Well, I am home from the hospital. The surgery went well and I am recovering. I have to stay in bed for a couple of days. Today I slept most of the day so it went by pretty fast! I hope to be able to sleep tonight. My leg pain is gone, but my leg does feel funny, apparently that is normal. I do have a lot of back pain so I hope that goes away soon. I have to wear those white support stockings for two weeks! They aren't bothering me now but I know they will become annoying soon!

That's all the energy I have right now, hopefully I will be able to type more soon!

Here is my contest update. I have lost a whopping 1 pound! But I actually have a very good excuse. Instead of posting new pictures of myself, since I basically look the same, I have decided to post pictures of my excuse...

a herniated disc. I go to the doctor on Tuesday to find out what we are going to do about it.

Here are the pictures....

Obviously I am posting these for the benefit of my husband, who wasn't here to share in the fun of the MRI, but I figured for those of you medical junkies, you might like to see them as well.

Once I get fixed, I hope to join the contest full force!

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Well I have decided after weighing myself at my son's well check-up yesterday that drastic measures needed to be taken. So I am entering Small Town Homeschool's contest. I tipped the scales at a horrendous 141. That is only one pound less than I weighed when I delivered my 12 year old. Ouch! After a few attempts of having the kids get a picture I decided to just post some fairly recent pictures of me because I think they are accurate. So here it goes...

Front view... (I'm in red and that is my 50 year old aunt!)  notice the arms and a little too full in the face. Also, I really need a new hairstyle

Side view... something definitly needs to be done about the mummy tummy.

Front view... crummy posture and again the mummy tummy.

I would hope to lose about 15 pounds but would be happy with 10. This is difficult for a few reasons. One being a pinched nerve in my lower back that makes any weight bearing activity painful. Two, my husband is gone so exercise time is limited. But I am determined to be lean and mean by the time he returns.

As a side note my husband, being the wise man that he is, does not think I need to enter this contest. He said he liked me just the way I am. Very smart guy, but all the same I wish there were less of me to like!

My children have all recovered from their sickness (it hit five out of the six of them), but now I have it! We drove to Florida on Friday (about 15 hours) and I started to feel bad in the late afternoon. At first my throat was a bit sore but I thought it was just from being dehydrated, then yesterday afternoon it hit me like a ton of bricks. Chills, fever, shakes.... I wondered if it was all the medicine I had been taking for my back, but then I realized that I was sick! I don't get sick very often, but when I do it really knocks me out! All this to say that I am still on a blog break until my head clears and I can function again. I did get some cute pictures yesterday of my littlest one in the pool for the first time, so hopefully I will be feeling better soon and can get them up for all to see.

Since tomorrow is birthday number 38, I decided to list 38 things I love about you.

1. You are a godly husband

2. You are a godly father

3. You are our family leader

4. You are our provider

5. You are our protector

6. You are our defender

7. You work hard for us

8. You aren't afraid to change poopy diapers or clip fingernails

9. You are the only man I know who can handle six children in Circuit City for two   hours alone

10. You always put us first

11. You send me flowers a lot

12. You are willing to admit when you are wrong

13. You stand your ground when you are right

14. You are super smart

15. You can crack us up with your silly voices

16. You are an awesome apologist

17. Your handwriting is becoming semi-legible

18. You got rid of our tv

19. You are an involved dad

20. You ride the roller coasters with the kids so I don't have to

21. You treat my family as if they were your own

22. You can handle the icky part of parenting, cuts, scrapes, missing teeth, etc...

23. You don't worry about the small stuff

24. You will eat anything that I cook

25. For the first years of our marriage you ate the same 5 meals and never complained.

26. You can solve most of my computer problems

27. You wear shorts and sandals in the snow

28. You love the beach

29. You think going to homeschool conventions is as fun as I do

30. You never get upset when I spend money

31. You remember the little things about us

32. You always send cards on our birthdays, valentines, anniversaries

33. You are always thinking of things you can do to make my life easier

34. You back me up on issues concerning the children, even from far away

35. You don't hog the covers (anymore)

36. You make the best scrambled eggs

37. Country boys can provide ! (inside joke to anyone who didn't spend Thanksgiving with us last year)

38. You love me and the kids with all your heart!

I love you...

Have a Happy Birthday!

• It is much easier to hire two babysitters and run errands with a close friend than to attempt it with 10 kids.
• When you wake up at 6:45am to a fridge that has been without power all night, it is nice to have a neighbor who is awake to take and store your milk.
• If you call and harass the military housing office enough times in a week, you finally get what you need on the first try.
• If you accidently dry a crayola crayon in the dryer you will end up with the entire inside of your dryer the color of the crayon.
• To remove melted crayon from the inside of a dryer turn the dryer on high and put in a damp towel. After about 15 minutes you will be able to wipe off most of the crayon from the inside of the dryer with the aformentioned towel.
• To remove crayon from clothes apply Spray and Wash Dual Power to all crayon spots. Buy a new bottle of Spray and Wash, continue to apply to all spots. Soak in a mixure of oxy clean and detergent, wash, rinse, repeat. After about 5 times the crayon is gone.
• Do not dry crayon free clothes in the dryer until you have removed all crayon from the dryer.
• When your four year old looks down at the neighborhood park and starts screaming... "God is going to kill us all" just smile at your neighbors and quickly bring the child inside. It is not the time to discuss theology.
• If you use all your canola oil to fry french fries earlier in the day you can use olive oil to make brownies. They just taste a bit different.
• If you want to scooba your floors, you need to charge the scooba before you want to clean.
• If you give 6 and 10 year old boys the job of washing your cabinets your floors will also end up washed.
• If you try and get 6 kids packed up and ready to go to the neighborhood pool it will surely rain the minute you arrive.
• No matter how bad the week gets I always get a fresh start on Sunday!

