How Dads Babysit

This is what was happening while I was in a recent doctor's appointment.    Hubby called me and told me to look out the window.    Can you see them?  On the nearby roof of a parking garage?  Hanging out the sunroof, waving at Mommy?    Too funny.  

Changes...

hubby's job.  possibly the city we live in.  which would of course lead to changing houses.  the vehicles we drive.  the way we diaper our babies ;-).   whether we keep the dog or not.  the way we budget.  my weight (please, Lord!).  how we homeschool our children...... 

We are in the middle of so many changes right now.  It's hard not to be completely overwhelmed and let fear creep in.   I have very little control over any of these variables, it's really all up to God.   Each change seems dependent on another one.  Cloth diapers and whether I lose any weight are about the only things I can really take care of without manipulating anyone else.  :-)   Maybe I should just pour my pent-up frustrations into a good workout? 
 
I keep remembering why I named this blog, "Faithfully Following."   That was yet another season where I was being led to let go of all that is familiar and just trust God's hand.    My life is like a box of chocolates life is more like a salad spinner.    Everything gets a good washing, thrown in the bowl, and spun around and around until voila!   You're left with all the stuff that's supposed to be good for you!  

Seems like I've heard it phrased another way before...

"For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined." Psalm 66:10

Slowly, but surely, being refined.  

Whatcha been up to?

So far, this year has been a blur to me. Here we are, Spring is in full session and I can't remember doing much of anything January-March. We had a whopping case of the flu, finally had the baby, started adjusting to that and then, WHAM! We got hit with another virus running through our family. This one turned into a horrible situation, with Baby Girl ending up in the hospital with pneumonia. After a week of a stomach virus, horrible coughing and what was apparently a staph infection, her little body was too weak to heal itself. We rushed our wheezing little blondie to the hospital and after another week, she was finally well enough to go home.

In the midst of all this, we are trying to keep school going, Hubby is working manic hours and I am making gallons and gallons of milk. ;-) I *think* we're all on the mend now, but I won't write that in stone. There might be a few things hanging around... I can tell you one thing, though. I am ready to be aggressive (Be aggressive, be be aggressive! What? Didn't you have that cheer at your school?) about our health now. This has got to stop, I can't handle all these ailments one after another! I won't take it anymore, I tell ya!   :-/

On another note, I know we can't "control" our lives, but there has to be some element of order and balance to everything. I am operating by the seat of my pants right now and it ain't working! I read this post by my friend this morning and I think that's a great method for her preschoolers.   I did the MOTH schedule last year and got way overwhelmed, finally leaving it to build up dust on my shelf.  I do that.   If I can't do it perfectly I say, "Oh heck with it," and walk away disgruntled.  Hence the thousands (ok, probably hundreds) of unfinished projects milling about my house. And in my brain. Let's not forget the ones in my brain. Maybe we are back up to thousands. Anyway...

I am loving my essential oils!  I have about 13 of them now & also bought a diffuser to spread the goodness around the house.   My favorites so far are Lavender and Thieves.   "Peace & Calming" is also a runner-up.    I bet you can't imagine why...   We successfully used Thieves on my MIL and she didn't get sick while helping us with the sick kiddos the other week.  Whew!

Well, I should run.  Little people need tending to and all that.   :-)

There are days...

There are days that from the moment the kids wake up, I am just waiting for naptime to come around. After that, we're just barely treading water until bedtime rolls around.   Of course, the day after attending a great parenting conference would qualify as one of those.  There's always a thin line between leaving feeling motivated, and leaving feeling like you've got a massive uphill climb before you.    Today I just feel like I forgot to put my hiking boots on.  


(Then I clicked over and read this on Stacy McDonald's blog.   Sigh, good reminder.)     

Enjoying...

We're really enjoying not having cable or satellite anymore!    We thought it might be hard to finally cut the TV out, but it hasn't been bad at all.  We started buying family-friendly/Christian dvds a while back so that we've built up a better movie library.   We also bought an antenna and we get 4 Christian channels in addition to the local channels.   Sometimes the news comes in clearly, sometimes it doesn't.    When Hubby wanted to catch some of the Nascar race Sunday afternoon, it didn't come in too well... So, we're trying to figure out how to get around that.  But, overall, the kids are behaving better together, and we haven't been inundated with horribly immodest commercials anymore!    So happy about that!  
I do have to confess, I miss watching "19 Kids and Counting," and seeing the Duggars more often.  But, I have checked in on the website a few times and that's been sufficient.   Hurray for less TV!!! 

