Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

We have pumpkins everywhere!



Down the sidewalk,

around the corner,

it just keeps going,

all over the front porch too.

We have pumpkins everywhere!

There were pumpkins we did as a family. Then there were the ones we did with the homeschool group. To top it off, we did some at Meme's house. Don't forget that the girls and I had already decorated the front with some hay and pumpkins. You would think our front yard is a pumpkin patch. Maybe we went a little overboard, but we have had lots of fun.

Three Princesses

Once upon a time,

there were three princesses...

...who lived in a castle with their fierce dragon...

I love watching them pretend! I wish they would stay young forever!

A Sunday Funny

Another day, Another story. That's what happens when you're a mom 24/7.




We had a Sunday School gathering to go to this last weekend. After church, all of our class and their kiddos, gathered together for a pizza picnic at the church park. Things were going so well. The same children who come out of their classes every other Sunday threatening to eat me if I don't quickly present something edible, were patient while waiting for their food and drink. They ate, we visited, and all was smooth.


I was getting to comfortable. I let my guard down.


After they ate, they ran off to play with all the other munchkins their age. They were playing so nice and having a ball, and that is when it happened. Right as I was relaxing and visiting with all the ladies. Just as Scott was cracking a joke to his buddies. Right in plain view where everyone could see it, Piper (who is 2) pulls down her panties, squats, and pees!!


I know that in the last post I said she was not wearing panties in public, but we decided to bite the bullet, bring extra clothes, and give it a try on Sunday. I guess we weren't thinking about the lunch plans.


When I saw what she was doing, I made a mad dash across the field to snatch her up, but it was to late. She was done. Of course, everyone could see what had happened. Was I embarrassed? Nope! She's #6! This is not my first pee story. I just told them all that I was glad she had pulled down her panties first. I can't wait till she is older and I can make her blush with this story.


Other than that, no one took their clothes off (another common occurrence with my little ones), got lost, or lost their temper. Overall, I'd say it was a good day. At least it was pee and not, well you know. Just another day, with another story from a mom with 6.

Mother 24/7

Mother 24/7

There are no sick days.

You will be required to work nights and weekends.

Lots of on-the-job training.

There will be light cleaning (every minute!).

Negotiating skills are required.

Other skills needed are: love, grace, and patience.

This job requires you to be bi-lingual.

You must be able to speak each child's love language,

baby talk, and text in teen lingo.

You can never quit or retire.

You will be paid in priceless items, such as hugs and kisses and the occasional spontaneous "I love you."

This is the hardest job in the world,

full of stretch marks and embarrassing moments

in public, but...

This is the BEST job in the world,

where heroes and leaders are being formed.

Mother 24/7 moment from this past week:

I took the 3 little ones with me to a store. After being in line for 10 min. or so, I look down at little P to see a bunched up pair of panties hanging out of her shirt. No, she does not wear panties in public yet, still working on that. She had decided to put some on ( that is, around her waist, not through the legs) before we left. These panties were to big for her and were now hanging out the bottom of her shirt. It was so noticeable and you could tell that it was undies. I wish I could insert a pic here so you could see how funny it looked. So, what did I do? I laughed, tucked them into her pants, and waited till we got to the car to take them off of her.

I am proud to be a Mother 24/7 x 6.

Do you have any stories that prove your job title is Mother 24/7? Please share.

12 Before Your 12 - Part 2

You are a product of the God you serve,

the friends you keep,

the tv/movies you watch,

the books you read,

and the music you listen to.

This was the theme of our third month in "twelve before you're twelve". This is a time that Bryce and I take once a month. We spend time just the two of us and I share pieces of wisdom based on God's word. I think this is a very important age. She will be entering her pre-adult years and there will be many temptations. I hope to plant some seeds of truth that will carry her through.

Our discussion that month was on friendships. I know that as a parent we cannot choose their friends for them, but I believe we can encourage them to be leaders whose friends do not influence their convictions. That is what it all comes down to, their convictions. She has reached the age where our rules should become her rules. This builds off of the first part where we talked about the Prov. 31 woman. Once a decision has been made to follow God's example, then you naturally begin to establish your own convictions. The more time she spends in His word, the more her heart will be drawn to the things He wants in her life. She will be drawn to those who encourage her walk with the Lord and are building their own character.

I used the word picture of bumper guards to explain convictions to B. Like in bowling, when the bumper guards are up, if the ball sways to the side it will not fall into the gutter. Instead the ball will bounce back over and continue down the path to its goal. Our convictions should be there to keep us from falling into the "gutter" and push us back over to our intended goal.

