Our new spring babies!

These are our new spring babies :)  Names are yet to be given, but they will be forthcoming!

Piglets were born in January -

The 2 mostly white calves are 3 weeks old and the mostly black calf was born last week.

This is them in the trailer just after we got home from buying them.

They are exploring their new digs and meeting Fred, our other cow (born last June) and three of children.

Looks like Fred is really into his new barn-buddies!

We'll figure out names, hopefully over the next week - they say you shouldn't name your food, but we do anyway - we play with our food while growing it, too! *grin*

Tigger spring!

Well, if the start to spring over here isn't busy and packed full of busy, I don't know what is!

To start, TJ is back at work - but no longer in the missile field (thank you, Lord!!!!  that's a long awaited answer to many prayers!)  his new job is literally a new job - they are creating it as they go, to meet a need that has been a problem for a while, but that's both positive and not so positive, as those things go - positive, though, in that they have a group of Master Sergeants (TJ's rank, and the same for the other men in the job) who know their jobs and can productively and knowledgeably create the position and get things rolling smoothly - and not as positive because with trial comes occasional error - it's inevitable, a simple fact of life, but can also be a stressor.  Anyway, for all the good and the other, he has a new job (yeah!!!!)

With the new job comes a new schedule for me, since he can't drive until his foot is healed (pretty hard to drive without a right foot - especially with a stick shift in the truck, haha) so I'm juggling 2 hours of drive time into my daily schedule on the days he works - that makes our little 3 ring circus into a 4 ring circus and juggling act.  I've never been very good at actual juggling, so here's hoping I can get schedule juggling down to a fine art and make this work! *grin*

Spring brings the close of the school year all the closer - we anticipate finishing up the school year in early May, Lord willing and if the sky doesn't fall in first, haha - our oldest will be graduating with her high school diploma, probably in May, but I still need to work out the details and she still has curriculum to finish - should be good, though - there's over a month left to complete it!  AND she has her 17th birthday next week!  Exciting and breath taking all at once - how did she get so old so soon is what I'm asking?!??? 

Finally, spring brings the addition to our farm babies - baby chicks, baby pigs, baby calves...  and a new horse!  Pictures will be forthcoming in another post - I'll try to get to it this weekend!  Chicks were purchased and brought home 2 weeks ago, bringing our total of chickens to 20 (I think that's enough).  Piglets (five of them) were purchased and brought home today, and the plan is to get the bottle calves tomorrow.  George, our older cow, went to the butcher earlier this week - our first home grown cow!  I'm really looking forward to getting that meat in the almost empty freezer - and making a nice steak dinner in celebration, once we get the meat back from the butcher that is! :)  Once we get the calves, we'll have upped our hobby farm population to 2 horses, 20 chickens (ok, 1 rooster and 19 chickens!), 5 piglets, 1 dog, and 4 cows (Fred gets to live until September or October most likely!)

So, there you have it!  I'll share pictures of our new babies once they are all in place (namely the calves) and I have a few extra moments to load them to the computer and get them on here!

Hope you're all doing well and having a lovely start to spring!  I hear the northeastern folks - or some of them anyway - are suing Phil the groundhog, but you know, out here it actually is starting to feel like spring!  We're in the mid 50s all week with only one day in the upcoming forecast to be down into the 40s with rain.  It's nice to be so warm and not always need a coat to go outside again!  and ooooh that sun feels so nice!!

Nearly midnight here, so I'm off to bed.  Tomorrow promises to be action packed and busy!  If only I had the spring of a Tigger!! :) 

Moments that make my Mama heart smile...

Happy thoughts - little things, really, that just make my heart smile...

Sweet baby hands cupping my face in his hands as he studies my face when I pick him up...

those same sweet baby hands that reach up during a nursey and touch my cheek while his other hand rests gently on my breast from which he feeds...

soft baby babbles as he explores the sounds he can make, squeals of joy and hiccups and other baby noises that you can't help but smile at.

the sloppy, slurpy kisses of a happy but still tiny two year old -

the same sweet girl with her butterfly wings bouncing and she dances round and round to the music of our favorite Celtic or country "bouncy music"

that small voice sweetly singing good morning songs most mornings - and sometimes even in the afternoon after a good nap -

the rambunctious, running, body slamming, arms wrapping around my legs and nearly knocking me down hugs of a bouncy and happy four year old snuggle bug - my tractor boy, little buckaroo cowboy, 4 year old heart stopper.

the sneaky little boy, creeping up the stairs "one last time" to give extra good night hugs or kisses...  slurpy kisses and big bear, chubby armed, all encompassing hugs that leave your heart tingling and singing long after the hug has been given

those sparkly smiley eyes that say "I'm your hunky boy!" or confidently shouts "me!" when asked who is as handsome as Daddy?

the joyful, inquisitive, sparkly eyes of my 6 year old as she explores and learns about the world around her...

the "wizzaby bear" hugs she so freely and so often loves to give.

her happy singing as she tries to remember all the words to so many favorites of songs - even the false vibrato that she occasionally tries to imitate from grown up singers - the pleasure and peaceful expressions that come from her joy of pretty music

the whoops and excited hollers of a 7 year old son exploring the sand box, running beside the dog who loves to play catch and tag and fetch and chase...

his love of animals and joy in feeding the baby calves, running his finger along the plexiglass of the chick brooder, and his giggles as the baby chicks chase that same finger back and forth across their little boxed world

"eskinose" kisses he offers each night at bedtime...