Whatcha doooing?

I'll tell ya what I've been doing.   Unpacking.  That's what!    My life basically revolves around finding the next box to unpack right now.   I've almost found all the kitchen utensils again.... Who really needs a slotted spoon anyway?  
When I'm not unpacking, I'm trying to get my dress and all ready for my sister's wedding in a few weeks.   (Yes, B it's in just a FEW WEEKS.)   We also have to plan our trip back to NC and get the car ready, etc.  Oh, and the giant rock slide that shut down part of the highway we use in the mountains only threw a slight kink in our travel plans.  Oy vey! 
So, maybe when things settle down a bit I might have something more interesting to say.  But then again, who am I kidding?  When do things ever really settle down around here?! 

If you don't want to leave here feeling empty and let-down, go check out Kim @ Life in a Shoe.  She and the other 3 moms from "4 Moms, 35 Kids" had plenty to talk about this week!  

Humbled

Yesterday started off bad.  B.A.D.   One of those everyone in the house ( including Mommy) is throwing a tantrum kind of days.    No amount of counting to ten, separating siblings, spankings or even desparate prayers seemed to help!   Just when I couldn't take another single thing, Hubby called and asked me to drop everything to go open a new account at a different bank.  A task, I was definitely going to need to do sans-children.   Quickly I sent up yet another pleading prayer, "Dear God, please help me find someone to watch the kids!"   Most of our friends had gone on a field trip, across town.  
So, I called the friend who always says, "Call me if you ever need anything!"   Which we have - to the point that I feel bad even thinking about calling her again.   But, they happened to be on their way home and she says, sure bring them over.  Then I hurried to find an outfit that didn't boast a child-induced stain and tried to make myself look like I hadn't been ripping my hair out all morning.  
After dropping the kids off, (who by the way turned into little cherubs at my friend's house) I made my way to the bank.  It was right during lunch time and super busy inside.   It caught me off guard when the lobby greeter asked me if I wanted coffee or anything.  What?  Did you just ask ME if you could get me a drink?
When the banker called me over to get started on my account, she asked if I was off work for the day.  I must have looked out-of-place because I wasn't in a hurry to get back before my lunch hour ended.  :-)  At least, I'm guessing it was that, I'm pretty sure my shoes matched...

When I told her, no I stay home and homeschool my children, she stopped typing and looked at me.  Here it comes, I thought....Oh,really? I could never do that.   Instead, she smiled sadly and whispered, "I would love to stay home.   You're so lucky."  

I almost teared up thinking about how shameful I had acted that morning.   How I had completely forgotten about the meaning and purpose behind actually staying home with my children.    I had disregarded how hard my husband works so that I can be here everyday.   And not just to be here, but to be here discipling and training these little people.   Helping them to be the future men and women that God has designed them to be.   Helping my husband when he does things like call and ask me to go run an errand for him, and *gasp* doing it with a cheerful attitude...

She then proceeded to ask where my husband worked, was it a good paying job, were they hiring, etc.  We eventually got back to my account and got it all set up.   In the meantime, God dumped a huge dose of humility into my heart and reminded me that no matter how exhausting the job can be at times, the rewards are eternal.   I'm not lucky, but I am blessed. 

4 Moms, 35 Kids....

Ever wonder how big families make it through their day?  How in the world do they accomplish everything they need to do in a day?  Well, tune in on Thursdays to a new blog carnival being hosted by 4 awesome moms-of-many.    KimC (whom I was able to meet in real life!) can be found here.    After reading about her family's schedule, check out what Connie @ Smockity Frocks, Kimberly @ Raising Olives, and The Deputy Headmistress have to say about schedules and routines.    (Well, if you have TIME that is, hehe.) 

Very encouraging, especially to this mom-of-only-3-so-far!  :-)       

Header...or lack thereof

I am trying to figure out a good header for my blog.  But I have no skills with graphic art, or even getting a good picture of my children all lined up for that matter!   Any suggestions?   Oh, and we can't take any pretty local landscape shots either, because everything around here is SOGGY and GRAY.   

College...what is it good for?

