HomeGrownWithLove

School and house updates

2012-02-12T18:10:00.003-05:00

Not alot going on around here. That's probably a good thing!! Everyone is healthy at the moment (except for my very minor sinus issues still). We are approaching the end of our school year. This year seems to be taking much longer than the others because we took Aug/Sept off for packing and moving etc. We have a little over 30 days left to our year. We are reviewing material to take our Year End Diagnostic tests.
No news on the house yet. We had another showing and people seem to love the house, but not the winter view through the backyard. I think once the leaves come in we will have different results. Our rental agreement here is up the end of March which leaves only 2 weeks before baby arrives. We are hoping he will allow us to extend our agreement on a month to month basis until our house sells.....still waiting to hear back from him.

more updates

2012-02-08T13:09:00.005-05:00

We have a fever-free boy today! Yay!! He still has what sounds like a cold, but he is doing sooooo much better. Active and hungry once again :) I know he's glad to be out of his room and with his siblings again.

My sister in law still hasn't left the hospital yet. Baby boy is doing great but her platelets aren't going back up again. Please keep her in prayer. I know they are anxious to get home and see their other children as well!!

We had a little snow this morning on the ground and in the air. Didn't stick around long, but the kids always get excited when they see the least bit of snow! I'm making several loaves of wheat bread today, so we'll see how they turn out. I LOVE homemade bread!!! That's about it over here......

***Just heard she is going home! Her platelets have gone way up. What a praise :)

Updates and News

2012-02-06T11:43:00.004-05:00

I have another nephew! He was born early this morning into a family of 3 older sisters!! Watch out baby boy :) You're going to have lots of 'momma's' looking out for you. Now that we live in a different state, we can only see him by pictures at the moment. Hopefully soon we will get to see him and hold him.

Other news, our boy is still running a high fever. He looks soooo pitiful!! It stays pretty constant at 103 - 103.5 during the day, but we give him meds at night so he (and mommy and daddy!) can sleep!! If it runs the same course as little sister, he will hopefully be over the fever part by Thurs.

No other real updates to talk of. No news on the house....no new news on baby....although hearing about my nephew makes me wish April was here all the more!!! (but everyone needs to get better first)

Here we go again....

2012-02-05T08:39:00.002-05:00

Seems like our little guy has caught whatever our littlest one had a week ago. He's had a high fever through the night, throat seems to be getting sore, eyes watering......oh, the next several days are not going to be fun! Please pray for this momma and our sweet boy (and that NO one else is the family gets it!!)

Not funny

2012-02-01T11:02:00.003-05:00

I don't know if you are aware of the constant attack Ken Ham/Answers in Genesis and the Ark Encounter face daily, but here is just another example of the attack against them from the Kentucky Newspaper 'Courier Journal'.

This moment

2012-01-31T17:45:00.004-05:00

As we wait for Daddy to arrive home for supper, this is what is going on in our house at this moment.....

coloring....with a pencil :)

reading Mandie

reading her dinosaur and A is for Adam book

building a fort with pillows

Sunday

2012-01-29T19:01:00.002-05:00

We were all able to go to church today. Everyone is doing well! Hubby and I have a mild cold, but kids seem to be doing well. Now lets pray it stays that way :) I don't know what they add to antibiotics to make it taste good, but our girl loves it.....makes giving it to her a whole lot easier than having to fight to get it in her.
Other updates:
Our big girl has discovered the Mandie series books. I used to read them when I was young. I found a few on ebay last year and she is zipping through the ones we have. She is on her fifth book in just a couple days!
Our little guy seems to be doing well with his arm. There have been no complaints about pain lately, even when we press on it. I don't know if it was just a bad sprain or a fracture, but if he shows any signs of pain we will take him in to be looked at.
Baby's activity seems to be decreasing a little. She must be getting a little cramped in there now. We have a little over 10 weeks to go....seems so far away!
Thank you again for all the prayers during our 'sick' period. After seeing our little one looking so sickly for such a while, it warms my heart to see a smile on her face and playing with her siblings once again.

Prayers and update

2012-01-27T21:34:00.003-05:00

Pray for our littlest one please. This is the third weekend in a row that she's had a fever. Tonight it has spiked up to 104 again. She was fever free Wed. and Thurs. and all of today, but tonight before bed she suddenly got very clingy and sick looking again. We will be heading back to the doctor tomorrow morning to see what is going on.

Update: Well...we came out of the office with antibiotics and no answers :) She has clear lungs, alot of drainage, ears look fine, she looks healthy otherwise ....here's some medicine to get rid of the infection!
The only thing he really said was she is the youngest and as you have more children, the younger ones seem to catch more things. He also said in the future we could do some follow up visits to see if her immune system is reacting to her vaccinations or rejecting them etc. He said there really isn't a concern about chronic diseases (she has had 20 colds in 25 months) like tuberculosis or cystic fibrosis because children with those usually aren't thriving physically as well (and we have a very plump, I mean healthy, looking girl!) He said it isn't Mono, and we don't need to worry about pneumonia or chest infection because her lungs sound very healthy, it is all in her throat right now.
What do you do???? I hate seeing her sick sooo often. She never gets just a mild cold either, it is always a croupy cold or deep chest cough...even if the other kids all seem fine.
I'm glad it's nothing serious. She is playful and active today so I'm happy :)

Some good news

2012-01-25T11:48:00.002-05:00

Let's report some good news for a change :)
I had an ultrasound appointment today and all looks great! Baby 'K'5 is now 2 lbs 10oz and 14 inches. She is in the 49% percentile which they said was good. My glucose/hemoglobin etc was all perfect. I'm also happy I didn't gain weight this time around :) (That is a BIG grin for this momma who gains 70lbs each pregnancy!) This may explain why I haven't had blood pressure issues yet. My last 2 pregnancies were induced a week early due to high blood pressure. So all seems well so far!!

