Alright, I Admit It

I like Terry. She's in my head. I don't know how she got there, but she writes what I think but don't have the ability to verbalize. It's neat to read what I'm thinking and I didn't have to write a single thing. Wow, thanks Terry.

My biggest problem with Terry isn't really a problem. It's more like conviction. Which in the end, is hardly a bad thing.

I am sure that at least 99% of the believing population can empathize with me when I say that I have a hard time finding time to read my bible, study the word and spend some time in prayer. Doesn't everyone? This morning as I lay in bed thinking about this, I finally decided that I'd spend more time in prayer and reading my bible if every single moment of the day wasn't filled with the noise of some child. Screaming, laughing, yelling, giggling, burping, farting...sigh. It's hard to concentrate.

Well, Terry keeps mentioning about how she gets up at 5 in the morning to have some quiet time and pray and read and do other important things like check blogs and induce guilt in her readers. In the past I've just shrugged that idea off because I don't like getting up early...I don't think. Del gets up to go to work at 4:30AM and who in the world wants to do that? Not me. But then, Terry said she gets up at 5, only a half hour after I've been up ironing a shirt for Del and sometimes making him coffee. I usually just go back to sleep. So I'm laying there this morning and feeling very convicted that it's been so long since I actually spent any real time in the Word that I'm not even sure where my bible is. I know where a bible is, but not mine; the one that's marked up and falling apart from use.

It's only a half hour difference.

If I got up I'd have two hours or more to improve my knowledge of God, attune my heart to his, pray for everyone in my family, on my street, in my town, in my state, in my country and all my friends. PLUS, I'd likely still have time to do fun things like read blogs, post stuff on my mostly neglected shared blog, cut out a dress that I want to sew for Sarah, drink a cup of coffee while IT'S HOT (hallelujah). I couldn't think of any negatives except for a couple of hours less sleep. And since Del is up and not getting that sleep, I probably should be, too.

So I got up. I even got dressed.

I knew right where I could find an Oswald Chamber's bible study. I read the first day and all of the book of Philippians, a highly under-quoted book, in my opinion. And I typed out my prayers. I tend to forget where I was and get lost and bored if I'm just praying. I like being able to go back and re-read what I have prayed.

We'll see how long this lasts. It's a matter of will and I am a weak and fallen human.

Hey, maybe I'll be able to read Atlas Shrugged. It's only 6:30! I still have a good hour before the kids wake up. Hmm, I wonder where that book is???

Shrugging Along

So I picked up a copy of Atlas Shrugged at my library this week. Holy Cow! This is a huge book! (And the cover bothers my husband. He saw it and said, "What's this book with a naked man on the cover?" I'm so tired these days, I hadn't even noticed that there was a naked man on the cover...lol) But if Granny says it is a worthwhile read, I will give it a go. My one problem is that my main times to read are while nursing and while eating breakfast. This book is so thick that it is hard to hold while nursing and doesn't lay flat to lay on the table to read it while eating. Oh, and the print is so small that I feel like I need to get some reading glasses!

I also got another book at my favorite book store tonight. Andrew has resisted all my tried and true methods for sleep training, and he is still not taking any nap during the day that is longer than 20 minutes! For the last three weeks, he has averaged five hours of crying a day, and only put himself to sleep for a nap in his crib twice. Both times it was after over an hour of crying. (Which explains why I've had so little posted here lately...) I think it is time to consider a new method. I'll let you know how it goes!

Lily

Not to be out-done, Lily stuck around for four questions.

1. What is something mom always says to you? "pink"
2. What makes your mom happy? points to self (she's right, she does make me happy)
3. What makes mom sad? pink
4. How does your mom make you laugh? walk juice

She then turned around and ran away laughing maniacally.

Lily tried to burn the house down today. I should have taken pictures of the fire truck and the firemen that came to see if the wall was going to suddenly burst into flames. Unfortunately I was more concerned about the fact that three strangers were in my house, in the girls' room and the beds were not made and there was junk all over the floor. ACK! Darn.