Ah, college.   I remember college.  Briefly.   I spent about 8 months in college, before deciding it was not where I needed to be at the time.  I was totally unprepared for the class workloads, having just skated my way through high school and still getting a 3.9 GPA.   I was also unprepared to choose classes that were supposed to be heading me towards a major, and on to an illustrious career choice, when I had NO IDEA what I wanted to do!   I was pretty good in my Spanish classes in high school, so I just followed the path of least resistance and thought I might like to teach ESL classes for a living.  
Besides, all my friends had gone on to college, and that's where I was supposed to be also, right?   Only one of my close friends had stayed around to go to our hometown college.   That first day of class, when they tell you to "look to your left and look to your right, one of you will not be here on graduation day,"  I was that person.    I bailed after the start of second semester, completely disillusioned with the college experience.  
My friend stayed on.  She even moved into a campus apartment, joined a sorority and had a typical college experience....   

Watch this video and I'll tell you the rest of my story............



Rising debt is one key reason why our guest James Altucher, a hedge-fund manager and author, argues: Don't send your kids to college!

"There's a lot of evidence to suggest that motivated kids are going to make money whether or not they go to college," says Altucher, managing partner at Formula Capital. "So teach your kids how to be motivated. Teach your kids how to sell a product, build a network of connections. That's going to be far more valuable."

 
....My friend went on to work full-time through school, partying, studying late into the night, racking up massive amounts of student loans.  She succeeded in getting a corporate job making a decent salary, but to this day she is still paying off those college loans.   I joined the military, to go see the world and give myself some more time to mature before settling into a "career."   I saw what life was like for people in other parts of the world, got valuable real world experience and walked away with a Top Secret Security clearance.    I also didn't owe them a penny when I left, in fact, they still pay me every month for my service injuries.    I got the first job I interviewed for out of the military and to my astonishment, I was making MUCH MORE than my degree-driven friend.    Hubby finds it the exact same in his line of work.  Experience and time in the field are usually worth way more than a piece of expensive paper.    
 
For students who absolutely want or need that degree to pursue their chosen field, there are plenty of ways to have a college degree without the typical 4 years on campus and the horrendous Student Loans!   Check out College Plus, University of Phoenix, and Liberty University just to name a few.      

"A Year of YES"

When I saw this post by Ann Voskamp, my eyes just filled with tears.  I know how often I tell my children, "no".   No, we can't make that project.  No, we can't go outside yet.  No, you can't get muddy, I am tired of washing muddy clothes.    Rarely ever a "Yes!"   Sigh.  

If you have a moment, I promise it will be a worthwhile read.   Here's a taste...

"Mama... today... could I..." she turns and those eyelashes, gold whispers, brush my cheek. Her hands embrace my face and her breath falls warm, desperate.


"Oh, I just know..." Her eyes, dark stars, entreat. "I just know you are going to say No."

In her eyes, I can see mine and I am known for no.

No, you can't and no, that's not a good idea and no, put that away. For no, we aren't going and no, let's not and no, not now. (Oh, sweet child... and to think when they first laid you in my arms, you were all my yeses!)

She can't know of the all the other ones I only speak to myself, about myself, for myself. No, you can't be that -- no, you can't do that -- no good, no chance, no hope. (Oh, to be gentle with self. Grace always embraces...)

Or the ones I try to veil, the ones I shamefully stomp at God? No, I don't want this! No, I'm not doing that! No, don't change this, no, leave that alone, no, don't muck this up, no, no, no! (Oh, but You said yes to me before time began, yes to me in Christ with the arms nailed wide...)

What we speak to others, is what we speak to ourselves, is what we speak to God...."

Well, that answered that.

We were debating whether or not to renew our lease here at this house, or to move on to (hopefully) greener pastures.    Apparently our debate has been answered for us!   El Landlord called Wednesday morning and let us know that he had someone interested in buying the house.  He was calling to give us the option to buy it before the other guy, but the price he named was way too high!  We know how much work still needs to be done to this place and there is now way we could justify paying what he was (supposedly) being offered.    Anyway, we jumped online and started looking for other homes to rent!  However, two things are working against us right now. 
Number 1: The Economy.    There are lots of homes for sale right now, but those aren't going anywhere anytime soon!   Even foreclosure homes are being held in limbo by banks who can't afford to fix them up enough to get a decent buyer!  Yikes.   We have seen a ton of "For Sale By Owner" homes as well.   But, the rental homes are either way too small for us, very run-down or asking wayyy too much for the house.    Our best possible scenario would be to find a house we really like that the owner would be willing to rent/lease-to-own.  Best possible scenario. 