Do you have young ones in your life? What are you doing to encourage them to follow God's plan for their life? His plan is not in the future, it is in the now! Take time to encourage them to have their own convictions based on His word.

Boomer! Sooner!

Remember this?

In this house we're Sooner born and Sooner bred!

On this OU/Texas weekend there is only one thing to say,

GO! SOONERS! GO!

Texas joke of the day:

How do you keep a Texan out of your front yard?

Paint a goal line on it!

Disclaimer One: The above joke excludes all Texans who root for OU!

Disclaimer Two: Scott says it is wrong to hate except if you are hating Texas:)

The Flu of '09

We made it through! We started off our week with the flu. Monday morning #1 was the first to feel ill. By Tuesday, there were 3 more (#'s 2,4,6). On Wednesday #5 followed their lead. That only left one, #3. She has shown no signs and is going strong, maybe she's been spared.

But, if I end the story here, you'd miss all the details, like:

Why is it that letting three little ones make a pallet in your room one night translates to them that this is the new norm and they should expect to do this forever?

I have been to Walgreen's four times in four days. Confession: I did go with a Tylenol stain down the front of my shirt and was wearing my slippers. I'll admit there were a few looks.

Our new washer came on Wednesday. It came just in time. Every blanket, pillow case, and towel needed to be sanitized. #5 was so disappointed that it was not pink. In her world everything has to be pink.

Through a friend who is a PA ( and she has a great blog at http://mommysondra.blogspot.com/) I found out about Sambucol. It is a natural immune builder. You can get it at Walgreen's near the Zicam and Airborn. The kids like the taste of it. I started them all on this immediately and I think it shortened their illness.

I had a chance to practice relaxing this week. No, not the kind where you curl up with a good book. It's the kind where I choose no to stress if life is not going as "smoothly" as it normally does. I had fun playing Uno with my older girls and cuddling with my little ones.

Most of all, I have been amazed by daughter #3 this week. This is a girl that loves life. She can be very distracted at times. For the last year Scott and I have been trying to mold her character to slowdown and think of others needs. There have been moments we wondered if we were getting through. This week God showed us how her heart is turned towards others. She showed great maturity this week as she helped mommy care for everyone. To see how God has used this week in her life makes all the hard work well worth it.


Now everyone is well. No one has ran a fever in over 24 hrs. Yea! The sun has returned to our state. Yea, again! The OU/Texas game is on Saturday. Yea, Yea, and Yea! Normalcy is Back!

Way to go Mr. Rogers

You have got to see this.

Great job, Mr. Rogers!

He says what so many of us are thinking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=G44NCvNDLfc

Time to Reminisce

Another cloudy, rainy day here.

So there is only one thing to do.

Stop and remember all the fun in the sun we had this summer.

I love going back and looking over our pics, especially when the clouds start bringing everyone down.

I wish I could say that I handle life with a smile like this:

But sometimes my attitude can be affected by days of rain.

So, when all else fails, it is time to reminisce.

It is working already!

How do you get rid of the "rainy day blues"? I would love to know, especially since this weather won't be changing anytime soon. Hope it's dry where you are.

With In The Word

Do you need some encouragement?



Wish you could join a Bible study, but you know that you have no time?


Well, guess what, you are in luck!

My mom has been working towards this for a long time. She finally has a website that allows others to see her bible study, follow along, and get some encouraging words.

SO, what are you waiting for?

Go visit to http://withintheword.com .

You will love it!

Truths

There are some truths that you pick off trees.



There are truths in life that are easy to see. Want to know the truth about raising a two year old? Go to Barnes and Noble and you'll find most anything you want to know. Need to know the details of the prescription you are taking? Just call the pharmacist. Want to know facts on other topics? It's just a click away. We can Google to find answer quickly and easily. Even God's Word has truths that are plain to see. It is a blessing to simple minded people like myself. I have given all my braincells away so that my kids would be smart. I can open up Psalms and find truths about my Creator. In Proverbs I can find what a Godly wife should be like or how to be a wise person. Genesis shares the truth on how the world came into existence. These verses are easy to glean truth from. It is as easy as walking up and picking fruit off of a tree.



There are some truths that you have to dig for like potatoes.



