Wednesday, December 18, 2013

How Deep the Father's Love for us

This is a song we love to sing at church.  Hope you enjoy!

 How deep the Father's love for us
how vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
to make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss!
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,
my sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there,
until it was accomplished.
His dying breath has brought me life,
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast of anything;
no gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart;
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Won!

So I won these the other day and received them in the mail today!  I'm excited to read them....I know I will be encouraged and convicted!!  The first book is Proverbs for Parenting and the second is Parenting is HEART Work.











In other news, this has been quite the trying week.  We got home from vacation and a couple of the kids have come down with a croupy cough.  Then we got stranded on the side of the road when our van alternator died.  Then hubby was in bed for 2 days with we're-not-sure-what but thankfully he is back to his normal self again....and we also found out that our dear Pastor has resigned and is leaving the end of the month to be a senior pastor at another church!  We are happy for their family but are sure going to miss them!!!  I hope this next coming week will be better.  We will start it off with hubby's work Christmas party so the kids are looking forward to that!

Today the weather is calling for lots of snow so hubby has already left from work early to avoid the dangerous roads.

For baby updates, everything is on track and looking good.  She is still such an active girl!  We are counting down with 8 weeks left!

And last night, our big girl comes downstairs and says her tooth is really wiggly and wants me to pull it out.  I grab a kleenex and hold onto the tooth....give it a twist and out it pops only to realize I'm holding 2 MOLARS!  How in the world I pulled out both I do not know but poor girl cant chew on her left side anymore (both teeth were loose by the way).
That's about it.....

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Thanksgiving

We had a nice time away for Thanksgiving.  It is always enjoyable spending the holidays with family.  We were able to see the grandparents and great-grandparents, cousins (Aunt/Uncle) and second cousins.  Here are a few pics....





Sunday, November 24, 2013

Slacking!

Not only have I been behind in my blogging but I was seriously slacking with getting the kids birthday pictures done professionally!  We finally got our July birthday boy done and still have our Sept birthday boy yet to do....followed with our girl who is going to have a birthday in a couple weeks.  Ahhhh!!  Well, here are his pics and the first one is the one we bought.














Wednesday, November 13, 2013

28 week appointment

I had an ultrasound today to check if the placenta has moved up out of the way for baby to be born and it has!!  We thank the Lord for this answer to prayer.  Baby looked really good.  She is measuring exactly according to her due date and she looked healthy and very active.  She is approx. 3 lbs and 14 in long.  We are thankful for this good report today.
I've been recording my blood sugar at home and the doctor was very happy with the results.  I did experiment a little with some foods to see how it would affect my sugar levels and there are some things I do need to eat in moderation.  He would like me to continue monitoring but was very happy.
So it was a good day today!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Grandma and Grandpa visit

Had a nice but quick visit with Grandma and Grandpa over the weekend!  The kids loved it!


Friday, November 1, 2013

Updates

Thought I would update about pregnancy etc.  I had a doctors visit yesterday and had high blood pressure again.  I took in my record sheet which I have been recording my BP at home morning and night.  The numbers were great so the doctor is not concerned with my BP anymore.  He sees that it is high only at office visits (which I don't know why....oh well).  I need to start recording my blood sugar at home now to see if I am diabetic or not.  He was fine with me not doing the 3 hr glucose test.  Baby had a good heartbeat.  She is lying transverse (side to side) at the moment.  All my babies tend to flip back and forth, up and down until the last minute!  I go for an ultrasound in 2 weeks to see if my placenta has moved away from the cervix.  Praying it has so that I will not need a c-section!   I have been having some contractions.  The other day they were 10 mins apart for an hour.  I was getting a little worried but was glad when they finally stopped.  Don't want this little gal to come too early!!  Thirteen more weeks to go!  Other than that all looks well.....

The family is all doing great.  We were just talking about hubby's throat the other day.  It has been 20 months since his last surgery!!  (He was going every 8 months!!)  We are so very thankful the diet change seems to have done the trick.  God is so good.  All the kids are doing great.  We have started learning Spanish which has been interesting.  I think it will be a long time before we are fluent in the language!!!  Other than that, school is going well.  

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Can you spot him?

Here is the yearly staff photo at hubby's work.  He is very easy to pick out this year.  Can you spot him?













Also, a quick update on me.  I was suppose to go to my 3 hr glucose test today (thank you for all those thinking of me today).  I actually cancelled it.  If you know me, I'm a researcher.  I have a need to find out as much as I can when it comes to medical things.  I was really struggling with going for this test.  It does not seem natural to me to put your body into a fast and then give it a sugar shock like that.  Side effects are vomiting, fainting, sweating, shakes, nausea.....it's just not natural!!  So I set out to research better ways :)  Many midwives simply recommend that you take your blood sugar after each meal (using glucose strips - diabetic meter) for about a week.  You can buy them for under $20 at Walmart or other pharmacies.  It is a more 'real world' scenario  rather than the syrupy sugar drink.  So, I will be talking to my doctor and praying he will get on board with me and my idea *smile*.....I'm such a pain when it comes to following doctors orders!!
I've also been recording by blood pressure at home for the past several days.  I have great readings at home....it just seems to be when I go to the doctor....so we'll see what he says about that too!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Church pics

Here's the kids before church this morning....I love when they color coordinate :)