The made up recipes and expressive pictures drawn by my 9 year old daughter who aspires to anything creative when she's "all grown up some day" -

the smiles and tenderly expressive eyes that are like a book of emotions, regardless of how she feels from moment to moment, so clearly read and expressed in her eyes... 

Her instantaneous smiles and bunches of hugs and snuggles that she shares with any and all around her.

The pre-adolescant shyness alternated with outgoing jest for life of an 11 year old.

the twirly dancing and joyful singing that erupt every time any music turns on in her presence ~

the happy giggles and thoughtful sighs as she delves into the newest novel within her reach, becoming one with the characters and immersing herself in the story lines.

The bedtime kisses of a teenager finally comfortable with expressing feelings after a years' long struggle with bi-polar disorder.  The gentle looks where for so long hard stares were the norm, genuine smiles and laughter because she can sometimes take joy in life now that her medications are levelled and working.

creative stories and poems, silly rhymes and amazing artistry that stem from her amazing brain and heart -

the rare occasion of the clean bedroom that came unprompted and without many reminders - just because she got tired of living in a messy bedroom...

tender smiles given in secret to her baby brother when she thinks no one is looking, because she's really not quite so rough and tough as she likes to pretend to be all the time

The shy, blossoming heart of an oldest daughter, safely snugged in at home and gently reaching out to explore the world beyond her day to day experiences -

her tender heart that cries at the pain of others, and the servant's heart who seeks out ways to bless people without expectation of something in return...

the joyful pride she takes in showing her newest creation of her multi-talented handiwork - the pleasure she takes in trying new crafts, many of which are almost lost in time to her generation (and often even to mine!), seeking to create the beauty for the world that is already inside of her heart and usually gentle spirit.

The special truth that children are a blessing of the Lord - and despite all of my shortcomings and unworthiness, the gifts the Lord has so graciously blessed me with in giving these nine children to me for a time, filling my hands and overflowing my heart.

I am blessed.  I am thankful.  My heart is full and smiling.

Thank you, Lord.

dear mom...

I got this from another site, and love the message it conveys!  doesn't matter if it's an iphone, facebook, chat rooms, or anything else - the message really applies across the board.  Really good food for thought in our day of technology.

I got this from here. in case you are wondering :)  I haven't explored the site at all, other than reading the one post, so I can't vouch for anything else on there. just a little disclaimer ;)

Here it is:


"Dear mom on the iPhone,

I see you over there on the bench, messing on your iPhone. It feels good to relax a little while your kids have fun in the sunshine, doesn't it? You are doing a great job with your kids: You work hard, you teach them manners, have them do their chores.

But Momma, let me tell you what you don't see right now ...

Your little girl is spinning round and round, making her dress twirl. She is such a little beauty queen already, the sun shining behind her long hair. She keeps glancing your way to see if you are watching her.

You aren't.

Your little boy keeps shouting, "Mom, MOM watch this!" I see you acknowledge him, barely glancing his way.

He sees that too. His shoulders slump, but only for a moment, as he finds the next cool thing to do.

Now you are pushing your baby in the swing. She loves it! Cooing and smiling with every push. You don't see her though, do you? Your head is bent, your eyes on your phone as you absently push her swing.

Talk to her. Tell her about the clouds, Mommy. The Creator who made them. Tickle her tummy when she comes near you, and enjoy that baby belly laugh that leaves far too quickly.

Put your eyes back on your prize: your kids.

Show them that they are the priority. Wherever you are, be ALL there. I am not saying it's not OK to check in on your phone, but it's a time-sucker: User beware!

Play time at the park will be over before you know it.

The childhood of your children will be gone before you know it.

They won't always want to come to the park with you, Mommy. They won't always spin and twirl to make their new dress swish. They won't always call out, "WATCH ME!"

There will come a point when they stop trying, stop calling your name, stop bothering to interrupt your phone time.

Because they know ...

You've shown them, all these moments, that the phone is more important than they are. They see you looking at it at while waiting to pick up brother from school, during playtime, at the dinner table, at bedtime.

I know that's not true, Mommy.

I know your heart says differently.

But your kids can't hear your words, Mommy. Your actions are screaming way too loudly.