There are other truths that come after you "get your hands dirty". These are the pearls of wisdom that you should search for in your time with the Lord. And when you find these truths, they will be life changing. Ask yourself when was the last time you dug for truth. Unfortunately, we seem to only do this when our life seems to be falling apart. Imagine if you already had some deep truths whenever trials came. You would be armed and ready.



So go on and eat your "fruits and vegetables"--- Soak up those easy truths, and dig for those pieces of wisdom.

What Is That?

Want to know what that is?

Well, lets go back in time. Back in June I wrote a post about Throwing Off Your Complacency. It was based on this verse:

Isaiah 32:9-13 "Listen you women who lie around in ease. Listen to me you who are smug. In a short time- in a little more than a year- you careless ones will suddenly begin to care. For your fruit crops will fail and the harvest will never take place. Tremble, you women of ease; throw off your complacency... For your land will be overthrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone." (NLT)

For to long we have allowed evil to influence our children and stifle our freedoms. We have sat back while God, marriage, parenting, and the home have been attacked.

We must start caring! We need to stop being complacent! If we fail to act, we will lose our joyful homes and happy towns.

So, how do we protect our homes?

-It starts with prayer.

-Then, you need to be aware and active. The button above will link you to As A Mom. This is a new site where moms can join together, inform one another, and encourage each other on ways to take a stand.

Please join me and others at As A Mom. Lets stand together!

You Are Not Alone

Are you exhausted?
Are you willing to take any sales call just for some adult conversation?

Do you feel alone?
Do you feel like no one else has ever felt the way your feeling now?

I'm here to offer you some encouragement. As a mom of many little ones I can remember days when I only had three. They were all so close in age. There were many days that I felt overwhelmed. I saw other moms that were a little further down life's road and thought they had it all put together. But I have come to realize two things. First, they had older ones to help with their many little ones (thankfully I do too now). Second, they did not have it all together. They felt overwhelmed weekly, if not daily, just as you , and I do. So the truth is we all feel overwhelmed, but we all make it through.

How do I make it through?

First, I would encourage you to daily spend time in God's word. He will be your strength, joy and peace. When you start to feel like you're loosing your mind, stop and think "Have I had time with Him today?" I can always tell those days when I told God I was to busy to read His love letter to me. Make this a priority. Dive into His word and get to know Him in a new way. He is the one that has called you to motherhood. He has a plan. Ask Him what His plan is for you and your little ones. Your heart will be softened as you read His word and spend time in prayer.

The next thing I would encourage you to do is to start an exercise routine. Whether you are a size 2 or not, this can help. I don't say this to encourage vanity, but motherhood is a demanding job, you need to be ready for everything. I wish I had started this earlier in my life, but I often poo-pawed it. In the last year, I have made it a part of my morning routine. It is my time to do something for myself. I do it before anyone else is up so I get to watch the show I like, or spend time praying, or even listening to music. All of this starts my day off with a smile. This does mean you will lose some sleep, but "no sleep" is just part of motherhood. Everyone needs to have their own time. Maybe your special time is not exercising, but you need to find something you enjoy. Make time for it!

The last thing is, who is your support group? You must have a support group! Who are those around you that you know will encourage you? Even if they are not on the same path as you, who are those that will let you vent your struggles and call you back to Christ? This is not a one person job, that is why I used the word group. You need ladies around you that have older children. These are the ladies you could seek advise from. Ask them how they survived. Have others whose children are the same age as yours. There can be some real validation from these ladies. You will realize you are not the only one, you are not alone. You should even have those that have younger children than yours. Through them you'll be reminded of how you felt before and made it through. You could be a big encouragement to them.

So remember:

You are doing the greatest job in this world!

Satan wants you to fail!

You are not alone!

Let the joy of the Lord be your strength.

Fall Decorations

What a great Friday night! After feeding all little ones, Scott and I left the two oldest in charge and went on a date, well, kind of. We are letting the older girls practice since they are not quite old enough, so we ate dinner outside. The little ones thought we were gone, so there were no interuptions. After about an hour, it was time to go in have a slice of pineapple upside down cake I had made earlier and start movie night. It was a late night, but lots of fun. I got up this morning and took all the girls to the Farmers Market. I love doing this. We just don't do it enough. We bought some corn to go along with the ribs daddy is cooking for dinner. But, we were really there to pick up some pumpkins. After gathering all sizes and shapes, we headed home to decorate. Here are some pics of how it all turned out:

Didn't the girls do a great job?! I love fall! I wish it was like this all year. How about you?