To report on our littlest one, so far (11:30am) no fever since her night time medicine wore off. We will see as the day progresses what happens. She is active today but is getting a terrible chest cough. She has alot of drainage going on and sometimes gets choked up. Thanks for all the prayers for our family. We really appreciate them all!

Now.....if we could just get our house sold!

Doctors and UPDATE

2012-01-24T10:18:00.006-05:00

Heading to the doctors today. Our girl still has a fever and yesterday it spiked up to 105! I have to admit I got very nervous at that point....but after some Tylenol it came right down. I got zero sleep last night. Even with medicine (we've been giving meds mostly at night unless it gets up to 104 during the day) she is not sleeping well at night....let me rephrase....she is not sleeping at all! Poor girl is quite miserable. Hopefully the doctor will be helpful :) I'll update with the results.

UPDATE: and that is why I hate taking the kids to the doctor!! You pay money for them to say "if it doesn't improve in a day or two bring them back in (oh yeah......you'll have to pay for that visit too!!)

So they did a throat swab on her. She has very swollen tonsils and white patches all in her mouth BUT the strep test came back negative. If her fever doesn't improve tomorrow, they want to do a Mono test. Mono???? A 2 year old? I'm just praying whatever it is, I don't get it!! High fevers are bad for developing babies and I can't imagine having to take meds every 4 hours for days and days....please pray I will be protected from this and our girl starts to have improvement today :)

I'm tired

2012-01-23T07:20:00.005-05:00

I'm tired physically....I'm tired of our kids being sick :)....I'm tired of no sleep!! I can see some doctors appointments in our future this week I think. Our littlest one has a high fever (104) for the past 2 days/nights (therefore, no sleep for mommy!!) Our little guy has a horrible cough that's keeping him up and is developing a fever now. He also may have a fracture in his arm (long story....he was twirling around in the livingroom with his arms out, he hit I'm thinking the wooden arm of the futon...HARD!....It's going on 2 weeks now and it still makes him cry if anyone touches his wrist the wrong way)...so we really need to get an xray for that to be sure! Our oldest has what sounds like bronchitis but is doing well otherwise. Daddy and our oldest boy seem to be fine at the moment. I have a mild version of a cold or whatever it is the kids are fighting. Our littlest one has been permanently attached to my side for 2 days. It doesn't help that LAST week she had a fever as well (I thought it was due to 3 molars coming in).....

I'm going to try to grab a few more winks :)

Courageous!

2012-01-17T18:54:00.003-05:00

Guess what came out on video today!!! So excited to watch it tonight :) We've enjoyed all of their productions so far!

Our family song

2012-01-13T21:33:00.004-05:00

During our family devotions, we have started singing our 'family' song Complete in Thee.
As the title states, it is a song that talks about the Christian's completeness in Christ. Hope you enjoy!!

Chorus words:

Yea, justified, oh blessed thought!

And sanctified salvation wrought!

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

and glorified I, too, shall be.

If you would like the sheet music for this song....click the link below!

http://www.spea.org/images/stories/hymn_complete_in_thee.pdf

Getting cold

2012-01-13T10:32:00.002-05:00

It is a not so lovely 16 F here today (that is -9 C). Coldest it's been so far!! The wind has been howling all night and into today. Not lovin' this weather :) Thankful for a warm home!!

Snow

2012-01-12T15:21:00.002-05:00

A view of our backyard right now :) Kids are happy!

Updates

2012-01-11T16:14:00.002-05:00

Not a whole lot to update on here.
Our 4 yr old is still doing a GREAT job with his words!! We are done all the short 'a' words and will be going on to short 'e' next. Last night daddy thought he deserved a treat for catching on so quickly. He read all his words to daddy and then asked me to give him one hard word to figure out. I gave our boy a 4 letter short 'a' word to solve and it was so cute watching him :) He sat and said it over and over and over aloud. Then it hit him! "FLAG!!! It's says flag!" Oh...too cute! He got half a chocolate bar.

We also went and got our girls' 2 year birthday pics done at Walmart. This was right before we left. We ended up with a great picture.....I'm so excited! Now to get our 9 year old's pics done sometime......

Reading

2012-01-09T13:02:00.004-05:00

Our 4 year old has begun his phonics/reading lessons. We have so far looked at the short "a" words (not all of them yet). He is doing so well after only 3 days, I just had to post a video of our lesson today.
Mommy wrote down some of his words (all mixed up) and had him read them aloud. He is doing such a super job!!!

Sorry it's hard to read the words....the video doesn't show them as clearly when uploaded to the blog.

Recorder

2012-01-07T12:17:00.002-05:00

This was one of our girls' birthday gifts last night. Daddy specifically wanted to get her a recorder! This is what she has learned in just one day already......
Hot Cross Buns :)

Birthday pics

2012-01-06T20:19:00.004-05:00

Hap-'Bee' Birthday to our girl today!

they thought the bee card was so funny!

Birthday girl

2012-01-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

Our oldest is 9 today!!! Nine years old???? I want to say slow down....but I see such a young lady blossoming and it is exciting at the same time :) She is at that stage now where she is still very much a 'kid' but she wants to be so grown up at the same time. She is such a helper to me and is a thinker. Her questions at times make me scratch my head! She is a talker and has quite the imagination. Her siblings love to watch her and imitate her.....I remind her of the responsibility she has being the oldest :) We are so very proud of her. I get excited watching her grow and mature more in the Lord. I pray that the Lord will continue to help me do my very best in guiding her and teaching her.
She has requested a 'bee' themed cake, so I'm off to try and figure something out. Cake supplies are still all packed away so we'll see what I can come up with! Pictures will be posted later.
Happy Birthday dear daughter!!