May our eyes rest upon those we love, first and foremost, and may everything else fall away in the wonderful, noisy, sticky-fingered glory of it all."

Crazy busy!

So it's been crazy busy, literally sun up to sun down and then some! 

My head is still spinning from the last few days/ week - but I wanted to post a note - if you read this by or before Feb 22, please be praying...  my husband is having his right foot reconstructed (yes, they are rebuilding his foot!) on the 22nd - it's a 5 hour surgery slot, though I hope and pray everything goes really well and they don't need that long - that's a long time to be "under" and a lot of drugs to get a big guy there!!  Anyway, please be praying for the surgery to go well, and for his recovery time as well!  Also, if you don't mind saying a prayer for me to get over this virus (z-pack antibiotics on board, and they have a good "kick" to them, so hoping this throat thing is gone by Friday!!) and to be able to do everything I need to do that my husband and I both usually do...  and I'll be playing nurse to  my husband (which I'm really looking forward to, for the record! *grin*)

We are taking next week off of school in the name of spring break, though the older kids will spend a good part of that time working through 4-H project books (sewing and cooking, mostly) and helping me with barn work when I'm not inside taking care of my husband or our little guy (5 1/2 months old now, if you can believe it!!)

Anyway, prayers are much appreciated - and I'll pop in with updates and our little hobby farm news and everything soon - we're a growin! (not in the human baby way, but in the animal way, haha)
Have a good one - and thanks for remembering us in your prayers this week/ weekend!!

Road trip!!

You know, we're really, really super blessed that we like to travel, being a military family - and even more so in that our children (yes, all NINE of them!) love to travel as well!  I know so many families who hate taking trips and don't even going for a drive...  now, don't get me wrong - I love being home (boy howdy! and I'd sure love to be home a whole lot more after our last few weeks of constant busy!!) but I do love going for a nice scenic drive, too!

Yesterday we were blessed with just such a venture.  We headed out to Missoula - I've never been there before - and was just kicking myself for having forgotten to bring along a camera!  We saw some amazing postcard worthy landscapes - we even drove THROUGH a big, fluffy, white cloud! (I didn't know that was possible, but I guess we were high enough in the mountains and the clouds were low enough...  the sky above them was a beautiful blue, the sun shining brightly, and it was warm!  At least in the mid 40s, so we only wore light jackets and didn't need our bulky coats! :)

The purpose of the trip was to go look at some horses that were offered to us - "free to a good home" - friend of a friend arrangement.  Well, about 3 hours each way, and just gorgeous views!!

So, the horses...  you know, my four oldest girls (also the four oldest children, ha) are taking horse education classes through our local 4-H program/ extension office - and of course I'm there, too, since I don't "drop and run" with the kids' activities - so I've been able to glean a lot from the gal who teaches the class, which proved exceedingly helpful as we went to check out these horses!

Now, I know how the old saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" - but I'm guessing that whoever said it was trying to give away a horse with really bad teeth - maybe killer morning breath to boot!  However, I've learned that looking at the teeth (**after** looking at feet, legs, gait, etc) is very important - and can give some good clues about a horse's health.  Not to mention that a horse with bad teeth won't be able to eat well and will have problems with droping feed, and consequently dropping weight.  So, I looked at feet, at movement, at gait...  at teeth...  whew - you know, horses have really BIG teeth!!  But I digress - it was neat how I was able to use what I learned listening in to the kids' horse teacher's instruction, and I noticed several things - some positive and some not - about the horses we were looking at.  We did not take the trailer with us - it was a "go see it" trip, with the assurance that we would not be able to make an emotional snap decision that may or may not be a good one - because we have to go home and think about it and then decide.  Both horses, just on the side note category, have promise...  both are older - one is just HUGE height wise, the other is much smaller but a trivky catch and had been abused by a previous owner, so he's pretty head shy - once he was haltered (and I learned a new trick on haltering, too! yeah!) he was much more docile.  (amazing the difference in his temperament between haltered and unhaltered)  So now it's a matter of really thinking through it all and making a decision.  Humpf - that's the hard part!

We also looked at a couple of minis - which were absolutely adorable!! however, they have not been socialized, so they would not be a good match for our family - at least that decision was an easy one!!

The drive back was quiet - half of the kids fell asleep after all the running amok around the place we went to see the horses - our kids went exploring with their kids, and so long as they stayed within sight and whistle range, that was ok.  They ran and played hard for the almost 2 hours that we were there, and I was very thankful that we had remembered to grab a change of clothes for all of the little ones before we left the house!!  So, dry clothes (it was pretty muddy out) and energy spent, it made for an extremely quiet ride back home - I even dozed off a little while during the trip! (yes, my husband was driving, so that was ok! haha - and he was so caffeinated that he was wide awake for the drive.  I tell ya, whoever created that Monster energy drink stuff must have a degree in science or something - but whew does it stink!! ah well, TJ likes the taste of it, so I guess that's what really  matters. :)

So the drive back home was restful and yet more beautiful scenery, and still wishing I had thought to grab my camera before we headed out!  We also saw some good camping places en route, so I'm sure we'll be back up that way some time for a camping trip and I'll take pictures then!

