow up and serve others, too. Smothering them with servitude which only goes in one direction equals the wrong kind of "sheltering." Let it flow both ways and enjoy a happy, well-balanced household.”

Amen to that! If we teach them to be team players at home, then they will hopefully grow up to be team players in their work places, marriages, and most importantly in God’s Kingdom.

From One Mom to Another,
Stacie

Jacob Sleeping

When I came back from visiting Rachel, Candy showed me how Jacob had fallen asleep. We just cracked up because of how he had his little legs crossed. What a little cherub!

Rachel's Baby Mary Pictures

Here is Rachel with Mary. She's a big girl! She was 10 lbs.

I think Mary looks like Elijah (her second child).

Rachel is doing really well. She is sore, but the bleeding is not too heavy. I guess redheads bleed a lot.

I tried to get a picture of Lily and Mary. It is a terrible picture because she was really fussy. I had the nurses weigh Lily while we were up there. She is now 8.10 lbs! Still, she looked tiny compared to Mary!

I called Candy and she came over to watch the kiddos so I could visit Rach. I hope I can watch some of the kids for them so Paul can go have some time at the hospital without having to bring all the kids with him. I'm also going to give him a meal so he doesn't have to worry about cooking.