New babies

2012-01-04T20:22:00.002-05:00

We've had 2 babies born to ladies at our church over the past week.....both boys. And I still have over 3 months to go........
It was funny today as I put our 2 youngest down for a nap. I laid down with our boy until he fell asleep and he said "hey, she's kicking me".....my belly was against his back :)

Home again

2012-01-01T18:48:00.002-05:00

After another trip to see more family, we are safely home and ready to start back into our routine again! I must say I've enjoyed the week break from schooling :) I feel refreshed and ready to begin with the kids again.

Baby is getting really active! Lots of visable kicks and squirms. I have another ultrasound next visit...yay! 15 weeks to go still seems like such a long way off (especially since I'm already feeling so tired and out of breath!!)

We've also got a birthday this week....9 years old for our girl. So hard to believe that she is blossoming into such a young lady!

Well, I think it will be off to bed early tonight....need to catch up on some naps I missed over the holdiays :)

Update

2011-12-29T08:17:00.004-05:00

We have been enjoying our holidays so far!! It was great seeing family and spending time with cousins and grandparents. We even got to see some snow. Today I'm off for my glucose test and a checkup for baby. She has been quite active lately which has been fun!! The kids love feeling her squirm around in there :) Hope everyone has a very blessed new year!

Christmas book ideas!

2011-12-21T14:05:00.005-05:00

Our kids opened some Christmas presents early and what a treat they have been!! We absolutely love these 3 books in particular and have read them several times already!

By Jeannie Bishop: is about a young princess who is safely guarding her 'first kiss'. She has been given this precious gift to do with as she wishes....either give it away or save it for the man who is worthy of it. This book teaches the value of purity for young girls and was such a wonderful read!!

By Karen Kingsbury: this is a book about a young knight who learns the true meaning of being a great leader. While all the other knights give in to cheating, stealing and lying, this one brave young knight stands for truth and is rewarded.

Another book by Jeannie Bishop: is about a young squire who sets out on a journey to recover the stolen Lantern of Purest Light from the evil dragon. There are many traps along the way, but this squire remembers to keep himself pure in thought, sight, and action, overcoming all the obstacles set before him.

And don't forget this book that we absolutely LOVE!!! (I've mentioned it several times before on my blog)

By Susan Hunt: You will see Psalm 23 in a whole new light. Taken from the view point of the sheep(child of God), Sammy walks you through the 23rd Psalm, describing what it is like to be cared for by a gracious, loving, and protective shepherd (Almight God). One of the BEST children's books I have ever read!

Elf

2011-12-16T12:28:00.004-05:00

The kids saw their cousins in action and pleaded that they get theirs done!! So here they are....thanks Jess :)

Homeschooling

2011-12-14T16:24:00.003-05:00

I have started reading Teaching the Trivium by the Bluedorn's. I have heard alot about their book and finally got myself a copy! Now everyone knows I love homeschooling but it is not something I push onto people....that is for the Lord's leading in their lives. When I come across some good info though, I do like to share it! Here are just 2 passages so far that have really stuck out in the first 2 chapters.

No true education can take place without reference to God. Education is for a purpose. If the purpose does not have God in view, then it is godless education, and it will eventually produce godless results. The objective of education is not service to self, the community, business, church, or state, but service to God. Education which does not serve God is an empty education, and that emptiness will be filled by other gods to serve.....

Children are placed under the authority, and protection, and tutelage, not of the government, nor of the church, but of the parents. Parents are accountable to God for how their children are raised. Barring unusual and unavoidable circumstances, we- the parents- will answer to God for who raises our child, and for how they are raised. God is not going to place the primary blame for any failures upon the government, or upon the church, but upon us, the parents.

We have been given such a privilege to be able to teach our children at home. To hand over our children to the school system is really denying ourselves and our children a blessing that God has given to us!

Christmas Party

2011-12-12T21:53:00.004-05:00

Tonight was our first staff Christmas party for Answers in Genesis. There was anywhere from 400-500 people in attendance :) It was nice being able to meet many of the people hubby works with outside his computer department (we know most everyone in his group). It was so funny watching our 4 yr old say "There's Ken Ham!!!" or "Where did Ken Ham go?" They have only ever seen him on videos or in the books we have.....so I know they enjoyed getting to meet him tonight and shake his hand. We also were able to go on a ferry ride across the river there and back again. We even were able to sit next to some volunteers that just happen to be our good friends from church back in South Carolina! They have come to volunteer for the week, so it was great being able to see them again. The supper was very good and the kids were zonked by the time we got home! A very enjoyable evening......

Christmas photo

2011-12-11T17:20:00.003-05:00

I don't know why I attempt this alone! I should learn from year's past to wait for hubby to get home to help me take our Christmas photo of the kids!! But anyway, last week I lined them up and between our 2 yr old wanting to do some rather elaborate posing, our 6 year old squinting, our 4 year old not liking to smile for pictures....well, I think we will have to try again when daddy is around to help :) Here is one good shot I got though.

Birthday celebration

2011-12-10T08:36:00.001-05:00

Here are some birthday pics from last night. All my cake supplies are still packed away, but I managed to find this pooh bear mold handy.....and since our girl likes 'pooh bear' it worked out perfectly :) She enjoyed her cards from everyone and was very, very excited about her baby carriage!!

Birthday girl

2011-12-09T10:38:00.004-05:00

We now have a 2 year old! Where has my baby gone??? She is such a big girl now and has developed quite the sense of humor. Her vocabulary took off after our move several months ago. She loves to do everything her big brothers and sister do! ..... and she is definitely the most mischevious one of the bunch so far :) She is mommy's girl for sure (which I love) and we still have yet to figure out if she is a lefty or a righty! She constantly switches hands for eating, drawing, coloring etc. Here is a pic of our big girl! Birthday pics to come later...