Now to decide on those horses....

National Boy Scouts of America week!

National Scout Week is February 3 through 9 this year, and is the anniversary week of the Boy Scouts of America!

Go scouts!! :)  ***cheering***

I love that the Boy Scouts has held to their convictions, even in the face of opposition from the liberal agenda - I love how the Cub Scouts offers great opportunities to learn and grow for our boys who are not yet old enough for the full fledged Boy Scouts, and I love how much fun my son has working on all the projects in his book each year! :)

(Proud wife to an Eagle Scout and Mama to a Cub Scout)

February... already??

I changed the calendar page this morning after seeing my husband off to work, and it struck me (kind of a "duh!" moment, but still...) that it's already February!!  I was just getting used to it being 2013, and here it is in the second month...  time goes so fast, it seems!

So of course life is busy - as always!  My 13 year old is recovering nicely from her second foot surgery (corrective for a hyper-flexible flat foot - seems kind of oxymoronic, doesn't it??  but ya know...) - the doc says she should be back up and running in no time, and she's very much looking forward to that!!

and just in time...

My dear husband is set to have a rather invasive surgery to correct what the VA hospital did and to get his foot fixed up (he also has flat foot, but only in one foot) cutting and moving bones, fusing other bones, removing the implant the VA hospital put in, and more...  the surgery is scheduled to take 5 hours.  Amazingly, he isn't nervous! (he's relieved and looking forward to not being in pain anymore!)  Well, I'm probably nervous enough for the both of us anyway, haha!  We both have absolute trust that the doc handling the surgery is good (he's the one who did our daughter's surgery) so there are no qualms there - just the long procedure makes me a bit nervous - but he should be fine!  He's in good hands *and* he has a good doc who is also in good hands! :)  Still, your prayers are appreciated!!  The Lord's hands are a good place to be, but extra prayers never hurt, do they?? *grin*

So for the next 3 weeks we get to be uberly busy - I need to sit down and make out a project/ goal list outlining what I need to do each week while my husband is away, and he wants me to outline what projects we need to tackle together before his surgery, because afterward he will be down and out for a few months - no weight bearing on that foot for 2 or 3 months!  (I wonder how the military is going to accept that...  kind of hard for a cop to do his job if he can't walk or run!  we still have to figure out how convalescant leave works - 21 years of active duty service and he's never gone down on convalescant leave, so this is a new one for us!)  So yeah, lots of busy coming up and going on and...  whew!  Well, that's ok - we'll rest when we're old! ;)  (of course I'm told that with all the premature white/ gray hair, I'm already old - that's ok!  I've earned those!!) :)

Yup - lots of busy!

Oh, the stairs?  They are finished - just working on some finishing touches with the upstairs hallway and by the back door, then I'll post pictures :)

Next up?  fixing my washing machine (it quit working yesterday - not a good thing for a family of 11!  the part is ordered and in the meanwhile, I'm hand scrubbing with my old scrub board - like a prairie woman of old, yes?  It's good exercise for the arms, that's for sure!!) and then the barn - preparing for pigs, and our spring butchering of the older cow...  and did I mention we've been offered some horses?  Our horse is lonely, so we've wanted to get her a companion - we've been offered four, we hope to take one or two of them, but have to go see them first!  (7 hours round trip, though, so it has to work into the schedule!)

Yes, the little farm-stead is growing and adapting and alive!! :)  How fun! :)  speaking of which, I need to clean out the chicken coop...  I'd better get busy!  Have a great weekend!!

This day in history...

Neat little side note for today - on this day in history, January 11, 1935, Amerlia Earhart flew across the Pacific Ocean.  Now, that is a common (daily!) occurrance in our day and age, but back in the day, it was a huge accomplishment!

Today, we are taking a detour in our history lessons - instead of 300 - 200 BC, where we are with the younger kids, and the early 1800s with the older two high school kids, we're doing a lesson on Amerlia Earhart! I found a neat little lesson on her on InstructorWeb.com  here.  There are mapping pages available just for this month from Bright Ideas Press here and notebooking pages here. 

Maybe I have a little bit of an extra interest in Amellia Earhart because my grandmother-in-law was a W.A.S.P. during WWII - she's one of the neatest ladies I've known - she is in her 90s now and is still peppy and feisty! :)  Most women I've known that are "peppy" or "feisty" have rounded the corner to become feminists...  thankfully, grandma has not - she just wanted to fly, and that was a way she could fly *and* be helpful!  She's never sought attention for her service (really, she downplays what she did) and says that she "just wanted to fly".  How neat is that?