Which leads me to problem Number 2: Refinery Contractors.
The industry in our area is predominantly OIL.   Several of the refineries in our area are expanding and they have brought contractors to this area by the literal hundreds!    So, the game for the rental companies became "name your price" as far as rental homes go.  We have talked to a few different rental companies and they both told us they have plenty of luck renting a house to a few contractors for $2000, when it would normally rent to a family for around $1200.   How in the world does that work?!    Basically, they know that the workers are usually staying 3-4 to a house, splitting per diem and they don't mind paying a few hundred dollars each.     
Now, in a few years, when all the expansion is done, and these guys all move on to the next area, these landlords will be left with homes that are really only worth $1100-1300, but they'll be used to getting way more than that!     Disastrous.    
We have a few needs and then some basic wants that we are trying to find in a house.  Right now, we're in a 3 bedroom house, and it is working okay.  Actually, the sleeping space isn't an issue at all.  The kids all share the same room and it hasn't been a problem.  We even situated their closet to fit the clothes for all 3 of them.    The other medium-sized room is the playroom/schoolroom, and then the office area is in our master bedroom.    We also moved the washer/dryer inside into the small room off the kitchen.  It wasn't nearly big enough to serve as a dining room, so we made it the mudroom.   (My children tend to take that seriously, ha!) 

We are looking for this amount of space, if not just a tad bit bigger in the next house.   We also HAVE to have a garage or shop for Hubby's tools.   That's an imperative.   We would really like to have a big yard, for a garden and for the kiddos to run and play.   Tomorrow morning, we have another house to go look at, so I am hopeful that we are getting closer to finding something that will suit us!    We have time, as our lease isn't technically up until May 1st.   But, we're also pretty swamped with taxes, school, Hubby's chaotic work schedule and my sister's wedding in NC coming up in May.  What's a giant move thrown in on top of that?!  Piece of cake.   ;-) 

 

A Mid-Afternoon Ramble....

Just letting you all know I am still alive!  I've mainly been posting videos and other people's interesting quotes, articles, etc.   There are still a few original ideas of my own floating around in my head.  A few, but they are there....

 I would love to tell you all about:
- the books I've been reading.  There are about 10 on my nightstand!
- the garden I would love to plan and plant.
- whether we want to stay here when our lease is up in April.
- the trip we are taking in May for my sister's wedding.
- the 10 year vow renewal ceremony Hubby & I are planning.
- how Baby Girl is walking all over the house and getting into everything!
- how XMan is doing in school & how he's reading up a storm.
- about this constant chest pain I am having and how the dr's can't figure out what it is.
- how tired the constant chest pain is making me. 
- how we're trying to decide if a bigger (used, pay cash-for) vehicle would be a good investment for us.
- how Hubby is working the dreaded "5on/3off" schedule again and it's making us all go crazy! 

But, mainly, I am just tired.  Hubby's schedule is very hard to adapt to.  He gets work calls in the middle of the night and it wakes me up.  Baby Girl is still waking up at night and that wakes me up.   When Hubby isn't home at night and I hear a noise, that wakes me up.   I have a huge, sharp pain in my chest that wakes me up when I roll onto my right side.   Ugh!!!    I am just tired!!!   

Well, quiet time is over, and I must go.  Maybe I should've taken a nap....

Duggars on Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Huck, Chuck and Mike, oh my!

The Great Room Swap, 2009

Well, he did it! Hubby built some new bunkbeds for the boys and he did it within just a few days also! We stained them a dark walnut color to hide any impending crayon or bite marks, and it looks really nice. Hubby put the stain on dark and then wiped it off a bit, so the effect is pretty cool, I think. We set them up last night, and the boys slept in the Room Formerly Known as Baby Girl's Room last night.

They were excited, she on the other hand, was NOT. She was pretty irritated at being up later than normal anyway, but when we moved her crib to the opposite wall, she started having a fit. When she realized her "bubbas" were in her room to sleep, like for the whole night, she completely lost it. There was much wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth! I didn't realize my almost-14 month old Baby Girl was so against change!! Wow, that was an eye-opener! My normally very compliant little one suddenly became irate at sharing her room. It literally took her ALL night to settle down. At 2am, I gave in and did something of which every parent is sometimes guilty or wishes they had the guts to do! and she slept peacefully after that. (Can you guess what I did?) And I had some myself, thankyouverymuch.