Quick update

2011-12-06T10:51:00.005-05:00

Not much new going on around here. We did get the Christmas tree up. Our little miss has already been into the tree and broke one non-glass ornament. Our 4 yr old is not happy that his zebra now only has one leg!!
The kids were also able to feel baby sister move last night for the first time. I love how their eyes got so big when a kick was felt.
I've also been enjoying cooking and baking. I have made homemade chicken noodle soup twice now and it was delicious!!! I think we'll be making more banana bread today :)
I've done a little Christmas shopping online....I love that I don't need to be at the malls, just wait for the package to arrive at the door!
Here's a pic of the kids after they finished decorating the tree.....

Best ever Banana Bread

2011-12-02T12:39:00.004-05:00

Tis the time for baking for alot of us. Here is a recipe for banana bread I found on All Recipes. I tweaked it according to one of the reviews from a lady who has been baking for over 40 years. It was fantastic and our family gobbled it up....very delicious and moist!!
(this makes 2 loaves)
Ingredients
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
2 cups mashed bananas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 9x5 loaf pans.
In a large bowl, cream butter and add white sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into the butter mixture until smooth. Fold in sour cream and bananas. Pour evenly into loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 mins before removing to wire rack. Cool completely before cutting!

You will love it!!!!

Seeing pink!

2011-11-30T20:26:00.003-05:00

We're going to be seeing alot more pink around here come the new year!! Today's ultrasound appointment went very well and it looks as though the girls are going to outnumber the boys in several more months :)
We have one very, very happy 8 year old sister!

Vision Forum

2011-11-29T07:04:00.003-05:00

Don't forget to enter Vision Forum's giveaway's where you can buy Christian books, toys, family resources and more!!! You can enter at Raising Olives, Life in a Shoe, Smokity Frocks, and Generation Cedar.

Some pics

2011-11-28T13:47:00.005-05:00

Here are just a few pics from our weekend down south. I should have gotten my camera out alot more but kept forgetting about it :) We visited one set of great grandparents on Thursday and the other great grandparents on Saturday. Here are some pics from Saturday......

Wait for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

feeding the ducks........

this is what happens when you get TOO close to feeding the ducks....mud!!

father-daughter moment

kids with great grandparents

this one is for Nana and Grandpa....she finally likes it!!

Back home

2011-11-27T23:41:00.002-05:00

We are back home, safe and sound after a nice Thanksgiving weekend down south with family! Was great to see our church family again too. Rained the whole way home pretty much.....miserable for driving, but all is well and looking forward to getting into my warm bed :) Goodnight!!

Supper

2011-11-23T11:00:00.001-05:00

Since we have posted some messy faces yesterday....can you guess what we had for supper last night!!!!

First sandwich

2011-11-22T11:25:00.005-05:00

She sees the kids eating sandwiches for lunch most days and she pointed to the bread....so we tried our first jelly sandwich! What a mess, but so cute!!

Vision Forum

2011-11-21T07:21:00.004-05:00

Hop on over to A Wise Woman Builds Her Home and enter the giveaways for a $100, $200, or $300 gift certificate to Vision Forum. Vision Forum has Chrisitian Books, Toys, lots of Biblical resources for the family....just in time for Christmas shopping :) Thanks Vision Forum!!

Cousins

2011-11-20T20:39:00.004-05:00

We had some of the cousins visit for the weekend. We had a fun Saturday at the Creation Museum and went to check out Jungle Jim's (ok...so I need to insert a correction here. It wasn't Bull milk cheese, it was Buffalo milk cheese *grin*).

The kids all sat down on the couch wanting a picture and they did great!!! Here's their cute faces....

Our little guy didn't get to go on the camel last visit to the museum, so this time he had a chance to ride with big brother and sister. He was beaming!!

Biblical unicorn

2011-11-18T13:19:00.001-05:00

An interesting video explaining unicorns in the Bible :)

Trumpets?

2011-11-16T13:12:00.001-05:00

You know that Revelation is spoken of often in your home when your daughter stops the vaccuum and seriously asks "was that the sound of trumpets I just heard?"

Josties

2011-11-15T12:13:00.004-05:00

I was reading through some friends 'facebook' and came across one friend who 'liked' this group. The kids have really enjoyed listening to their first music video. There are 11 kids in the family (not all pictured in the video)....hope you enjoy!

the video is cut off a little on the right hand side :)

Sweet moment

2011-11-13T08:44:00.005-05:00

Last night Daddy says we are doing something a little different during prayer time for devotions. Tonight we are going to praise God for one thing as our prayer. Daddy starts by praising God for who He is. Mommy praises God for the movements of baby that I'm feeling at that moment, and the new addition He is blessing us with. Sister, I believe, praises God for the house showings we've recently had, hoping for a buyer soon. Then we get to our 6 year old. I open one eye and watch as his demeanor has changed from his normal rambunctious boyish style, to a serious and quiet disposition. He rubs his eyes like he does when he's trying to hold back tears. I'm curious. He starts very quietly by thanking Jesus for dying on the cross. I smile! He clears his throat....he's getting chocked up. He says how painful it must have been for Jesus. My eyes start filling up with tears! He thanks Jesus again for dying on the cross. Ok....tears are now rolling down my cheeks!!
As a parent, you wonder if your children are understanding the things you teach them from the Bible. Are they truly getting it?? Are they growing spiritually? Is God working in their life at such a young age? Then you witness these moments. There is growth happening even at 6 years of age.
I give him a big hug before bed. Thank you for your praise I tell him....he smiles.