Progress... stairway refinishing so far...

So, working on the stairs...  the old, nasty carpet has got to go, but the project is bigger than I first anticipated (surprised?  no...  determined?  you betcha!)

For once, I actually remembered to take a BEFORE shot before doing anything at all! :)

This is part way through taking the carpet off - man was it dirty under that carpet!!  between my vacuum and my broom, I just about filled a trash bag with all the junk and gunk and old padding and scraped off glue stuff when it was all said and done!!

And this is the progression...  top couple of stairs are stripped and sanded - next couple of stairs are stripped but not yet sanded - and the bottom couple of stairs need a bit more work before they are stripped and ready for sanding -

They are now sanded and ready for painting - of course I forgot to take a picture when it was all done, but little man was NEEDING his mama, so I put away the work stuff and cleaned up so he could get his nursey! :) 

Bottom set of stairs still need stripping - hoping to get to that this weekend...  and my husband and I finally picked out the paint colors we want to use, so once both sets of stairs are stripped and ready, we can start the job of painting!  I'm so looking forward to having it all done!

In the meanwhile, I'm also finishing up painting the hallway, the entryway walls, and getting ready to get the last of the border wallpaper up in those areas - not so sure the paper will go up in the entryway, since the ceiling is so high and I don't have the equipment to get that high without using a big stick! ha!  So, I might just content myself with painting that part and not putting up paper there...

I don't regret undertaking any of these projects for a moment, but I will be quite honest and say that I TOTALLY underestimated the amount of work I was getting myself in to!!  (and it's taking longer than I had hoped for it to - but when it's all done, I'm going to absolutely love it, so it will be worth all the time and effort! :)  My husband is already loving the difference, and that's really encouraging, too! :)

Quotable quotes

I was looking for a specific quote the other day - we saw a sign at Hobby Lobby some time back but did not have the budget to purchase said sign at the time... when we went back later with the intention (and funds) to purchase it, we could not find it...  anyway, in looking for it, I came across this one - good food for thought! :)

"Those who look for the good in others will naturally bring out the good in themselves."

Something to ponder today. :)

on other notes, if you know the quote I'm looking for, I'd love it if you would forward it to me!
It goes along the idea that children are love you can touch, or love personified or something like that...  my husband recalls it more specifically, along the lines of "Children are love in physical form" or something similar to that...  we were wanting to get or make a wood "antiqued" sign with that on it for the living room...

knock knock!

Conversation between my just turned 2 year old Hannah and just turned 4 year old Benjamin:

Ben: Knock knock, Hannah!

Hannah: Knock knock, Ben!

Ben: No...  knock, knock, Hannah!

Hannah: Knock, Ben...

Ben: No, you say "who's there?"

Hannah: Me!

**happy, smiley sighs**  I love my kids!

Out with that old... carpet?!?!???

Yup - redecorating time is here!!

This is about the time that we *would* be moving into a new (to us) house on another base...  but we aren't moving!  (yeah!!!!!!!!!!!)  We have our own home now, with plans to retire here when TJ's military service is all done, and I can paint, paper, decorate, put up nails, or do pretty much whatever (provided my husband approves and we can afford!  TJ isn't picky and likes what I do with the decor, and has been great about helping pick out paint colors and even wallpaper border!  He's so great about that, he doesn't even think I'm silly for doing it..  but he is thankful that I haven't asked him to move the bookshelves (again) in some time! *grin*

Last month's project was painting...  the kitchen is done, the living room is done...  upstairs hallway still needs doing, as does the entry way...  but I need to buy more paint to finish the job, and that has to wait until next payday ;)

Last week's project was putting up wallpaper border in the kitchen and living room - I got some on a great deal...  and then learned *why*!  the "pre-pasted" paper wouldn't stick (oh, the frustrations and stress!!  thankfully my dear sweet husband helped me see reason and I didn't throw the paper out, assuming it was ruined...  instead he took me to the hardware store for wallpaper paste - good man, and good thought!!  that did the trick!)  paper is up and looks so nice!

This week's project...   or maybe it will be this MONTH's project...  is the stairs!  Dirty, stained, and in some places worn right through carpet...   yuck!  We've talked about replacing it for almost as long as we have lived here, but when we got an estimate to get it done, we knew that is simply NOT in the budget!  Well, we decided to rip out the old and clean it up real good and paint the stairs :)  We have a split level entry, thankfully!!  I stripped off the carpet and spent a good (intense!) FOUR hours scraping the old padding, glue, and gunk off, as well as pulling out the carpet tacks and staples, and then finally sanding the now bare upper set of stairs...  yes, I'm taking before, during, and after pictures!  I'll share them when I get it finished :)  anyway, my hands are all sorts of sore from doing the top set, so I'm waiting a day or so before tackling the lower set.  We also still need to pick out paint for them...  debating on if we'll do a two tone on the stairs or if we'll do a single color - not sure yet!  We just might play around with that before we decide. ;)  Either way, you'll see the finished product when I post pictures :)  Still, I was beyond amazed at how much dirt and junk was trapped under the carpet that I did rip out - eeeeewwwww!!!!!!

