Merry Christmas

As I sit and think about what we celebrate this time of year, I get teary eyed thinking about how scared Mary and Joseph must have been. But especially Mary. I know how scared I was when I gave birth to my first child. And I did not have to travel on donkey to a town to be counted, and then to think of how her pregnancy started. I mean really, to have never to have been with a man, and then to be pregnant. And the the first time she felt him kick. I will never forget how that felt. It was amazing, and SOOO very strange too. I feel sorry for men, because they will never know the wonder of being pregnant. And I was safe and sound in a hospital with Doctors and nurses to help, and take care of me. And to be there if anything went wrong. For Mary to have to give birth in a manger with no sterile bed and instruments to bring her child into the world. But can you imagine how personal it would have been to have just her and her husband there to witness the miracle of the birth of Jesus. My VERY favorite Christmas song of all time is "Mary Did You Know". I often think about how she must have felt to have given birth to the Messiah, and what his life would entail. You know we all have dreams for our children, and hope that their life will turn out to be so great, and they will live a long and happy life. But to see our child be tortured and killed at 33 would be so devastating, that I am not sure most of us could take it. To have kissed his precious little head, and to have held him every day. To have taken care of him, and his needs. The thoughts just keep coming.

I know tomorrow that we will talk about Jesus, and how important He is to us, and what we are celebrating. But it will not mean as much as the presents they will get. But I know that if we keep talking to them, and reminding them, they will know His love, and know His life.

So, I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderfully safe New Year. May God bless you and keep you. Stay safe and blessed.

FUN!!!

I went to our group meeting last night, and we laughed and had such fun!! I learned great things from wonderful women, and felt like I was not a bad Mom. I love the honest answers of women that are home schooling. I feel like I am not the only one having troubles in their day to day life, and thinking that maybe I am not doing the right thing. However, we all love our children with all our hearts and we do the best we can every day. I know that Mothers have guilt every day on whether we are doing enough for our children and families. And when you home school it is even greater. But one thing we know is that we are teaching our children morals and values. I think that the world is so lacking in morals and values, and we are trying to put those things back in our families, and our lives.

I want to thank all the wonderful women last night and thank you for all the support, and help with my blog. I had so much fun!! I cannot say enough about women supporting women. We need it and thrive with it. Stay safe and blessed.

Teenagers

My oldest is only 9, but I think that is the word I fear most, TEENAGER. I was a crazy teen. I did not do as I was told, and I hope that payback stops. I was a breech baby, and caused my mom severe pain. So, guess what? My first child...42 hours of labor. Everything I ever was when I was little, my children are. And everything that I did, they are doing. So I am hoping this will stop soon, because I really do not want them to do what I did. I hope that through it, and with the Lord's help, I will be able to talk to them about the bad things out there. And there are so many more "BAD" things now than there was when I was their age. So, how do you do it? How do you make sure you are teaching them the things they REALLY need to know?

My oldest son is really liking girls these days, and it scares me. Not that he likes girls, but I know we are going to have to do more talking to him. And what is he going to get and what is he ready for at his age. However, I was reading a friend's blog, and there was a link to another blog I just happened to check out. It is called No Question Left Behind, found here and it is REALLY good. It is teens answering questions. Some posed by other teens, and some by parents of teens. I was reading the one about dating and it was GREAT!!! It was talking about not casual dating. It was a great article. You should really read it, because it makes a lot of sense, and gives you some info to give great info to your child.

I know that all parents want the best for their children, but do they do as we say, or do as WE do. I know that when I hear my almost 3 YO daughter say NOW to her brothers, that maybe I say that too much. I think some times our children put US in check. I know when I see my child do something or say something and it is like looking in the mirror, that I need to do better. What am I showing my children. Am I doing the right things, because that is what they are doing. I think my most of my words go in one ear and out the other. But I need to walk the walk, if I am going to talk the talk. So, I challenge all Mom's to really see what your children are doing, and make sure you do as you say too. I know that we are the ones to give the directions, and be the supervisors over our children. But I am talking about walking the walk with God, and letting them know what walk you want them to do. So, walk and talk with your children every day, and make sure that walk is with God, and I think that all of you will do GREAT!!! Stay safe and blessed!!