Updates

2011-11-09T12:17:00.002-05:00

Our girl is feeling better. She had little pain meds yesterday and none so far today. I think the antibiotics are kicking in!! I like it so much better when she has a smile on her face :)

Today I had a prenatal appointment. Strong heartbeat. Should I tell you how I'm leaning??? I'm thinking boy but we will find out for sure on Nov. 30 at the ultrasound :) I told the doctor about my dizzy spells and how it started after I pulled a muscle in my neck. He wasn't thrilled to hear that....said it is probably a bulged disk pressing against a nerve and nothing to do with pregnancy....bummer. He has recommended a few chiropractors in the area to begin with to see if that will correct it.

Other than that....the day is cool and mommy is tired as usual :) Looking forward to my afternoon nap!!

Double whammy

2011-11-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

We've got a wee little girl with a double ear infection :( It has not been a fun day! She came down with a croupy cough several weeks ago and has rubbing her ear alot but today....oh dear....she was in pain. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon for her. For now it is Tylenol and IBuprofen getting us through!

Peekaboo

2011-11-04T11:02:00.003-04:00

It was so cute watching our littlest play peekaboo from behind a tree. I grabbed a few shots and also took one of me :) I haven't taken any belly shots yet this pregnancy....and this one is blurry. Oh well. 17 weeks tomorrow!

Everybody smile!

2011-11-02T10:53:00.005-04:00

Thought I would at least update the header on my blog with a new and updated pic of the kids. It is quite difficult getting 4 children to look in the same direction and smile at the same time!! Yay for digital cameras (that will let you just keep clicking away in hopes of getting at least ONE good one!)
Here are some of the pics from yesterday.

New header

2011-11-01T16:50:00.002-04:00

Hard getting ALL of them to look AND smile at the same time! Best pic of the day made the new header :)

Special gift

2011-10-31T15:24:00.002-04:00

When our friends from Canada came to visit, they brought our youngest kids a special gift. This is a hand made rocking horse that his dad made for their two children. Since their kids are now too big for it, they kindly thought of us and passed on the joy!! Our youngest one has a ball on it!

Saturday fun

2011-10-29T15:44:00.005-04:00

We love our Saturdays because Daddy stays home and we can spend some much needed time with him!! So today, Daddy had a surprise in store for us. We were heading to Cincinnati to visit a ...... GROCERY STORE. Ohhh, but this is no regular grocery store!! This is Jungle Jim's!

We didn't know what to expect but when we got there, we loved it!! The place is HUGE. It has aisles for every culture you can think of. We went through the Asian cuisine, German, Indian, Hispanic, Italian, Middle Eastern, Greece, Sweden, England....and I know I have forgotten some. England was done with the theme of Sherwood Forest (Robin Hood and all), Seafood was done with the Gilligan's Island, Asian had the dragon streamers etc..... What fun! When we first walked in, you come to the Olive Pit where they sold every type of olive you can think of. Then the cheese aisles......oh my!!! I didn't know there were soooooo many different types of cheese all over the world (all listed under their country). They even had goat milk, sheep milk and bull milk cheese :) The kids loved the live fish biopond with all sorts of fish and lobster for sale. The hot sauce aisle had a big fire truck, the frozen aisle was done in penguins, and oh the candy section....so much candy!!!....There was a big mechanical soup can that talked, the cereal aisle had the Lucky charms guy, the rabbit and some other character all in a band singing....I could go on. It was such a fun place to go. Here are some pics of the entrance into the store.... (no pictures allowed inside the building)

Brrrr.....

2011-10-28T17:07:00.005-04:00

What a difference a day or so can make! Baby, it's cold outside :)
Today required hats and winter coats for our outside adventures. ....and of course I have pictures....

Yesterday (and today)

2011-10-26T10:18:00.012-04:00

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful out, so I grabbed the camera and took some pics. I still have trouble playing with the lighting and figuring out where the sun should be situated to reduce shadowing but overall they turned out nice :)
**added a few more taken today.

And to update on the headache....yes it is gone for the most part now. Thank you all for asking (and praying). I get dizzy though whenever I lay down which I know is a symptom of pregnancy, I've just never had it with any of my other ones! Sunday at church I had to hang on to hubby's arm because I suddenly was hit with it for some reason.

Last pics from the weekend

2011-10-25T10:51:00.005-04:00

Here are some pics from my friends camera. (I wish I could crop and edit my photos)

more pics of Saturday

2011-10-24T10:04:00.008-04:00

A few more snake pics from my friends camera........

Here are more pictures from our trip to the Creation Museum with our friends. Our girl has loved camels ever since she was very, very little, so I was excited for her to be able to ride one!! This is Gomer and the kids enjoyed their bumpy ride very much :)

Snakes Alive!

2011-10-22T21:19:00.006-04:00

Today was so much fun. I think this part was the kids favorite! We went to see the Snakes Alive presentation at the Creation Museum and the kids were very VERY hands on as you will see. They absolutely loved every minute of it!
(Yes, mommy did hold a snake too!)

Quick update

2011-10-21T10:45:00.002-04:00

I won't be posting a whole lot over the weekend. We have friends from Canada coming to visit today for the weekend. We'll be heading to the museum tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get some good pictures!!
My horrible headache is doing so much better today. Thank you to those who were praying. I had hubby massage my neck and the sore muscle (which was very painful). It brought my headache on really strong as we headed to bed but this morning I think it actually worked some! I've been icing and heating it throughout the day, so hopefully it will get worked out within the next few days :)
So I'm praying we will have a really good weekend, no pain and hopefully little morning sickness (at 15 weeks I'm still battling it each morning)....but on a side note, I think I'm actually feeling little movements!! How awesome :)

Fun and not so fun

2011-10-19T09:33:00.005-04:00

I'll start with the fun stuff first. Here are some pics of what the kids love doing outside! Catching grasshoppers. They do not like, however, when the grasshoppers pee on them as a defense mechanism :) But they still go after them and love running to show mommy and daddy their finds!