Anyway...

I had put the little bugger down for a nap. About 20 minutes later we hear her crying from her room. We were just across the hall in the sewing room. Ella goes in to see why Lily is crying and Lily is standing at the socket where the night light is. The socket and night light are black and there is a bracelet broken and burned on the floor. There are a few black marks on Lily's finger. Don't worry, it was just surface. She did get a shock but the black soot just wiped off her finger. She's fine.

What happened was that the night light was not stuck all the way in the wall. It is very possible that Lily herself pulled it out and then tried to put it back in or something like that. Lily goes into Ella's "treasure box" and gets out her bracelet and then drapes the bracelet over the exposed prongs of the night light. The prongs are hot and create and arch..arc?...of electricity, scaring the living daylights out of Lily and shocking her some. The firemen said that the bracelet acted sort of like a circuit breaker or fuse and that's why the circuit breaker itself didn't go off...or whatever circuit breakers do to break the circuit.

The funny thing is that this isn't the first time that Lily has been playing with the light socket and gotten a shock. No more night lights in the kids' room.

Lily, Lily, Lily. When will you learn your lesson?

Rachel

Rachel the lion we call her, because of her lion's mane of a head of hair. When we say "Rachel the Lion" she says "RROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!"

I know this just looks like a blur but that's actually Rachel twirling. You can see her blue skirt and redandwhite shirt.

Rachel's are a bit less wordy, but I think she did a pretty good job. She answered well on the ones that count. Like on #4, I make her laugh when I tackle her on the couch and tickle her and rub my head on her belly and blow zerberts and generally act crazy. It was a good answer, very all-encompassing.

1. What is something mom always says to you? "don't touch" (maybe I should emphasize the "obey" part more)
2. What makes your mom happy? food
3. What makes mom sad? monsters
4. How does your mom make you laugh? crazy
5. What was your mom like as a child? mother
6. How old is your mom? 5
7. How tall is your mom? this tall (reaching up above her cute little curly head)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? clean up
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? washing the floor
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? a mother (aahhhhhhh, only for you little Ray)
11. What is your mom really good at? flowers
12. What is your mom not good at? curtains (hmmm...)
13. What does your mom do for a job? digging (she's probably talking about all the gardening we've been doing lately)
14. What is your mom's favorite food? green soup (when I make it for some reason it has a green hue to it. It's good, but once again, not my favorite. Yeah what's with the lack of chocolate answers. They could have at least said coffee or something reasonable like that)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? a ladybug (don't ask, because I don't know)
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a cardinal (see above comment)
17. What do you and your mom do together? sing
18. How are you and your mom the same? pretty eyelashes
19. How are you and your mom different? pink-pink (uh...okay)
20. How do you know your mom loves you? she gives me a hug (Rachel is the huggingest, snugglingest kid I know. It's fabulous)
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? going to work
22. Where is Mom's favorite place to go? to a store

Sarah

1. What is something mom always says to you? "get dressed" (LOL, that's a good one)
2. What makes your mom happy? clean rooms
3. What makes mom sad? when the flowers are dying
4. How does your mom make you laugh? tickling
5. What was your mom like as a child? she had a mom and dad
6. How old is your mom? ummm...how old are you?
7. How tall is your mom? taller than my sister Anna (well, thanks a lot!)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? work on the computer (doh! she caught me)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? put away dishes
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? selling money (huh?)
11. What is your mom really good at? sewing
12. What is your mom not good at? making messes (ha ha ha, ho ho ho, hee hee hee)
13. What does your mom do for a job? sew
14. What is your mom's favorite food? meat
15. What makes you proud of your mom? saying "yes" to playing on the computer
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Jerry (you know, the mouse)
17. What do you and your mom do together? plant flowers
18. How are you and your mom the same? same hair
19. How are you and your mom different? your peach, I'm tan (she looks just like her daddy)
20. How do you know your mom loves you? by giving me hugs and kisses when its night time
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? he doesn't have a beard (very true, very true)
22. Where is Mom's favorite place to go? Joann's (WOOHOO!)