Next up, we'll see...  we need to replace our water heater (praying it holds out until we get our tax return! we've had it go out a few times, so we're very much looking forward to changing that gas/ propane thing to an electric one!  -- with the eventual hope to get solar panels so that we can utilitze our lovely natural sun out here in Big Sky Country!! but that will probably be a while in coming...  those solar panels and installation are PRICEY.  We also have projects planned for the barn and the chicken shed, but those have to wait until spring at least anyway - so for now, the focus is on the inside of the house! :)

Pictures coming soon....

Happy new year, welcome 2013!!

So it's a new year (again?!??  how did that happen already??) and the "thing to do" is to make resolutions...
so, if I were to make the resolutions I would like to keep, my list would include
 - always be positive
 - never say anything I shouldn't
 - lose 20 pounds
 - exercise 5 times a week
 - budget better this year
 and well, yeah...  those aren't going to happen...  and even if I did lose 20 pounds, I'd likely gain half of it back just in time to make a new resolution to lose weight NEXT new year!

So...  instead of resolving, I'm going to goal set! (same thing, but less incriminating if I don't accomplish them!)

 - first and foremost, to read to my children from the scriptures daily...  we use to be so good about it, and somehow just got busy...  having 9 kids is not an excuse to go slack on raising them in the Lord...  this month we are focusing on the book of Proverbs, with the goal of reading one chapter each day (preferably at breakfast time)

 - second, and right along with the first, to complete a read-through-the-Bible in a year again!  TJ and I did this for 2012 and it was a great reminder of many parts of scripture that I had forgotten...  not to mention it helped break in the Bible my dear sweet husband gave me last year, since my previous one wore out and much of the spine is coming out of the glue and the cover is pretty worn...  but I've had it a long time, and it's been through many phases of life with me - my new one is large print for my aging eyes (ha!) and much easier for me to read :)  still my much preferred King James version, but with the added bonus of being more visible :)  even when nursing my little one and not able to hold the book in my hands while reading :)  last year (2012) we did a chronological read-through - this year we are doing a cover to cover read-through :)

 - third, which probably goes hand in hand with the first two, is to be more patient...  I've been working on this, and on making sure my priorities are more in line with what they should be (despite tangents and projects and redecorating kicks!) and have been doing better...  but there's still room to improve, and it's my goal to continue working toward that end this year :)

 - fourth, what kind of new year's goals would it be without adding in weight loss??  I have more than enough extra pounds for a mom of nine, though I do hear people comment "you look great for having so many kids!!"  but that leads me to wonder, what do they expect a mom of many to look like, after all??  so, my more realistic goal is to lose 10 pounds...  more if I can keep it off...  ultimately, I could stand to lose 20 and not be very thin (my husband doesn't care for very thin, and honestly, I'm not sure I could keep that kind of figure...  I stopped running long ago, and my aging joints just aren't up for that kind of stress these days...  I'm getting older and I'm feeling it!

 - next, yes, exercise...  yeah, I get some exercise cleaning the barn, the chicken shed, and keeping up with kids and house and home!  But it isn't usually the type that helps cardio health, so I'm hoping to get in exercise at least once or twice a week...  but being realistic with my life and responsibilities, I doubt I could do more than that without dropping something else that truly does need doing!

 - finances...  what would a new year goal or resolution list be without something about finances??  for 2013, my goal is to be a better steward, to budget better, spend more wisely, and not give in to those un-necessary whimsical purchases that are forgotten in a day or a week!  I'm usually fairly good about that, but I could do better!

 - finally, to be more forgiving, more loving, more kind to those around me...  most especially family, but also those outside of the family - people can say and/ or do hurtful things, and it's easy to become offended or upset when people pass unfair judgements or whatever...  what isn't as easy, but is better to do, is to forgive them and treat them with the caring and kindness that we would have liked them to extend to us.  We are different - we stand out - we are called to be different...  it's a good thing, if it's done in obedience and not in legalism or for show...  strangers or passing acquaintences just don't understand that sometimes, and their comments can be hurtful - those people need forgiveness more than they need our defensiveness. :)  Most of the time I can take it like water off of a duck's back - but sometimes comments rub the wrong way, like those who see a large family and assume there is some sort of perversion going on, or that the large family *must* be on welfare or whatever, when in fact the husband and wife are very much in love with one another and love having many children...  and while we will certainly never be rich (and don't want to be either, for that matter!), we also aren't on welfare...  but that's a sensitive point that really shouldn't be - so I need to work on that ;) 