On the not so fun side, I have had one HORRIBLE headache for 5 days now. I took Tylenol 3 days in a row, but am really trying not to take anymore (for baby's sake). When you think of me, please pray this headache (and neck pain) will go away. It's worse than the typical sinus headache I usually get.....it's been rough :)

Some pics

2011-10-17T18:14:00.004-04:00

Here are a few updated pics. This is our backyard. It is all uphill but you can see how close the deer get. They are usually infront of the barn or off to the side. Here's a few shots of our littlest one since she is the only one I can get still. The others are just too full of energy to stand for a photo when playing outside :)

Back 'home'

2011-10-17T12:32:00.002-04:00

We made a quick trip south to spend time with family and enjoyed seeing all our 'church' family as well Sunday morning. It was such a nice feeling to know we've been missed so much and that people are still continuing to pray for us and the sale of our house. We were able to see both our neighbors, and the kids got to visit with the chickens as well :) We had a little birthday celebration for hubby which was nice. Now we are back 'home' and heading into a new week. Hopefully this headache I've had for the past several days will finally go away.....

Back 'home'

2011-10-14T10:54:00.003-04:00

I thought since today we were heading back to the sunny south to celebrate hubby's birthday with his family, I would post a picture of someone we left back in the south. This is a very dear friend of our daughter's. He started coming to our church when our daughter was 4 years old. We soon found out that he had lost his daughter when she was 4 years old. The two of them hit it off immediately and she sat beside him almost every single Sunday and Wednesday service for the next 4 years! He told us many times that God knew he needed her in his life. Our daughter keeps in contact with him through letters and phone calls and he proudly displays her picture in his kitchen :) We miss you dear friend!
And since I won't be posting this weekend....Happy Birthday my dear hubby! I am so very proud of you. You are such a wonderful example to myself and your family. These past several months have not been easy BUT you have been determined, despite any obstacle or discouragement, to follow God's call and do what your Heavenly Father has asked you to do. I know it was a huge step out of your comfort zone, but you continue to proclaim that we serve a faithful God and He will see us through!! I love you!

Today's pics

2011-10-13T12:19:00.006-04:00

Today's pics are from yesterday morning. I came downstairs and started to take the sheet down from our backyard french doors (no curtains on it yet) and there was a female deer staring right at me!! This one the kids nicknamed dandelion (don't ask me!!!) She stayed in the yard for over 20 mins just grazing and watching us.....it was awesome! Even when the kids were noisy at the door, she would just lift her head and look at us. What finally got her to leave, you ask???? The video explains it all :)

Here's some pics.....This is Fred

This is Dandelion

Some pics

2011-10-12T13:12:00.004-04:00

Now that I can download my pictures and post them....I'm not sure what to post about first!! I thought I'd start with our poor girl. This happened yesterday and I'm not even really sure what happened. All I saw was our 4 year old falling flat on top of our girl and I think she was holding a G.I.Joe type toy which must have been squished up against her eye. She was NOT a happy camper and cried for awhile afterward. It has continued to get worse and more purple, poor girl. I'm hoping the swelling has finally stopped because soon she won't be able to see!! She is very happy today though and only gets upset when she is tired and tries to rub her eye....must really hurt! She won't let her brother forget either because several times she has gone up to him, patting him on the chest and pointing to her eye. Kinda funny!

Good day!

2011-10-11T12:12:00.002-04:00

Today I had my first prenatal appointment here.....yes, we are expecting #5!! We heard the beautiful sound of a heart beating and our big girl was even asked to assist the doctor today :) He was a very nice man (who is expecting their 4th child) and he asked if any of the kids wanted to help find a heartbeat. Our girl JUMPED at the chance with much excitement!! Our estimated due date is around April 15 which puts me at 13 weeks right now. We have a divided household with sisters wanting another sister, and brothers wanting another brother. They'll have to wait about 8 more weeks to find out!

Better week ahead

2011-10-10T11:39:00.005-04:00

Last week ended awful! Friday I woke up with vertigo. I've had it once before and this episode wasn't as bad but it was still a very rough weekend. Even today if I bend down or turn quickly, I get a little off balance.

Needless to say, I didn't go to church on Sunday. Hubby took the 3 oldest back to the church we visited last week. The kids came home again with story after story of friends they've made and who they talked with. They are really enjoying this church!! Hubby found out that one family lives at the end of our street. They were disappointed to find out we were only renting for 6 months :) They even stopped by Sunday afternoon to bring over muffins and see how I was doing. How sweet!!! We had a very nice chat with them and enjoyed their company.

In other news, hubby had their staff photo taken last week. Can you find him??? Click on the image to make it bigger (hint: right side, red shirt)

Ken Ham is front and center (7th from the left, front row)

Hubby's boss - the CEO of the computer division (second row, first one on left)

Some pics from the past 2 weeks

2011-10-06T11:58:00.002-04:00

What have we been doing since we got here? (These are taken from the phone).....

waiting for Daddy to come home from work.....

they look sweet ..... but.....

lots of reading going on (with no t.v. in the house!! Yay!)

and even a pillow fight or two...what was I thinking???

We have internet!!

2011-10-06T10:56:00.003-04:00

So....hubby calls the phone company yesterday and they said they'd be here to hook up our internet sometime before 9pm. We waited and no one showed up, so off to bed we went. We were awakened at 10:45pm by a phone call "yeah, hey, I know it's pitch black out but we're in your driveway if you want us to hook up your internet"

.........huh????? I guess that's the way they do things here? Anyway, by 11:30 we were up and running (and then off to bed again) Now to get some pictures ready!!

