Who Needs Toys

This girl could entertain herself for hours with a plastic wipe package.

Terrifical Monday

Well, "today" is actually now tomorrow or yesterday as it is after midnight. I should be getting to bed, but I'm giddy over the super "terrifical" day that I've had so I'm going to write about it instead of going to bed. This post is all about the things that I LOVED about Today!

Sometimes I strongly dislike (because I don't like to use the word "hate") Mondays. Other times I'm really excited because Monday is like a new chance to get it right. It's like a new beginning. The 1st day of a new week. I LOVE structure and LOVE getting back into a routine. It's so hard to have structure and routine with 5 young ones.

Today I woke up ready to take on the new week and make it a great one!! We had a pretty good school day in a totally "Charlotte Mason" kind of way. (I LOVE that I now really understand what a true "Charlotte Mason" day looks like!! Thanks, Heather!!) We did a little reading, a little math, had 2 nature walks, and worked on character through a variety of important and necessary tasks!

I LOVED that today was the first full day of Spring! I LOVE Spring!! We spent quite a bit of time outside today, and it was a perfect day for it!


(Grandparents, hide your eyes and do not look at the next picture!!)

Look at how Luke is in this tree today. OH.MY.GOODNESS!!! And he wasn't even done climbing yet! This does scare me, but Wesley insist it's all part of being a boy, and for thousands of years millions of boys across the whole world have done this same thing so I have to just let him be a boy. Weakly I say, "oh, well OK then, if you say so..." And for those of you who know Wesley, you know that he is a super protective and safety conscience kind of guy!


OK, Grandparents, no phone calls, please! I told you not to look!

I LOVE my wonderful and AMAZING husband, and LOVED that we all took a family walk tonight at 7:30 PM and did our family devotion while we "walked along the way" (Deut. 6:7) It was almost completely dark, and I left dishes in the sink to go walking but it was totally worth it!!

I LOVE that 5 precious kiddos call ME Mommy!! Here's just a recent cute picture of the Grace, Mary Ruth, and Bella Peace playing dress up.



I LOVE watching Elizabeth explore every new thing with such zeal, excitement, and awe!! She's the most precious 6 month old since, well since Bella Peace was 6 months old!! Just look at how this little girly has her foot kicked out in these next couple of pictures.



I have GOT to get this girl a new baby swing! I had hoped to pick up another used one at the recent consignment sales, but I did not get to go until the public sale started and by then there were no more. We had one that we got used when Luke was little, but last summer the rope cable actually broke because of all the years of wear and tear and the elements. She's been in a baby swing a couple of times and of course just LOVE it!!

Elizabeth's personality is already shining through so boldly! She's not scared of anything. She's determined. She's social. She LOVES being outside. All of this is adorable in a 6 month old, but experience tells me that she's gonna be a hand full when she gets big enough to start getting into trouble!

Today when we were outside, Buddy (our dog) licked Elizabeth's leg and feet. That's something that would have made Luke hysterical when he was a baby, but Elizabeth just kicked and laughed and reached out to get hold of Buddy!

As the day was winding down tonight I got a great idea to do something special with my big girls. Grace has had a few rough days, and it occurred to me that some special "girl time" might be beneficial. So after Wesley and I had tucked all the kiddos into bed, I went back into the big girls room, got Grace and Mary Ruth up, and we had a girls night tonight!! I took the girls in their PJ's to a new family video store close to our house and we picked up a movie that I've been wanting them to see..."Ramona and Beezus". Then we picked up a couple of snacks and headed back home. I'd heard a lot of good things about this movie, had read some good reviews, and decided that it would be OK for us to all watch together. We LOVED the movie!! In fact, it could be a new favorite for us!! If you don't know anything about this movie, it's a movie all about family and 2 sisters are the main characters. It was just perfect for us to watch together!! I think that quality girl time did us all good. I'm hoping that it doesn't back fire on me tomorrow when they are super tired from being up too late! No pictures from tonight... :-(

Another thing that I have LOVED about today are the beautiful flowers that are gracing my mantle. I'm not much of a flower person, but once a year Wesley and I have the altar flowers at church placed in memory of the three baby boys that we never got to know outside of the womb...Samuel, Isaiah, and Joshua. It's not much, but then again there's not much you can do. After the Sunday services, you get to take your flowers home. So yesterday they graced the altar at our beautiful church, and today they have served as a beautiful reminder of my babies. There are many dates that we could chose that would hold special meaning, but we always chose a Sunday in March. March 25 was my due date for Samuel. March 18 was the date that we delivered Isaiah. A lot of times these anniversaries can be so very hard, but this year it's not been too bad. I think it's just because I've been enjoying and appreciating my family so much. I know that God had a purpose for giving and for taking 3 of our precious baby boys, and this year that's given me great peace. I also know that He's grown me so much through these losses. They have help shape me into the person I am today. So anyway, I had these beautiful flowers on my mantle today and probably for at least a week (if I can stand the smell - they look pretty, but I don't love the smell!).


So there you have it...my "terrifical" (a word from tonight's movie) Monday! Hope yours was super "terricical" too!!

NEW POST BELOW!!!

Yay, me!! I'm beginning to find my groove again! There's several new post below!!!

What Just Happened?