 - and well, most finally, to continue to not have a reality show! ha!  the thing about large families and reality shows just doesn't make sense to me...  I haven't seen one (and really have no desire to see one - I certainly do not miss having tv channels in our home, it's been more than a decade, and we really prefer it this way! *grin*) but I also don't understand why anyone would want camera crews and people constantly in their home, losing their privacy and what not, all so that they can show the world how they live...  no thanks - I'd much rather maintain our mostly quiet lifestyle :) (for the record, I'm not knocking anyone who does have other opinions on this, and I've heard great things about the Duggars and did read an exerpt of an interview by Michelly Duggar about why they do what they do - I respect her reasoning that she shared, but it is so not me! ;)  I don't even like to have my picture taken! ha! :)  (and well, that would be on my husband's wish-list for me for the year...  to not dislike that so much...  but he has gotten some snapshots of me doing stuff, so that my picture is also in the family scrapbooks, lol... 

There are other goals too, but they are more thoughts on the loose than set goals...  my brain runs too much on a rabbit trail to write them all down! :)

Happy new year, and wishing you all the best in keeping your goals for this new year! :)

Little man... 3 months

So our littlest man is growing and soooo sweet...  I have been bad about taking pictures, but did get a few this week!  This one is my favorite :)
Life stays super busy over here with many, many things in progress or finishing up or just beginning - and true to that theme, I have to run!  Have a great week!

oh deer!

So here is the promised picture of the deer...  this is after it was skinned and gutted (by our friends, not me, lol) and before I did the butchering and freezing the meat...  we have since had several meals from the meat gotten from this deer and it is sooooo good!! :)

I'm thinking this may be the "push" that gets us out hunting in the next year or two! (residemcy and hunting license rules depending of course!)

Yummmm....  doesn't look tasy in the picture, haha, but all finished up it sure was!

Running, running!

There is a song by Point of Grace that talks about if there were only more than 24 hours in a day...  whoooo boy, can I relate!  It's busy here, but a good kind of busy... 

Little man is 10 weeks old now (how did that go so fast??), nursing like a champ, and is just so sweet and cuddly  and snuggly...  *happy sighs*  he is just awesome!  The next youngest is doing great with adjusting to not being the family baby, though she's still rather little (all of our others are high on the height charts and almost as high on the weight charts - she is much more of a petite little thing, but boy is she active!!  Thankfully, she also loves her sleep, so she naps in the afternoon and goes down easily at night, so I sure can't complain about her busy little self during waking hours (plus she's just so darn cute!!)  Yeah, this mama is biased...  but she's also right, haha!  All the kids are doing well, have been keeping busy as ever with school, and ready (more than ready!) for a break!

Well, our second oldest had foot surgery (corrective, not due to an injury) earlier this week, after lots of doctor appointments and trips to town in preparation for surgery...  she is in a cast and mastering the use of crutches - which is good because after this foot heals and has regained strength, she is set to have surgery on her other foot to correct her pronation  and flat foot issues...  hopefully that will alleviate the pain she's dealt with over the past few years...

So, between surgery on Tuesday and Thanksgiving on Thursday, we took the whole week off of school...  and since my husband had to be away over Thanksgiving and the weekend for work, we're having our family Thanksgiving on Monday, and since he has a few week days off next week, we're extending our break for an additional week!  That's ok though, since we are about a month ahead in school, having started late summer and having taken less of a "baby break" than planned... 

What have we been up to then?  Ha - you had to ask!  ;)

It's that time again...  over the course of TJ's military career, we have moved right about every other year...  maybe not to a different base each time, but for varying reasons (a bigger house, housing renovations, moving to a different base, etc...) we have moved every other year.  Well, we've been here just over two years and WE ARE NOT MOVING!!!!!  (yeah!!!)  but that moving things around and fixing things up bug has hit and with a crazy vengeance (if only it came with an extra dose of energy, ha!  I'm feeling every one of my fourty years tonight!!!)  So, I painted the kitchen...  we've had sterile military white for so long...  don't get me wrong, I like white...  but it was time for something DIFFERENT...  but I very much prefer earth tones, so I didn't go wild! *grin*  The kitchen walls were painted on Thanksgiving day :)  I'm very thankful that I had the whole day to get it done, too, because I'm seriously out of practice!  It took almost as long to prep for painting as it did to actually paint the room!  but it's done...

Black Friday...  I have a wonderful Black Friday tradition that I've held dear for many years now...  STAYING HOME!!  Well, this year I broke with tradition - made a trip to town for another can of paint!  Then scooted back home just as fast as is legal to avoid crazy shopper people!  One wall in the living room accomplished and little man decided he had enough and it was time for a super-long "nursey", so I settled in with the kiddos for an evening of popcorn and movie and snuggles with little ones.  *happy sigh*

Saturday...  that can of paint was just calling to me...   and the unpainted walls in the living room beckoned for attention...  so since the kids were all  actively busy with various play activities or crafts, I undertook the project - I am so loving this new color of paint!!  It's kind of a sand color, but a little darker...  very earth tone-ish, and very not white!  Now I just need to find some nice, simple, coordinating border wallpaper to finish the touch! 