Bugs and Spiders and Snakes...OH MY!!!

Well, I just cannot say how much we LOVE the farm, and the Outdoor adventures we get to have. Today was cold, and seemed miserable. But we had SOOO much fun!!! I was SO proud of my oldest son. He heard the older group leader say that they were going in a cistern, and looking for spiders and snakes. Well, I said that that sounded like the last thing on earth that I would EVER want to do. First, I am claustrophobic, so going down into a concrete hole in the ground makes my skin crawl. Then the thought of such a hole being filled with snakes and spiders, makes me want to PUKE!!! It conjures up images of Indiana Jones going down into the pit of snakes. I was really surprised that he would want to go on this adventure. His best buds were not there today to go on the younger kids adventure, so he really wanted to be a big kid. I warned him, because he is usually not so willing to go on an adventure laden with snakes or spiders. So, he went with the older kids, and I went with the little kids.

My baby girl was THE muddiest and dirtiest kid out there, as usual. My little boy had such a good time, and he is so much braver with his gloves on. He is willing to pick up anything as long as he does not have to have it on his skin. He held a Daddy long leg spider, and he loved it. He also picked up a Wolf spider. The kids had so much fun with some nets. Of course, he got the net as muddy and wet as he could, and then placed it over his sister's head. Of course, her head was covered in muddy water and leaves. We saw lots of cool things, and had so much fun!!

When we got back to the house, and the older group was still at the cistern. So, I took the other two over to see what they were doing. And found that the oldest had in deed gone down into the cistern, and had held a snake. WHAT!!!! Is this my child!! Holding snakes, and going down holes!! Who took my child and replaced him with this brave boy? I could not believe this timid little boy was the same one that I took to the farm. I am so proud of him. He has been struggling lately, missing his dad, and trying to find his place. He wants so bad to be a big kid, but still so unsure of himself. As with all my children, I love him with all my heart. And it has been really rough the past week or so. But he was so strong and brave today out there with things he did not know he had within. Then the other two also held the snakes. YUCK!!! What was going on here? I felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Someone had come and snuck in and replaced my children with children that are brave, and want to hold snakes. What have I taught them? LOL It makes me laugh.

Then to top it all off, the oldest BEGGED for a pet snake. Of course, I said no. Then we walked down the hill to the craw dad traps. There were none in them, but one had some fish in it. Some Blue Gills, which the middle child BEGGED to have as a pet. So, he instead finds a grub, takes it home, and while holding it, it bit him. We, of course, got rid of it. It hurt but did not even break the skin. The grub was the weirdest thing ever. It fell out of the can we had it in, and was on the floor. So, he was afraid that it might bite him again, so I had to help him find it and get rid of it. The grub was on it's back crawling around on the floor, on it's back (I say it twice because it was so freaky.) I have never liked grubs. They, like snakes and spiders, CREEP me out!!!

I just cannot express how much fun the farm is, and how much fun we have when we are there. I grew up on a HUGE farm, and played everyday with WILD abandon. When I got older, I hated the fact that I had chores to do, and resented the farm. But now I long for a big place to call home, and somewhere that my children can run wild, and have fun. But we have a great home, and lots of love, and that is enough. If you ever have a chance to be out in nature, run and play with WILD abandon. You may never realize how much it means to your children!!! Stay safe, and blessed.

TIME

Well I guess that says it all. My nephews just turned 20 and 13. WOW!!! And my baby will be 3 in a couple of weeks. My friends baby is 1 today. So, time is really on my mind lately. It seems no matter what I do, I can never complete everything in a day. Why do we try so hard to cram as much as we can in one day? 24 hours used to seem like a reasonable amount of time. Now, it seems like someone took a few hours out of it, and has never given them back to me. Where did they hide them? REALLY, where did they go? I know you all feel it too. Can we get together and demand someone give them back? Well, as much as that makes me laugh, I really do need more hours in my day.

