Posted in Family

We were fortunate to be able to go to the Fair on a beautiful sunny day - and with friends too!  Rebecca had entered two items in the fair and was very excited to see if she had placed with either of them.  We went to a few other exhibits on our way to see her items. 

How exciting it was to go to the case and find that she had indeed gotten ribbons - two blue ribbons!  Congratulations!!!  You did a great job Rebecca!

The first ribbon was for this beautiful jointed doll that she made. 

The second was for this food made from felt.  It's a blueberry waffle breakfast.  The waffles are sitting on a waffle maker (really cute).  The meal also includes sausage and a fruit cup.  It's so cute!

My children have enjoyed this exhibit and look forward to going back each year.  You start with a basket and then wander through the garden areas of things that grow in NC.

The children are able to pick and gather various fruits and vegetables.

When their basket is full, it is weighed and exchanged for some money.

You can use this to buy a bag of goodies - including an apple and some peanuts.  Eliana loved her apple this year.  I love seeing her eating it on her own!

The DMV hosts a driving safety experiential exhibit. 

They also gave out "clickers".  (Really loud and lots of ours have disappeared thankfully!)

Of course we had to see some animals and the ducks and chicks were the cutest!

Bumper cars are the favorite ride for my family.  Just look at their faces!

I was able to do something really fun too!  There was an Artisan Bread class.  We thought it would be short and we would go in and enjoy the beginning of it.  My friend Rebecca and I and some of the kids (5) started out in the class.  Well, it wasn't a short class and so the kids drifted out.  Rebecca and I stayed because ...

it was fun and interesting and I was chosen to be a volunteer.  :-)  One of the first jobs was to cut and weight the dough.  I've had some practice with a scale and this was fun. 

The chef from Neomonde Baking Company was hilarious!  It was a lot of fun learning the techniques and making the bread.

Doesn't this look yummy?  Oh, and did it all taste good!  We made a pumpernickel with raisins and walnuts, a whole grain and focacia.  It was all delicious and I was able to bring a loaf of each home (and sample it there too). 

It was a fun day filled with lots of sights and sounds.  We were worn out by the end of the day and ready to go home to rest.  I'm thankful that we were all healthy and able to have a fun day together.  Hope you are able to enjoy a fun fair where you live!

Blessings
Leslie

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One of the fun spots of our week is when Eliana has music/developmental therapy.  She loves it.  I love seeing her participating and having fun.  I did Kindermusik classes with my other children and she has missed out on this (no free mornings in our current schedule to do this).  I love that she has this opportunity. 

We learn songs and play instruments.  Is this one cute or what?

Eliana's favorite instrument is the cabasa.  A close second is this big drum which doubles as a fun ride. 

Isaiah received a pirate excavation kit for his birthday.  He loved it!

I love his focus on this project (and all the dust on his face!).

We've had a lovely fall so far and I really enjoy being outside this time of year (as opposed to the summer when it is just so hot).  We took advantage of one of our nice afternoons to go on a nature scavenger hunt in our backyard. 

We used a form I got from a recent field trip and went out to see what we could find.

They found most of the things on the list - including mushrooms.

This is a "natural" see-saw that they took turns on.

I love pictures from behind and in this one I love that the boys are looking all around in different places to see what treasures they can find.

We walked down to the small creek and of course a couple of them wanted to cross it. 

It was a fun way to spend some time and it's something I need to do more often.  Fall is my favorite season and I'm hoping we'll get out and do this more often!

We saw Eliana's ped recently at a visit and she requested a picture of Eliana and Joshua.  She is giving a talk about caring for kids with medical issues (her specialty is children with chronic and complex medical conditions).  She likes putting faces in front of people when she is talking.  She has used a pictures from Eliana's heart surgery in the past too.  I think she is right.  Hearing something and then adding a face to it certainly gets to your heart.  It makes it something that is happening to a person and not just medical facts.

Anyway, as I looked through my pics I realized that I didnt have any good ones of just these two, so I snapped a few and love what I got!

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in Family

Part 2 of our beach post.  More on our current week and field trip today - tomorrow.  :-) 

On our way home from the beach, we decided to stop by the Battleship.  We had seen it on our way down and Isaiah was very interested in going on it.  We went there with our History group, but at that time Isaiah was very small - and Daniel was still tucked inside. 

We had a beautiful day and there were lots of other people there wanting to visit it too!  The crowds and tight places were a little difficult for Isaiah.  I was surprised as he had wanted to go so very much.  God was gracious to give me patience to work with him despite the crowds waiting on us.  Things did improve and though he wanted to exit numerous times, I think overall he remembers it positively.

Here are some photos.  This was just outside the battleship.

We started in a small museum where there were models of all of the USS North Carolinas throught he years. 

There was also a dress up area which of course my boys wanted to do!

Then we toured.  You are able to go on so much of the ship and learn about what life was like on it.  It is definitely worth a stop if you are interested at all!

This is from the bakery - the muffin trays were HUGE!

The bunks for the enlisted men were 4 deep!   Talk about tight quarters!