Friday, October 18, 2013

Disappointed

Well, I didn't get good news from my glucose test.  First time I have failed it.  Now I have to go for the 3 hr glucose tolerance test.....yuck!  Also, my blood pressure was high again so I have to do the 24 hr urine test.....uuugggg.  They talked about starting medication again.  I guess I'm showing my maternal age!!  I don't think I'm diabetic.  My numbers were slightly elevated but they say only 1/3 of woman who take the 3 hr test are actually diabetic.  But they say it can be quite nauseating because you have to fast for 10 hrs and take a really sweet drink and have blood drawn 4 times over 3 hrs!!!!  I hope I don't faint!  I also have to start recording my blood pressure during the day for the next 2 weeks and bring it to my next appointment.  I am looking forward to this stage being over and holding our little one!!!  Please keep me in your prayers that I will pass and do well at my glucose test on Tuesday.....that I can get my blood pressure under control....and that I will stay healthy (and baby as well!)  Poor hubby does not like this stress :)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Soup Recipe

Well, supper turned out really good!!  My family is going to be shocked but I made broccoli cheese potato soup AND I ate it!  It was very tasty!  I surprise myself sometimes.  The majority of the kids enjoyed it too....the 2 younger ones liked to dip their bread in it and eat it that way.  Here is the recipe:
-Steam 2 small bunches of broccoli in steamer for 30 mins.
-Peel 2 medium size potatoes and cube.
-In a pot, pour 3-4 cups chicken broth and add cubed potatoes....boil until potatoes are soft.
-In another pot, melt 3 tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp thyme.
-When butter is melted, add 3 tbsp flour and thoroughly mix.
-Pour the chicken broth and potatoes(when it is done cooking) into the buttered pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about 5 mins until thickened.
-Take the steamed broccoli and finely chop it into small bits.  Add to the soup mix.
-Add 1/2 cup milk or cream.
-Add 1 and 1/4 cup shredded cheese (sharp or mild) to soup.  Mix until melted.


Birthday, berries and books

Today is hubby's birthday.  We are a very blessed family!  We love you daddy!!  The kids are making him a special yogurt surprise for dessert and I'm going to attempt a new recipe :)  I'll let you know how it turns out.
Here are some pics of our girl eating her berries.  What a cutie! .....and the kiddos hard at work to finish up school today.



Monday, October 14, 2013

Pics!

It's been awhile since I've taken any pics of the kids.  I was taking some of our little one and our 3yr old wanted some done too....so here are some with some effects as well.



Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Paul Washer and his wife's testimony

I'm a huge fan of Paul Washer. He gives the gospel message like no other. The first is a message by Paul, the second video is his wife's testimony. Both are very powerful.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Lamplighter Dramatic Audios

I've written about these stories before how much we LOVE them!!  Whenever we go on a long trip, these audios are brought out and we listen to them over and over.  I just found a site that lets you listen to some of these stories for free!!  They are broken up into smaller segments.  The kids favorites are Hedge of Thorns and Basket of Flowers....but we love all of them!
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?currpage=1&keyword=lamplighter&SourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=Lamplighter+Theatre&AudioOnly=false&sortby=

Friday, September 20, 2013

Pastor in disguise

http://ireporterstv.co/church-members-mistreat-homeless-man-in-church-unaware-it-is-their-pastor-in-disguise/

Wow....that was interesting!  A new pastor to a church with a membership of 10,000 arrived for his first service disguised as a homeless man.  Read how his unknowing congregation treated him and how they reacted when he was finally introduced as their new pastor!! (the elders were in on it the whole time)

Monday, September 16, 2013

Kicks

So fun!  All the kids were able to feel baby move tonight.  I love how their eyes get wide every time they feel her kick.  I love this stage!!  And hubby was able to feel her tonight too.

Happy Birthday

Our boy turned 6!!!  I can't believe how these kids are growing so fast!  My oldest came to rescue again for me this birthday.....making the cake.  We got home from church and I really needed a nap so off she went and made the cake.  It was delicious!  We didn't decorate it according to our snake theme but he sure loved his 'snake' themed cards!!  He got his toy guns he was hoping for, some Star Wars figurines, and a ninja suit and sword.
He's 6!




















Cake decorator





Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Number 6

So I haven't made an official blog announcement.....but my pregnancy ticker up top does the trick!  We are so excited as we wait the arrival of our newest member in the new year.  And as you can see from the choice of colors....it's going to be a GIRL!  I've been having high blood pressure early on and today the doctor actually brought up the idea of starting medication to control it.  I really want to wait a bit to see if will improve....I really dislike medication during pregnancy!!  Please be in prayer with us about this that I can get it under control.  She is quite an active little girl already.  I love feeling those movements!  Can't wait till the kids can start to feel those kicks.
God is so good.  We feel so very blessed :)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Day 4 Part 2

After visiting the lighthouse and grabbing some lunch, we headed to the Marina.  Our friends' Dad owns a boat and took individual families for a tour on the water.  We saw a freighter being loaded and the limestone quarry.  The kids had a blast and so did Daddy!  Especially when we were going fast!  Well our poor baby girl didn't like it so much.  She practically crawled right out of her life jacket and hung on to me for dear life (crying the whole way).  I don't think she has sea legs at all.
We then headed for the lake (Huron)....finally.  It is what the kids have been waiting for the entire time!  The temperature wasn't too bad for most of the afternoon but as it got closer towards supper, the cool air was getting a little nippy.  The pictures show the utter excitement the kids experienced all afternoon....

It was such a great week!  We hope to continue this type of vacation with these families.  It is such a wonderful experience to spend good quality fellowship with other like-minded believers.  You can see how each family is striving to raise Godly children.  They were all soooo well behaved.  It was purely a delightful, encouraging week!