But how do you spend your day? Do you get up bright eyed and bushy tailed? Or do you drrraaaaggggg your hiney out of bed and struggle to get to that first task? I, most of the time, am in the middle of those roads. I sometimes would rather stay in my nice, warm, comfy bed, but I know that much must be done. And my kids are eventually going to come find me. My friend wrote on her blog that she was hiding under the desk, but they found her. I laughed so hard when I read that. I feel like doing that sometimes. Just pulling the covers up and not saying anything when they come to look for me. But then my mind goes a little crazy and I picture all of the things my kids are getting into. Sometimes they decide to make their own breakfast, and sometimes it isn't pretty. One day my oldest son brought me breakfast in bed. It was the sweetest thing in the world. HOWEVER, he LOVES peanut butter sandwiches, so guess what he made me? You guessed is, a PB sandwich, and a glass of milk. It was on the heel of bread, and had so little peanut butter on it that it made it so dry. Needless to say, I ate it. I love my children, and just to think of me like that made me so happy.

Well, we have to get ready to go to the farm, and see if we can find some bugs and fun things to come home with. We have to bundle up because it is cold outside, and breezy. Boots are a must, because it rained all day yesterday. So mud, LOOK OUT, here we come!!! Stay safe and blessed.

Past, Present, and Future

So, we all have a past, present and future. Should we judge someone on their past alone? No, absolutely NOT!! UNLESS, they have not changed from that past. I have done some things in my past that I would not want ANYONE to judge me on. I think all of us have a right to escape our past, as long as it is your PAST, and not still in your present!! If you have done questionable things while you were young and dumb, then you find your way, and repent, and ask forgiveness, then you are forgiven. Forget it!! Let it go!! But if you, for 20 years, do the same thing, and then associate yourself with questionable people, you should still be judged on what you are currently doing, and have done. I do think that everyone should be given a second chance, and wipe their slate clean.





So, when you look at people do you judge them on what you hear, or what they do? I would like to be judged on what I am doing right now. I am now a Mom, a wife, and above all a Christian. I want to be judged on those things, not what I did when I was in my early 20's. And you know who gives me that chance? Jesus!!! I can never thank Him enough!! I can know that my past does not make a difference. I have been saved, and I will be forgiven each time I ask. And I try not to do those things again that is what repentance is. NOT doing the things in our past that harm us and others. NOT associating with the people that might lead us down the wrong path. I would not hang out with people that do things that I do not believe in. I would not hang out with people that were liars, thieves, and adulterers. And I will try my hardest to teach my children to find the right people in their lives.



I just want to say that I think that I have found the greatest friends and people in my life now, and want to thank them for being there, and being the wonderful friends that they are. Stay safe and blessed!!

Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?

Well, my dear hubby left today to go to a class for 4 weeks. Let me start this by saying we have been married for 12 years, and together for 14. So, with 3 children that love their Daddy with all their hearts, it will be a rough 4 weeks. We have a routine that we go by each day, and when it is time we look for Daddy, and it is fun for all of us when he comes home. Today was sad when the door never opened, and no little feet went running. But you know what? We are so lucky, there are so many families that Daddies and Mommies have been gone for so long at a time. Daddy went to Bahrain when my oldest was 8 months old, and was there for a year. And we have been so lucky that he has only had to go at 4-6 weeks at a time ever since. So, we pray for all of those Mommies and Daddies to be safe and come home to your families. To hold, love and adore your babies.

We are also lucky that we can call every day, and have video calls. So, we will trudge through and do school, and love whole heartedly. We will take care of each other, until our head of household comes home, and takes over again!! We will probably have another Poopa Palooza, and lots of picking on their sister. And I am SOOO sure that we will have lots of FUN. But we will miss Daddy, and we will welcome him home with open arms. Stay safe and blessed!!

Faith-Who has the more?

Well, another person is attacking Christians (and any other religion). Bill Maher and his movie Religulous (as in ridiculous) But it just makes me mad that it is OK to ridicule Christians but we must be SOOO PC with every thing else. Forbid you call some one the wrong thing and offend them. But the Jesus freaks are fair game. I heard a great piece on the radio today about our First Amendment rights. I think that people see all the rights in there but the FREEDOM TO PRACTICE RELIGION!!!!!! Hello people!!! I can practice my religion if I want.