So did someone out there start praying for me this afternoon? I have had a miserable couple of days. Last night was BAD! I was convinced I was continually getting worse, not better. Today I woke up feeling much the same...BAD!

I had SOOOOO much I needed to get done at nap time, but nap time was not going well. I can't rock Bella Peace to sleep and carry her to her bed like I normally do, and she did not end up taking a nap. I did rock Elizabeth, but the not so smooth transfer to her crib woke her up. I was feeling a bit discouraged about how my day was turning out, and then it all seemed to change!! Even my attitude changed!! Maybe that's why everything else changed.

I gave Bella Peace books to read on her bed. The big kiddos also had reading time, and I gave Elizabeth a couple toys in her bed. I was able to accomplish almost everything I needed to. Elizabeth drifted off to sleep on her own. AND, I just realized that my ribs are feeling pretty good even though I haven't taken any pain medication since morning!!

Not sure what just happened, but it sure is nice!! So if you've been praying for me, thanks!! Keep it up!!

Camo for Luke

Remember this tease?


We were all dressed in camo for Luke. Here's a picture of Luke and my Mom. Mom made the birthday poster that Luke has hanging around his neck.


Luke wanted a hunting themed birthday party and requested that we all wear camo. So we did! Can you believe that between Luke and Wesley we had enough camo to dress every one of us! I wore one of Wesley's shirts and the girls all were shirts of Luke's except Elizabeth. She actually had her on camo onesie that someone gave us as a baby gift. Hahaha

We were actually celebrating Luke's birthday rather late, because we were all terribly sick around his actual birthday.

My mother made Luke his super big, super great cake!! She is extremely talented!! If you look closely you will find a hunter ready to take down a giant buck with his bow and arrow! This cake had it all. A hunting lodge. A gator. Guns. A cave that the deer could retreat to. And it really looked like the deer wore walking in snow. There was a second cake too. I didn't get a really good picture of it, but it had some of the same things on it. Super cake! Great job, Grandmother!!! You made Luke's day!!


I didn't take a lot of pictures that day. I was busy taking care of Lizzy Bug, but here's a few others that I did get.





We LOVE you, Luke!! Hope this is a great year for you!!!

Clumsy Me

So I have a cracked rib. Yep! That explains why it's been giving me so much grief since I fell on Wednesday and injured it!!

Here's the story...last Wednesday while it was wet and rainy I was standing on the running boards that go around our Suburban and stretching into the middle seat to buckle up Elizabeth. My foot slipped and down I went...on my ribs. It totally knocked the wind out of me, and I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. I started looking around in the parking lot for someone to help me in case I actually did pass out. Then I just kind of sat there for a while and tried to compose myself. After I got myself together, I called Wesley and he said just give it a little time and see how it felt after a few minutes. So I've been giving it time, hoping every day it would feel better. But it hasn't really been feeling better.

Wesley set me up with one of his orthopedic doctors today who confirmed what I had become to suspect. After I saw the doctor, he called Wesley (they are friends and enjoy talking about these kinds of things) and said he was a little surprised because most patients who come in suspecting a broken rib don't actually have one. But, lucky me! I defy the odds. Once again! It sure would be nice to deny the odds in something really positive sometimes!! :)

Wesley has been extremely supportive and helpful since we had a little talk several days ago when I explained that no part of this situation was at all funny. He was laughing at me for the first day or so. In fact, I was sometimes laughing too. But the laughing got old. And it hurt. And it just wasn't funny anymore!! You see, Wesley and I met when I was still a teenager. I will admit that at that time in my life I would cry over a stumped toe. I would over exaggerate my pain and limp around like I was dying. He tends to remember that little girl from way back then and not take me so seriously sometimes when I say that something hurts. At times it aggravates me when he's not taking me very seriously, but at times at laugh because he's laughing. Also Wesley thinks that Grace is my clone and she can be a little dramatic at times so I think that when he sees me being dramatic he thinks about Grace. Now that girl, totally cracks us up when her drama sometimes!! Anyway last Wednesday when I first hurt myself, I would almost cry and hold my ribs at the slightest thing. He could not help himself and would start to laugh and even though I felt like hitting him I would laugh too, because he's just so stinkin' cute when he laughs. I also think that he's very use to seeing injuries and so he's a little numb to it. I have asked him if he treats all his patients this way and he assures me that it's only the "one" that he's flirting with that he laughs at and teases. I kept going back and forth on whether or not I thought it was broke, because I was still able to function pretty well. But other times, the pain was so intense I felt sure it was broke. Ultimately I did not think I was going to go to the doctor, because there's not much to do for a broken rib. BUT, this weekend it got to feeling worse and I felt like I could feel the bone slipping around. Turns out that I could feel the bone slipping around a little! Crazy, huh!?! Well like I said at some point it just wasn't funny anymore and we had a little talk about the fact that I am a big girl now. I've given birth 8 times. I have far too much to do than to cry over a stumped too. I mean, I am actually really tough now. I prove that all day everyday when I stay at home with 5 children and homeschool them!! So now, he's not laughing anymore. Well at least not to my face anyway! Y'all let me know if he's laughing behind my back, OK!

Grace Rides A Bike

Grace has a new post up on her blog. It's pretty cute!! Please be sure to check it out, and please leave her a comment. She's LOVES to get comments.