Church

2011-10-03T11:26:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we went to our first church service here. We enjoyed so much about the little place we went. There were about 40-45 people (more children than adults!!) and it was an integrated service which means the children of all ages stay in service (no children's ministry). What a wonderful environment!!! An 11 year old girl came and sat beside our daughter and shared her hymnbook with her throughout the song service. In just the short time after church, the kids met so many children and had fun playing while we talked with other couples. There are 3 men that go there that work at hubby's work. It was nice meeting their families :) Everyone was soooooo friendly, even the children. We had young kids coming up to us introducing themselves and asking our names. All the kids were so well behaved through the service. Only a few little ones (under 2) went upstairs with their mommies during the service. They have a room with baby monitors so you can still hear the message if you have to take your child out. The pastor during his message would stop at an important part and address the children, explaining what something meant, or how it would affect them as they get older etc. It was just sooooo neat! We really enjoyed it. Our daughter asked when we were going back....I think they liked it too!!

And now life...

2011-09-30T10:56:00.002-04:00

Things are going well! Hubby is really, really enjoying work! He didn't know how the transition was going to be back to a full-time-away-from-home job position (he was rather enjoying the freedom of self-employment) but he is really enjoying his coworkers and work environment. I'm so happy for him!!

We have dug out a bunch of our school books and are trying to get back to a full day of school. I've added our 3rd child to the mix (light work) and he is enjoying it. Actually I think he enjoys the 'cookie' reward for good work the most :) My biggest challenge is keeping the littlest one out of trouble while all the school work is going on!! She is a sneaky one :)

We are still SLOWLY unpacking and organizing. The kitchen is mostly piled up boxes right now, and the den down stairs is a storage unit instead of homeschool room. I thought the kids would like having a girls room and boys room now (they all slept in one room before) BUT they miss being with each other....how funny.

I can't post any pics yet, but once we get phone and internet here I've got plenty to post about. Our first day of school on Monday started with a friend the kids have nicknamed "Fred". A beautiful male deer was in the backyard and just stood watching us for several minutes! He has yet to return but we look for him every morning :)
I'll keep you updated..........

We're here!

2011-09-25T21:52:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know we have arrived safely, we're unpacking and organizing, getting settled in! Hubby's first day on the job is tomorrow. We are adjusting to all the newness....hopefully it won't be long until we are into a routine once again. Anxious to find all the school books so we can get school underway again. The kids have had quite a nice break over the past month!!! Hopefully we'll be able to post some pics soon :) Thanks for all the continued prayer....we appreciate it!

Movin'!

2011-09-21T21:53:00.002-04:00

We get the moving van tomorrow! The rental property came through for us and we ALL get to go together as a family....Praise the Lord!!

Please continue to prayer for our house to be sold.

Hubby's first day is on Monday. I'm so excited for him :)

Eggs!

2011-09-17T17:44:00.003-04:00

We finally have eggs!! The kids were out with their friends trying to round up the chickens for the night and it was one of the girls who found them! They are looking forward to a delicious breakfast tomorrow morning :)

Finally some PICS!

2011-09-15T12:43:00.005-04:00

It's about time huh! Here is a pic of our 4 year old boy today! We celebrated his birthday last week but today he is officially FOUR! He is such a loving boy but shy in public, and starting to get a bit mischievous :) He is such a sweet blessing to our family!

Here is a pic taken on Sunday. They are all getting so big!!

Waiting....

2011-09-14T12:16:00.003-04:00

Not much to report on lately. No showings for the house, haven't found anything where we're headed yet.....and there is only a week and a half left before hubby's first day of work! We give it all over to God and wait for Him :)

Our church family did unexpectedly present us with a handful of cards on Sunday with generous financial gifts for our moving expences. We will miss them tremendously!! Thank you Lord for these precious people in our lives!

First showing UPDATE

2011-09-08T14:09:00.002-04:00

We had our first house showing today!! Continuing to pray that God will bring the right buyer to us!

....they said another house was a better fit for them :( So we still wait.....

House

2011-09-07T08:07:00.001-04:00

Not alot to update on. House has been on the market now for a week and we haven't had anyone come through yet. I'm hoping it is because it was the holiday weekend.....keep praying!!

For Sale

2011-08-30T22:11:00.001-04:00

Look what's in our yard!!!!!!!

Quick update

2011-08-30T12:34:00.003-04:00

That's all I seem to be posting about lately....quick updates here and there. We have most of our computer stuff packed up so I can't post pictures.
So our quick update is that the realtor is coming by today to put the house on the market.
We will also be scouting properties for our new location soon.
Everyone came down with a bad head cold last week. I'm the last one to go through it and am starting to feel better. Into the rough coughing phase....no fun!
Hubby and I celebrated our 13th anniversary yesterday. God blessed me with such a wonderful husband!!
We continue to pray for a quick sale!

Back home!

2011-08-26T19:51:00.003-04:00

The painter arrived Monday morning and finished this afternoon! What a bright, clean looking house :) Now we tidy up and organize to get pictures done for the listing, and get this house on the market!!
We had a nice week at my brother and sister-in-law's house while the painter was working hard. Thank you for the stay!

Paint!

2011-08-21T22:53:00.003-04:00

Painter is coming in the morning. Hopefully by the end of the week, we will have a brand new looking house :) Off to spend some time with family so we don't have to smell the paint fumes!!!

Also had such a wonderful visit with our 2 sets of neighbors tonight. We are sure going to miss both of them!

First tooth

2011-08-19T23:00:00.003-04:00

Some exciting news tonight. As daddy was brushing our boys' teeth, he comes running to me saying that his tooth is really, really loose. Sure enough, it was ready to come out, but our boy did not want it pulled! After some coaxing and tears, he let mommy play with it for a minute or two, and out it popped. A very happy boy after the fact.......and a mommy who has yet another child growing up all too fast!

Short update

2011-08-19T17:13:00.003-04:00

I have little to update. We are still moving stuff to storage, which is almost at full capacity now :) This weekend, we are getting as much moved out as possible for the painter to come. He will hopefully have our house looking brand new by the end of next week!! Then onto the market! With 5 weeks to go before our start date....we still have much to do!

movin, movin, movin....