Now, for my title. Who do you think has to have more Faith, someone that believes in God and there is a book telling about all of His accounts, or someone that believes that a one celled organism came out of the ocean and "just happened" to "evolve" into some living and breathing thing? AND, that they changed into all things living. COME ON PEOPLE!!! Where are the fossils of the animals in between? Where are the things coming out of the ocean and changing now? Things are called a theory for a reason. THEY CANNOT PROVE IT!!! And have you read all of Darwin's "theories". I cannot believe that anyone with brain, would believe anything that this racist, sexist moron would say.

I just get sick of people trying to take God out of this world, and put all their ideologies in His place. I guess because we are Christians we just have to...be Christians. I will pray that their eyes will be opened, and they will be saved. I know that they can have a place in heaven if they have the right kind of Faith!! Stay safe and blessed!

Souffle and Hot Chocolate

Once a month we have a gab and nibble, the home school moms get together at one of 2 places, this time it was St. Louis Bread Co. I LOVE their souffle's and hot chocolate. I know that does not sound like a very good combination, but I love them, and always order it for breakfast. I think that they keep it especially cold in there so you will order something hot, and then keep coming back for it. But above all I love the time spent with the other Mom's without our children.

As a home school mom you do not get as much time to speak with adults every day as you would if you worked out side the home. You get to talk about real things, and not about the silly things that your kids come up with. Not that I would trade those for anything in the world. I LOVE my children. But to not have to ask anyone to wash their hands, leave their brother or sister alone, or if they have to potty is nice every now and then. To talk and find out what others are doing in their schooling is nice too. As a mom, you never stop worrying about whether or not you are doing the right things for your children. But when you home school, you have that on top of everything else, but it is so worth it. I love being right in the mix of when my children learn something new. Or we all learn something together. That is what home schooling has allowed us. If we are in the middle of show and tell, and they want more info on something we have seen or what we are talking about, we have the time to go and look it up, and learn something we may not have set out to do that day.

But I had such a wonderful time talking with friends I have known a while, and new friends I have recently met. I am so happy to say that some friends that we thought were moving are now staying here. I am so glad. My boys are crazy about hers, and they had so much fun when they spent the night at our house. Of course, that was like opening Pandora's box. Now my boys want to see if someone can spend the night every weekend. YIKES!! I do not have any problems with it, because I know how much I loved it when I had sleepovers as a kid.

So, I look forward to the next time we get together to gab and nibble. I am so happy that we have found this great group of families that have helped the move become so great, and made this place our home. Thank you all for being such great friends, and I am so grateful for you. Stay safe and blessed.

Nature

OH MY GOSH!!! We are the luckiest home school group EVER!! We have a wonderful opportunity to go outdoors, and have a blast. There is a 200+ acre farm that one of the home school mom's is the care taker of, and she (and the owner) allow us to come out and play and have so much fun!! We took a very long, very fun hike today. I did not get any pictures but hope to see some that the other mom's took. We got to see so many of God's wonderful creatures. We saw spiders, frogs, woolly worms, crickets, grass hoppers, toads, and lots of other cool things. We saw 2 HUGE praying mantis. We got to see animal tracks, and at the end of our wonderful journey, we saw a cray fish, or as we say crawdad. It was really trying to protect itself, and had it's claws up fending off the kids. So, I was able to pick it up behind it's pinchers, and when we turned it over, it had a bunch of babies on it's belly. It was SOOOO cool!!! I had never seen one with babies on it before. We were so sweaty, and so tired, but it is so wonderful to see the excitement in the kids eyes. The kids that go out with us are from under 2 to 9, and the joy of seeing them discovering new things while we are out is so great. I know they were worn out, and tired, but I think that more than that, they had fun.

So, if you have children and you need some fun, get outdoors, and see what you can discover.
Every one of God's beautiful creations are out there just waiting for you to discover. Go have some fun with your family!! Stay safe and blessed.

God Bless The USA-We Shall Never Forget

WOW, 7 years have come and gone and where are we now. Being a military wife, and mother of 3 this day is such a moment in time that we will NEVER forget.