Ella's Interview

Ella made this for our front yard. In case you can't read it, it says "He died for us." Isn't she cool. My kids rock. I'm waiting for the HOA to tell us to remove it because it's not allowed.

I interviewed the kids. Their answers were bizarre. I don't think they think. I mean, Aaron's answers were so cognizant but my girls' answers are...weird. Do they live with me every day? I mean...sheesh. Maybe I should have Del ask them the same questions. Maybe they thought I'd yell at them if they "got the answer wrong." I tried to tell them there was no wrong answer.

Without further adieu, Ella's responses:

1. What is something mom always says to you? “wait a while” (LOL, that’s a good one and so true)
2. What makes your mom happy? when Anna smiles
3. What makes mom sad? teaching Sarah to read (oh, how sad is that. I’m an awful mommy)
4. How does your mom make you laugh? when she tickles me
5. What was your mom like as a child? I don't really know because I wasn’t there.
6. How old is your mom? 32
7. How tall is your mom? don’t know
8. What is her favorite thing to do? sew
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? mop the floor
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? sewing
11. What is your mom really good at? making bread
12. What is your mom not good at? drawing toads
13. What does your mom do for a job? takes care of five kids
14. What is your mom's favorite food? bibimbap (this is not true, I like bread way better, but bibimbap is really good)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? the things she makes (sews)
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a clown (WHAT?! That’s it, kid; you’re out of the will)
17. What do you and your mom do together? bake stuff
18. How are you and your mom the same? same eyes
19. How are you and your mom different? feet (this girl has got some long, slender feet with bad arches. She can almost wear my shoes already and she’s only 7. My feet are teeny, chubby and have fantastic arches)
20. How do you know your mom loves you? she gives me kisses every night
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? he’s brown (I admit that Del’s lovely brown skin makes my stomach turn happy flips, but there are other things that I like about him, too. Like his…oh, yeah, this is a family blog…his excellent mind)
22. Where is Mom's favorite place to go? The craft room

Interviewing Aaron

It's Aaron's turn!! He understood the questions a little bit better, so his answers make a little more sense than Ethan's did! After reading Ethan's, if you still had a bit of doubt as to how much we emphasize obeying in our house, it should be erased after reading this!! I am glad that we are getting that across to our kids!

1. What is something mom always says to you? to obey

2. What makes your mom happy? me obeying

3. What makes mom sad? when I disobey

4. How does your mom make you laugh? tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child? I don't know

6. How old is your mom? 31

7. How tall is your mom? really tall (lol!)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? get chores done and do school and clean the kitchen

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? do exercises and, uh, go shopping

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? cleaning (do they have contests for that now?)

11. What is your mom really good at? sewing

12. What is your mom not good at? doing legos

13. What does your mom do for a job? takes care of us

14. What is your mom's favorite food? casserole (huh?)

15. What makes you proud of your mom? playing with me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Scott on the Imagination Movers

17. What do you and your mom do together? go shopping and buy Ethan a birthday present

18. How are you and your mom the same? same eyes

19. How are you and your mom different? lots of things, you have long hair and I have short hair

20. How do you know your mom loves you? she takes care of me and doesn't go to work

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? when he spends time with you talking

22. Where is Mom's favorite place to go? Joann's - I hate that store!!

I had so much fun doing this. It was great to see how my children see me! I was impressed that Aaron saw me staying home with him as a sign of love. It is, but I had no idea he felt that way already! And what's up with my kids idea of my favorite foods? Apples and casserole? Do they not know what chocolate is??? I also realized while putting this together that I need more pictures of Aaron. The recent ones I have of him are not good!

The Time Has Come

I didn't realize it would be quite that fat. I've read bigger books before, but not with five kids all running around and trying to school and stuff like that. But, I finished P&P this morning and now the fun begins.

Look at my sweet baby girl with her grandpa. Isn't she cute. Everybody all at once, ready? "AAAHHHHHHHHH!!" Thank you.