Looking forward to a new week and a new adventure... and maybe someday soon we will attempt to complete a day of school!

Well, I didn't realize my post would receive any responses! I thought gracebydesign had and interesting comment. She said,

"However, I am wondering if alot of our intolerance to girly things is because they all seem so WEAK. They aren't all though, and apart from those that are purely ridiculous (here I refer to the likes of gossip mags) I know I am challenged to let down my super strong capable guard and explore being a (vulnerable) girl again. It is indeed an interesting thought."

Her comments really convicted me. I think that I do have an intolerance to girly things for this very reason. I am sure my husband will agree that I cannot stand weakness in people. I view strength and resolve as important character traits. I think of people who are weak as incapable and needy. But my problem is this, I try so hard not be seen as weak that I am also not meek. Which is something that I should strive to be. This is the definition of meek-showing patience and humility; gentle

I then did a search for meek in the bible and found the following verses.

Psa 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

Isa 29:19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

Mat 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Obviously being meek is a good thing. Jesus was meek. Since I want to be more like him, patience, humility, and gentleness are things I need to work on.

That being said, does being meek require the wearing of dresses? I am still not sure, my first inclination is to say no- that is just legalism. But in this culture of androgyny should I try and make a stand for biblical femininity but making some changes in my appearance? Does this mean I need to act and dress like someone I am not-no. But maybe I do need to pray for a change of heart on this issue. If I wear pants as a statement of my "girl power" then my heart is in the wrong place. It I wear pants because I just happen to find them comfortable, and my attitude and behavior is one that is honoring to God and my husband then I can wear them everyday for the rest of my life without regrets.

Well enough said.... I'm off to sleep. I will try and actually post something about what is going on with the family next time so my husband can get an update!

Here is a picture of my favorite mug for Michelle at Under HIS Contruction's contest. My brother and sister-in-law brought this mug back from their trip to NYC. It is from the Lion King. I just loved that movie so I love the cup. I am sure the show on Broadway is great and maybe one day I will get to see it!

Now I realize this mug isn't particularly spectacular but I think I should at least win runner up because my husband loves coffee and is currently deployed. So I think a pound of coffee shipped in his name to the troops would be awesome!

That was the question asked to me today by my twelve year old daughter on the way to church. I didn't really have an answer other than the fact that I don't own any dresses. I even got married in pants, but that is another story all in itself. So I started thinking, how am I going to raise a young lady, when her mother lives in capris.

Then tonight I came across a blog with the quiz How Girly Are You. I took the quiz and I scored a 12 percent, which basically means I am a boy! That is terrible. How can I expect my girls to grow into young ladies if  I am their biggest influence and I don't own a dress. I am not saying that wearing dresses automatically means you are more ladylike, but maybe a step in the right direction.

So now I am off to bed, to ponder whether or not to buy a dress tomorrow when I am shopping in town.

Maybe my husband can comment on this one, he has never complained about my lack of dress wearing, but he isn't a big complainer so who knows!

Today did not start well. I woke up tired, the kids woke up tired, and the house is a wreck from a week of nonstop activity. I started to feel sorry for myself, thinking if only my husband was here I could have slept in, or we could knock out the cleaning in a few hours, or he could handle the next discipline problem. I moped around for most of the morning and then put on a cd while I worked. I wasn't really listening to the cd until this one song came on, I stopped what I was doing and listened to the lyrics

It's my will, and I'm not moving
Cause if it's Your will, then nothing can shake me
It's my will, to bow and praise You
I now have the will to praise my God

Complexity haunts me for I am two men
Entrenched in a battle that I'll never win
My discipline fails me, my knowledge it fools me
But You are my shelter, all the strength that I need

I'm learning to give up the rights to myself
The bits and the pieces I've gathered as wealth
Could never compare to the joy that You bring me
The peace that You show me is the strength that I need

I then was reminded of an email my husband sent me a week or so ago and in it he wrote, "I can't be there for you but I am not adequate to the task, no man is. You need to run to God and pray for Him to make straight paths for you and to send you help
from natural and supernatural sources."

While it was not my plan for my husband to deploy it was God's plan and who am I to question God's will. He is perfect and his plan is perfect. My strength does not come from within, but from Him. Until I learn to lean on him at all times, I will fail again and again. If I am consumed with self doubt and pity how will I ever be able to receive His blessings? So, I am off to finish the second half of my day with a renewed strength and a better attitude.

And my God will supply every need

of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:19

Small Town Homeschool is having a contest to see who can lose the most weight in six months. I am considering entering, but it requires posting a before picture. Since that violates all things that I hold dear and true...I am still debating.

Any thoughts?

If I do enter it will probably mean giving up these.

We'll make them again when you come home....

This big guy misses his dad so much. He is now sleeping with one of his dad's favorite shirts until he comes home. Today he wanted me to take this picture of him, so he could have one to match the one already on our wall....

Counting the days.....

To my husband on this Fourth of July

• Thank you for being the one who will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic.
• Thank you for being the one who will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
• Thank you for taking the hard jobs when no one else would.
• Thank you for supporting your troops and defending the little guys.
• Thank you for sticking with it, even when it gets hard.
• Thank you for doing what is right, even when others disagree.
• Thank you for putting your family first.
• Thank you for making this world a safer place to live.
• Thank you for making us proud to be a military family.

Through your wisdom, strength, and guidance you are making a difference in the world we live in. But it is in our own family where your influence is the greatest. Thank you for standing strong in your convictions to raise a godly family. Even though we are apart this Fourth of  July, know that we are so proud of you for serving our country and we can't wait until you come home.