2011-08-13T10:18:00.002-04:00

We are starting to move boxes into our storage unit. We are seriously trying to declutter the house as much as possible. We had the movers come by this week for an estimate....whoa! We had the realtor come by with a to-do-list of improvements for selling....double whoa! And the painter should be coming by this afternoon for an estimate to paint several rooms....(I don't even want to think about it!!! WHOA!)
I don't know how God is going to work this all out, but I have faith that He already has :) Our God is so good and I continue to see His blessings on our lives. He has always seen us through every situation and I know He will continue to do so. We look forward to the great things He has in store for us.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. The sale of our house and a place to move into are our biggest prayer requests at the moment. I want to see God do some great things....to show Himself marvelous. In this type of economy, heading into the down season of home sales, it is only He who can bring the right buyer to us, especially in the short amount of time we have to move! I look forward to what is going to happen............

Where have I been?

2011-08-08T22:03:00.003-04:00

I have not disappeared, well I have disappeared between the numerous boxes that are cluttering my house at the moment! Our official announcement is.....we are moving!! Out of state! Hubby has accepted a job offer and we will be heading out mid September. I have been packing like mad and trying to clean....we really need to get the house on the market soon! We are asking for prayer that our house will sell quickly and the Lord will provide a home for us to move into. Things need to happen very quickly and we know that God is in control of the whole situation. We are excited to see what God has in store for us :)

Pet love

2011-08-02T21:03:00.002-04:00

Yes, they love their pets.....

Morning Visitors

2011-07-31T22:11:00.004-04:00

These chickens are so funny! Their pen is down in the backyard. The whole wooded area you see in the picture is fenced. They have a big space to roam around. The fence is also 4 ft high. Many mornings we sit down to breakfast and see these chickens looking in our window! This means they have flown out of their fence, walked up the stairs and know where to find us....I think it's hilarious!

you see how high our deck is from the backyard
and how many stairs they have to climb

teasing them with toast :)

My cowgirl

2011-07-30T11:05:00.003-04:00

I've got the cutest cowgirl......

Happy 88th!

2011-07-29T18:53:00.003-04:00

A very special Happy Birthday to my Grandpa N. Wish we were there to help you celebrate. Continuing to pray for you and thinking of you often! Love you :)
Grandpa with his great granddaughter

FINALLY!

2011-07-26T21:27:00.004-04:00

Look at what I captured today!!!!!!! Oh, I've been waiting ALL summer for this!

The making of a dinosaur

2011-07-25T10:15:00.004-04:00

The kids each got some money to spend at the Creation Museum and this is one item our 6 yr old purchased. He had so much fun putting it all together (with mommy's help)...

Creation Museum Part 2

2011-07-24T11:03:00.007-04:00

Here are some pics as you go through the museum......

The Petting Zoo

Creation Museum

2011-07-23T20:00:00.008-04:00

..... and here are the exciting photos!!!

We went to the Creation Museum this weekend in Kentucky. (Thank you Camfields for the free passes!!!!)
We all enjoyed it so much! It takes you through the 7 C's of the Bible: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. I have so many photos, so I'm starting with the dinosaur pictures first. Our little guy was quite scared of the moving dinosaur!!

Divided...the movie

2011-07-19T16:51:00.002-04:00

Well worth the time!!! Watch 'Divided' at the link below!
http://www.dividedthemovie.com/#watchlink

Still here...

2011-07-18T14:23:00.002-04:00

I've been 'deep' cleaning.....I mean really cleaning the house for the last several days! Hands and knees, toothbrush, gloves, cleaner, scrubbing....scrubbing....
We're still here, just been very busy :)

Will catch up soon and update about our lives!!....a teaser for you though,

there are some cool pictures coming soon....something we've been wanting to do for awhile now! The kids are sooooooo excited!

Baptism

2011-07-10T19:54:00.007-04:00

Our daughter was baptized tonight along with 2 others. What an exciting moment for her! She has made a profession of faith, has a desire to follow her Saviour, and wanted to become an obedient believer. What a pleasure to see her growing in the Lord, even at such a tender young age. Our prayer for her is that she will love the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength, and that she will serve Him and be used of Him.

Birthday boy

2011-07-08T11:00:00.004-04:00

Our boy is 6 today!! I know the saying gets old but "it goes by so fast!!!!" He is turning into quite the young gentleman. He loves to be helpful, hold doors open for the ladies, will go up and shake hands of the gentlemen, has the sweetest smile....I pray God will use him mightily as he grows up! Happy Birthday my son. You are such a blessing to us. I love you.

Pool fun!

2011-07-05T11:44:00.007-04:00

Enjoy the barrage of pictures!!!

Growth!

2011-07-05T11:17:00.001-04:00

The first fruits of our labor!!! Or should I say veggie....
A cucumber never looked so good :)

Little no more....

2011-06-30T10:07:00.002-04:00

Our little chicks are no longer little!!! We have 6 full grown hens, so now we await the first egg :) Hubby has expanded their living quarters so they now have free access to roam the woods behind the house. Last night when we checked to see if they had all gotten into the 'housing' for the night, we discovered 3 up high in a tree!!

Children's choir

2011-06-26T21:20:00.006-04:00

Here are the kiddos singing today!
"I'm in love with Jesus"

I'm in love with Jesus

He's in love with me

I'll tell you why I love Him

Because He first loved me

He shed His blood on Calvary

For sinners just like me

For I'm in love with Jesus

and He's in love with me!

Oh glory, glory, glory

Oh glory to His name

Sometimes I disobey Him

but He loves me just the same

And when I get to heaven

His lovely face I'll see

For I'm in love with Jesus

and He's in love with me!