Interviewing Ethan

I had seen many people asking their kids these questions, and I was really curious to see what responses my kids would make! So I interviewed them and asked them questions about me. It was so fun to see myself through my kids eyes! I interviewed them separately, yet some of their answers were identical! Since Ethan had his birthday last week, I thought I'd start with him. These pictures of him were all taken on his birthday!

1. What is something mom always says to you? obey
2. What makes mom happy? obeying
3. What makes mom sad? not obeying
4. How does your mom make you laugh? by tickling me
5. What was you mom like as a child? little (haha - he's in that "literal" phase!)
6. How old is your mom? hard to guess that
7. How tall is you mom? ::laughing:: hard to tell
8. What is her favorite thing to do? play
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? be alone

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? to be a monster truck
11. What is your mom really good at? taking care of us
12. What is your mom not good at? not taking care of us
13. What does your mom do for a job? work
14. What is your mom's favorite food? apples
15. What makes you proud of your mom? obeying (I really tried to explain this question to him, but to no avail...)
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Word Girl (I like this one!!)

17. What do you and your mom do together? work
18. How are your and your mom the same? same skin
19. How are you and your mom different? because you're a girl and I'm a boy
20. How do you know your mom loves you? because I love her
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? working (huh?)

A Garden and Space

We went to see Discovery launch on Sunday. I'm such a dummy I forgot to email Leah and see if she could meet us there and get us any closer. I feel really blessed to live close enough to be able to just jump in the van and drive a couple of hours to see a space shuttle skip off into space. It's pretty cool. The couple next to us had a radio (great idea!) and so we got to hear all the radio transmissions and the countdown and everything. Next time though, I'm going to get with Leah. What a thrilling job that must be. She doesn't get as many cute little smiles and coos and hugs as I do though.

There was another couple there who were really enamored of my family. The Mrs. oohed and ahhed over Anna and counted my kids. "Four daughters?" she asked. "Nope, five," I told her. Her response was not the usual "my, you've got your hands full," or "you know how that happens, don't you" or "are they all yours" or any of the other dumb comments. Hers was, "Wow, then you are REALLY blessed, aren't you." I just love that. And I find that I get that kind of comment more than I get any of the others. And that is a double blessing.

The sunset was really beautiful that night. I was taking pictures of the sun going down over the city and some young guy comes up the the wall and starts snapping photos also. Then he says to me, as I'm still taking pictures, "It's a really beautiful sunset, isn't it" in this cheesy I'm-so-deep-and-artsy tone of voice. I didn't know if he was talking to me so I looked over at him and saw no one else, so I mumbled something like "...yeah...it sure is" and went back to taking photos. LOL. I don't get hit on very often. But I'm usually in close proximity to my handsome husband and at least one but usually five very cute daughters. I'm telling this story because it was really the first time in a long time that I've thought about how happy I am to have the security of Del in my life. No matter how bizarre my behavior, no matter how smelly I get from working in the yard, no matter what emotional roller coaster I'm currently on, he comes home to me every day and kisses me and tells me he loves me. I've never had to pretend to be something that I wasn't with him. I appreciate the steady love that has developed between us over the last ten years and look forward to seeing how it matures as we grow old together.

Okay, on to more surface things. Look at our garden. We've got four different types of tomatoes, corn, green beans, onions, cucumbers and a green and red bell pepper so far. There are a few other things we want to grow like sweet potatoes and maybe some other gourd so that we can have them in time to make baby food for Anna when she's six months old. The herbs we are growing are thyme, oregano, basil, marjoram, rosemary and parsley. And mint. It's been a lot of work and we plan to make it bigger for the fall planting season, but for now this is what we have.

The People's Cube

From a man who knows what it's like to live a socialist society. A must must must read. Please check out this article at The People's Cube.