I was not alive when Kennedy was shot. But I have always heard about people saying they remember where they were when he was shot. I never could really relate, because nothing in my life time had affected me that much, until 7 years ago.

I have to say that Sept. of 2001 had to be the WORST month of my entire life. My best friend, and precious grand mother, Ma we called her, died the first week of Sept. It was HORRIBLE. My Dad is an only child, so we did not have to share his parents with any other grand children. Which I have to say is the BEST thing in the world. She played with me just like a little kid. I lost count at how many mud pies I made that she ate. And she was the best customer, Sally Jump, at my "bank". She fueled my love of all things rock. My great uncle, her brother, sent me a box of rocks from the Black Hills, and I loved them. I, of course, picked every rock out of the drive way with a little sparkle, and Ma found a big box for me to glue them in. She took me to the pond to catch frogs for a race in 4-H. She was just the greatest grand mother ever. I just wanted to write about her today because I miss her so much. And I know she is always there for me, and she helped me save my son from Lyme disease, and she helped rock my baby to sleep when I was so exhausted I could not hold my head up. So, if your grandmother is still on this earth, give her a big hug and kiss, and let her know how much she means to you.

We were actually on the way to her apartment to clean it out, when on the radio, it said that the pentagon had just been hit. I told my sister, "no way, it is too well guarded. Andrews is right there, and they would not let that happen." Then when we got to her apartment we turned on the TV, and saw that the 2 towers had been hit. We, my dad, brother, and 2 sisters, stood there in awe of what was happening. I am getting chills just writing about it. THEN, oh my gosh, they fell. We all GASPED!!! I could not speak, I am not sure we were breathing. We just stood there. I am not sure if we moved for the next hour, but it was just so horrific, and I still cannot believe it happened. At first, they were saying 20-30,000 people were dead. And thank goodness, it was so much less, not that any was good. But as we all know for the next few weeks, we saw nothing else.

For the next months, I saw something I was so proud of. Being a military wife, we are VERY patriotic. We have lived in other countries, and other parts of the US. And I can tell you this IS the best country in the world, and I LOVE IT!!! But every where we went there were flags on display. In the busy intersections of major streets, there were people holding banners, and waving full sized flags. EVERYONE had a flag on their car. People were PROUD to be AMERICANS. It was AWESOME!!! But I feel some how we have forgotten that again. People need to remember how we became the greatest country in the world. And that we need to be thankful that we have brave men and women willing to die for this country and our freedom.

The next Tuesday of the month my son ended up in the ER, then the hospital, and then 3 blood transfusions. That is a story for another time.

Just remember that freedom is NEVER free, and if you see a man or woman in uniform, thank them for their sacrifice for your family. Or if you see someone in a Veterans hat, thank them for their service to our country. Stay safe and blessed.

What's in a name

Well, I have been putting it off, but today checking my email prompted me to start my blog. I do not have any pictures yet, but I will.

I named my blog because we are a family of five. We are finsished with having babies, and it was very difficult to decide that. But we have been so blessed with the wonderful healthy children that we have, and now we are just raising them. I am a home schooling, stay at home mom. I really have a problem with the labels we put on women. Do you ever hear anyone say they are a working Dad? We say we are a working Mom, or a Stay at home Mom. Aren't we ALL working Mom's? I know that what I do every day is WORK, but only if we get PAID for it, is it considered work. I mean come on, any of us that have chased children around KNOWS that it is work. And anyone that home schools KNOWS it is very hard WORK!!!

So, what is in a name. I think Mom says it all. We should be VERY proud that someone calls us Mom, and the other names I love are wife and friend. So, there is a lot to a name. I rarely hear my first name called, even my husband calls me Mom, because that is what everyone around the house calls me. So, be very proud of all the names your loved ones call you. Other names I love are daughter and sister. But most important of all is Christian, because God makes all the other names possible.

So, wear your names proudly, what ever it may be. And remember how great being a Mom is, whether you have 1 child, or 10 children, you are VERY important to your family, and this great nation. and those of you reading this that I know and love, I am very proud to call you friend!!! You know who you are. Love you.