Then, when I'm thinking of rest and Sunday and taking a day off of projects we were offered a deer!  Some friends who are all avid hunters had a great year hunting this year, and my friend has been butchering left and right - her huuuuuge freezer is so packed full that she had to pressure can the rest of the meat she had because it wouldn't all fit in her freezer...  and then her husband came home...  with another deer!  She asked if we could use it - they would hang and skin it if I wanted to butcher it, so cool!  I've never butchered a deer before, so had to google some instructions...  she told me it's much like butchering a pig, no problem!

Whew...  picked up the deer late this afternoon, got it laid out on my butchering sheet on the table (used to be a bed sheet, then became a drop cloth for painting, and now is my butchering sheet) and got the deer up there (man was that a good weight!  too bad I couldn't carry it by myself, haha!  Thankfully my oldest stepped in and helped me get it from the van to the table) - got the meat grinder set up and ready, my butchering tools out, then sat to nurse little man so he would be happy while I worked :)  then, got to it!  Took a couple of hours, but we have some good sized roasts, tender backstraps, strips to make into jerky, and a huge bowl of meat waiting to grind up...  but little man had waited long enough and was getting rather upset - so I put away in the freezer all that was done and refrigerated the rest...  nursey-man is a happy, sleepy camper :)  when he's done (typing while nursing, lol) then I'll get back to it...

Did I say back?  Oh yeah, it's screamin'!  but hey, it's been a productive week!  and I'm really earning my Sunday day-of-rest! :) 

I'll put up some pictures later...  deer and paint :) 

Picture time!

The hospital "Daddy scrubs" - Daddy's feet in shoes were too big even for the extra large size "booties", so he had to sock it and leave the shoes behind!  And who figured out the sizing for the jumpsuit??  Certainly not a tall American man, haha!  These just barely fit...  but they fit enough that he was able to be in the operating room with doctor approval! :)

And finally...  after weeks of contractions, an unstable-lie "transverse-breech" baby, and a month of pre-eclampsia frustrations, this Mama was READY to have her sweet baby OUT and in her arms!!!  Cesarean birth by necessity for the safety of both baby Caleb and me - but our OB did a wonderful job, and we pulled through with probably one of the easiest c-sections possible!

Caleb, just a few hours old...  sweet little sleeper...

Fast forward two weeks to pictures taken yesterday and today!

Shhhh...  baby sleeping... 

and of course...  baby feet!!!! 

did I mention how much I **love** baby feet???



Happy, very contented Mama sighs...  and lots of sweet nursey baby snuggles...  what could be better??

He is here!

Well, he was here two weeks ago, haha, but as you can imagine it's been a busy couple of weeks with baby snuggles and healing from the pre-eclampsia and the subsequent cesarean section that brought our little man *out* to join our family!

Caleb Alexander was born September 4th at 3:44 pm, weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce and measuring 20 1/2 inches long.  He's strong and healthy, though a bit jaundiced, which will go away over the next few weeks with lots of nursing snuggles and sunbaths! :) 

Our doctor did an awesome and amazing job on the c-section, with very little blood-loss for me, which is an accomplishment for that type of surgery!  I'm sore but recovering well from the incision, up and about again and happy to have a large majority of my usual energy back!  That last month of bedrest about drove me batty, haha - I don't stay still well, so that was a real test!

Anyway, thank you for your prayers - we are so thankful that the Lord saw fit to answer them in such a way!

I'll post pictures later. :) 

Growing, growing, growing...

It seems that the garden isn't the only thing growing these days...

My belly continues to grow and swell with the babe within, as well as my patience growing (or should I say, being stretched??)

It's hard to believe that we are still pregnant...  our last five children have all been born before this point, and yet this little guy has still not made an appearance.  Our check up with the OB yesterday had us tenatively scheduled for a c-section this morning, however, the amniocentesis came back unfavorable.  It appears that his lungs are simply not ready for birth yet.  I'm not sure who was more surprised, the doctor, Daddy, or me!  So, we wait...  and continue to wait...

I've never been accused of having patience be one of my best virtues, and it seems the Lord has seen fit to use this as yet another means of stretching me and growing me in that area.

That and putting stretch marks on my stretch marks!  Wow, my belly is huge...  my baby is huge - by ultrasound, he is measuring weeks ahead of dates, and at this rate, he's easily going to be our biggest baby yet by the time that he finally, FINALLY makes his appearance.  Whenever that may finally be.