Contradictions of Socialism: I saw the future and ran away

**Not everything is squeaky clean, so this website is best viewed by a parent or rational thinking adult**

A Great Book

I have been doing some heavy reading lately. I have been reading summaries of scientific studies, books to learn about cooking in traditional methods, and two autobiographies. I am not one to normally read so much non-fiction, so this has all stretched me quite a bit mentally. However, it has been a good exercise for me because all four books I have read recently have been excellent! One of the autobiographies I read is Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. This is an awesome book and I recommend it highly! I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First of all, it is set in Ft. Worth, Texas, so it is right in my home stomping grounds! I can picture many of the places mentioned in this book. But beyond that, this book challenges the very way I think about acting out my faith and how I think about the homeless population in my area. I am ashamed to admit it, but often when I see a homeless person on the side of the road, I am not moved to compassion. I do not often think, "I need to show Jesus to this person." It has happened before that my response was like this and I helped the person or prayed for them, but more often than not I wonder what they did to end up that way. I tend to assume the worst about their character and become fearful for my safety, even if I have no reason to suspect the person to be violent. Anyway, this book is the story of a homeless man, his life, and his encounter with a woman who had a passion for showing God's love to those less fortunate than her. While reading this book, I laughed out loud, shed real tears, and grieved for my lack of compassion. I hope that you'll read this one - it is an excellent book!

Starting the Day with a Positive Outlook

Jerry forwarded this to me. It is one of those mass e-mails that are normally so very annoying, but this one made me laugh out loud!

HOW TO START EACH DAY WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK:

1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it 'Barack Obama'.
3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
5. Your PC will ask you: 'Do you really want to get rid of 'Barack Obama?'
6. Firmly Click 'Yes.'
7. Feel better?

GOOD! - Tomorrow we'll do Nancy Pelosi

I Needed This Today

The God of all comfort. Thanks for the reminder Terry.

The Joys of Homeschool

Do you ever find yourself singing in your head, "Yellow is the sun, six is five and one."? It just won't go away!!

My Favorite Drink

Did I mention that I live in Florida? Is it odd that I like to drink hot chocolate at least three times a day. Sometimes I heat water for hot chocolate then have to change a diaper, discipline a kid, throw the clothes into the washer, fold the clothes in the dryer, change another diaper, nurse the baby, start dinner and then my hot water for hot chocolate is cold. So I start again. Then I make dinner, chat with Mom while we're making dinner, change ANOTHER diaper, take the kids outside so they will leave Mom alone while she's finishing dinner, set the table, nurse the baby, change yet another diaper, nurse the baby, call everyone to dinner and then my hot water is cold again. It's interesting the way that works.

I like hot chocolate so much I buy THE BIG ONE.

*Dear Dr. Pepper, I still like you the best, but you have much more sugar than Hot Chocolate and you are much more expensive than Hot Chocolate. Don't worry, I still have a special place on my taste buds for you. Love me*

Joanna Shrugged?

A couple of months ago Granny put out a challenge to read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I seriously considered accepting the challenge because Granny has been around the block a few times and when she says "jump", I think the rest of us young 'uns should say "how high?" However I kept thinking about how I didn't even have time to read recipes, let alone books. I mean, I'm on chapter 5 or something like that in Pride and Prejudice. It's pathetic. I'm just too busy.

Anyway, I've been reading some of Michelle Malkin on a daily basis and they keep talking about "Going Galt". As I'm reading I keep wondering "Who is John Galt?" Turns out John Galt is from Atlas Shrugged. I have finally decided that I must read this book. The more of our money Obama spends the more I'm convinced we're headed down the slippery slope of Socialism and I think it's fascinating that Atlas Shrugged was written over 5 decades ago, before Obama was even born.

I checked Amazon and their copies of Atlas Shrugged are between $15 and $25. I thought I'd check out the library. You know what's funny? EVERY SINGLE COPY of Atlas Shrugged that the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative has is either checked out or on hold. I am now more convinced than ever that people are worried. People are downright freaked out. It's just hard to believe the main-stream media when they say that 60% of the country has a high approval rating of the Obama administration.

Okay, I will now try to get off of my soap-box. I promise to try to keep politics off of this blog as I know that's not really what it's for. I just had to mention that though.