Right now, we're attempting the First Naptime with the new sleeping arrangements. Pray for me! We are going to turn the other room into a more functional school room/play room.

I'm Alive!!

Wow, I haven't blogged for a whole week? I wasn't avoiding you all, I promise. I've been busy doing laundry, school and keeping up with young'uns. Also, Hubby has been working some odd hours this week, so it's kind of hard to waste the hours away online find time to blog... So! With that said, I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my uneventful week(end) and talk to you later!

Carpet Drama

Here's what the chaos in our bedroom looks like right now:

Sopping wet carpet and pad.
My foot prints as I scurried around, trying to get everything off the floor!

Empty room, dehumidifiers and fans going nonstop.

Hubby thought the file cabinet would fit perfectly right here. :-)

Our bed and clothes are all crammed in the boys room. We are moving the clothes to get into bed. *sigh* Hopefully it will only be a week.....

Baby Girl's birthday party

Scene 1: Saturday was a crazy, busy day for us. We had Baby Girl's party scheduled from 11-1pm and needed to get to the church by 10:15 to start setting up. Hubby & Xav left early to go get gas in his truck. While I was at home with the littles, trying to get them ready for the party, I hear a knock at the door. I sling open the door, holding a diapered baby on my hip, to find a sherriff's deputy standing there!

He says, "I'm here responding to the 911 call you made." Um. What?!

I was like, "From here? We didn't make a 911 call." He looks like he doesn't believe me for some reason(?) and I reiterate, "We really didn't make a 911 call." I looked behind me at Little Man, who is sitting on the couch, completely zoned watching a Dora cartoon. I ask him if he used Mommy's phone and he barely looks up at me to say, "No, Mommy." The deputy calls back to the dispatcher and she confirms our phone number for him. I pick up the cordless phone and turn it on, nothing but static. So, I let the guy hear it and he finally believes me that I probably didn't make a 911 call!

Later on, we figured out that the phones were completely dead, and that the heavy rains we had last week were probably to blame yet again! We've had problems before when it rains for days, our phones start messing up. (At that point, we should've unplugged the phone from the wall! This will be come into play again later...)

Scene 2: We make it to the church, and get everything set up for the party. We had a good time visiting with friends and munchin' on pizza and cake. The kids (and Hubby) had a blast bouncing in the inflatable castle we rented. Baby Girl enjoyed it for the most part, but she was feeling pretty cranky by the end of the party. When we got home she had developed a fever and was not a happy camper at all! I'm glad we got the party in before she starting feeling so bad. :-(

Scene 3: We get home, unload her presents and the leftover food and put the littles down for naps! When everyone woke up, we had to run a few errands. Hubby ran into Lowe's and then Office Depot before we grabbed a bite to eat. A quick Wal-Mart trip after that and then we returned home to get everyone in bed.

We've been sleeping in the boys' room while we get everything figured out in our bedroom. This has made for some very fitful sleeping. I don't know how they even make it through the night in the same room! XMan tosses and turns like crazy, and even talks in his sleep occasionally. Little Man blurts out randomly throughout the night, and he also flops all around his bed! So, when I heard a loud KNOCK ON THE DOOR at 3:30AM, I was not thrilled about the interruption to my sleep. But, I knew right away what it was! It's not like a burgular would be knocking anyway, right?

I woke up Hubby and told him someone was knocking at the door. Sure enough, two sherriff's deputies were standing there. hubby tells them, "No, we didn't call. It's our phone, yada, yada."

I hand them the phone so they can hear the static and they kind of laugh. "Yeah, we get this a lot, the phones line mess up and the phone starts dialing 911."

You mean this happens often?! Apparently so, because several police officer friends confirmed that they've had to go respond to calls from "possessed" phone lines. So, if you place a 911 call tonight, they might take a while. They're out responding to goofball calls from phone lines sitting in water. UGH!

On a happy note, here's some pics!

"Hi, Nana!"

She wouldn't even try her cake! look at that face!

"Colorful Castle"

Look at this beautiful little pinafore(?) that my friend Trisha made! It's from a pillowcase, and I think it's so adorable! She has 3 boys, so sewing for a little girl is a nice treat. I'm so glad she did!

Puppy Trip pictures

I finally got a chance to upload our pictures from the trip to go get Ranger. Here they are!

XMan, enjoying meeting new friends.

Perry-boy

Checking out the incredible view from their deck!

Slingshot + rocks....hmm....

Meeting KimC, in living color!