On to more light-hearted matters: look what I got in the mail on Monday. I'm sorry I haven't posted or at least called you before to let you know. But look, they are in regular use. In the crib, for soothing, next to the diaper changing station, and even in the van. They are just beautiful! I always enjoy having a blanket and burp cloths from you because they are so pretty and they remind me of what a fabulous friend you are! Thank you Johanna and Lyn for the blanket and burp cloths.

Oh and one more thing. I tried the cookies. I was disappointed. Maybe it's because I put caramel chips and chocolate chips in them. They totally fell apart. And then I over baked the others so they are crunchy. They were incredibly easy to whip up though.

Anna is starting to sleep through the night. I put her down for the night at 8:40 last night and she woke up once at 3:23am, then didn't wake again until 7:30. I lay in my bed this morning wondering if she was dead. Isn't that awful. I think a lot about your friend; Anna is amost two months old. I snuck in her room full of trepidation. She was just laying there, wide awake staring at the wall. I snuggled her up good and prayed over her while I nursed her. Why am I so afraid to give her back to Jesus?

Last Wednesday (not yesterday) we went to see the manatees. It was pretty cool.

Random Thoughts

I won another contest this last week! This one was a bracelet giveaway by Brenda for the Fitness Friday Time Capsule post! This handmade beaded bracelet is really lovely and I've already worn it several times since I got it in the mail last Saturday. Posting about it today, I've learned something: it is very hard to photograph your own wrist and not have the picture be blurry. I took thirteen photos trying to get a perfect one, then gave up and used the first one I took after all!

In other news, Andrew now scoots and spins on his back! I think he can only do it when he is under his play gym and can hold onto a handing toy, but now that he has had a taste of moving around it won't be long before he realizes he can roll and scoot on his own!

Speaking of Andrew, I have started to let him cry it out more at night. Last night, he woke up to eat at 4:00 AM, and after I fed him, he was having none of this whole "going-back-to-bed" thing. He has also been fighting me on his morning nap and at bedtime. He went from a baby who went down for 2-3 naps and bedtime with relatively no problems, to this super fussy baby after these ear infections. He is no longer having ear pain, and I am sick of constantly getting a crying baby who should be sleeping and rocking and rocking and rocking, so at 4:30 this morning, with the crying keeping us from sleep, I asked Jerry, "Should I let him work it out?" When his response was, "You're going to have to eventually." I knew it was the time. ::sigh:: I know it won't take long because he was putting himself to sleep before all the illness, and I know that he has to learn to sooth himself, but this is hard on a mama's heart!

Finally, I had written that I was wanting to add more coconut to my diet. I have been doing that mostly with coconut oil so far and have really seen my appetite regulate with this and my poor, abused metabolism start to come to life. I decided it was time to add a new thing, so I made Coconut Corn Soup for lunch yesterday! It was so yummy! I was talking with my mom before I made it and described it to her. She thought it sounded yummy, and I knew I would have enough, so I invited her to come have lunch with us. So imagine my horror as I served up my soup and my husband reveals through a look of horror on his face with his first bite that he doesn't like coconut!! What? Who knew? We have been married for 11 years and I had no idea he didn't like coconut. Unfortunately for him, he was at a table with my mom and kids in addition to me, and Aaron was balking at the soup too, so he had to eat it! I felt bad for him because it was obvious that he really didn't like it. However, now I have a dilemma - I am wanting to add more coconut, and my husband doesn't like coconut. This could be problematic! Anyway, try the soup - it's really great!

Coconut Corn Soup

• 1 can whole coconut milk (not lite)
• 4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade - yum!)
• 28 oz. fire-roasted chopped tomatoes
• kernels from 4 ears of corn (I used 2 c. frozen)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I used marjoram because I was out of thyme!)
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste (I used about a teaspoon of salt and no pepper)
• I added about 1 c. shredded chicken leftover from making the chicken stock

Place all ingredients in a large pot over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.