Lots to explore, touch and learn about.

A fun family field trip. 

Blessings
Leslie

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This is a belated post - but better late than never.  We had two big trips in September and I want to post pics from both of them. 

The first was a week at the beach.  We met our friends from VA there for the week.  They are in a unit just a short ways down the beach from us.  This is the third year we've met there and it has become a fun tradition.  I'm not going to write much, but wanted to share some photos.

Eliana LOVES the beach!  She loves the sand and also the water.  We had trouble with her eating the sand this year.  I couldn't figure out why she kept eating after taking the first fistful.  Yuck! 

Daniel loves to find shells.  He spends a lot of time looking and is really quite good at spotting them too.  He loves his shell collecting bag that he got from the Kenkels too!

Christopher giving Aaron a ride. 

I'm not sure why anyone would want to be buried up to their head in sand - but apparently it is fun for at least two of my boys. 

I just love seeing my boys hanging out and having fun together.

Boogie boarding is a big hit with my older kids.

Hannah and Rebecca enjoy having a week to hang out as they miss being able to just run next door.

Another one of Christpher and Aaron.  Christopher is really great with younger kids and it's sweet to see him playing with Aaron.

Of course, we have fun building sand castles - and not too many pictures though.

Just having fun looking for shells and stopping for a picture so I can remember the moment.  We were down by the "river" (an inlet from the ocean) where there are always lots of good finds.  It was a sweet time.

We had a wonderful week and were thankful to share it with our friends.  We look forward to doing it again next year.

Blessings
Leslie

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I can't believe you are 8 already!  Where is my chubby, wide-eyed baby?  It's so true what they say that the days can be long, but the years go so quickly.  I'm so very thankful for you Isaiah!

I am thankful for your sweet and generous heart.  Just today you received a gift from Rebecca of chocolate.  It was wrapped so that it looked like it was a $100 bill.  You opened the candy bar and then began to break it into pieces making sure that everyone was given a piece.  Given our family size, that really didn't leave much for Isaiah.  I declined my piece saying that he could have it.  He was fine though with sharing his gift. 

I love your energy and enthusiasm.  I love your dramatic nature and your ability to act in a variety of circumstances.  I love your zest for things in which you are really interested.  Right now, it's the game "Civilization", playmobil, pirates, legos and a variety of time periods past (I think some of this is from the Civilizations game).  I remember the Christmas that Eliana was born.  I was struggling and you declared it the best Christmas ever!  You then wanted everyone to gather around to hear what you had to say.  I wish I had thought to record it, though I didn't know what was coming.  You dramatically told the Christmas story.  It touched my heart so very much.

I love that you are smart, curious and interesting.  I love that you are affectionate and considerate.  I love that you are matter-of-fact and straight to the point - I never have to wonder what you are thinking.  I'm so very thankful that you are a part of our family Isaiah!  I love you!!!

We had a fun day celebrating today.  Roger took the day off from work as is the custom for birthdays.  This was nice since he has had a lot of time off already this month.  Isaiah requested waffles, bacon and Captain Crunch cereal and Orange Julius for breakfast.  I'm not even sure how he knows about that cereal as I haven't ever bought it! 

He opened presents.  Here is one of them.

We had  pizza for lunch (his choice).  Afterwards, it was out to the store to buy a new game of Civilization.  Since the closest store carrying it was in Raleigh, a detour to another store was made too.

What a fun place to play.  I'm sure we'll go back.  I was home with Eliana who was napping and not feeling great with a bit of a stuffy nose.  I'm hoping it passes quickly!

While they were out, the van broke down.  It was not able to be jumped and so Triple A came to help.  Thankfully, they were able to get it going enough to get to the store and buy a new battery for it.  I'm glad it was an easy fix!

Home to play the  new game and then have dinner.  Isaiah had asked yesterday about the Colonial meal to go with our last FIAR book.  I told him what it was and he decided it would make a good birthday meal.  We had roast beef, yorkshire pudding and creamed potatoes and peas.  It was all really yummy.

For dessert we had an angel food cake.  Isaiah wanted the same cake Joshua had for his birthday which is really nice because it is one that Joshua can easily have as it doesn't have too many carbs in it.

We watched a movie and then had another dessert.  Hey, you only do birthdays once a year.  This time it was ice cream. 

It was a fun and relatively low-key day.  Not our typical for celebrating birthdays.  It was nice though.  Isaiah, I love you so very much and am so thankful to be able to celebrate your birthday with you!

Tomorrow we have a field trip and I'll post about it as soon as I'm able.

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in Family

Sorry I've been quiet - we have spent the last week at the beach.  I thought we'd have better access, but it was spotty and a little slow, so I wasn't able to post here.  That's alright too though as we just had a fun time hanging out.  Our friends from VA were there too, just down the beach a bit and it was great to hang out with them during the week too.  I'll try to post pictures later this week.

We have a busy week ahead.  Tomorrow, Joshua will be going to the Diabetes clinic.  I'm looking forward to seeing how he is doing (A1C numbers) and hope that his numbers have improved.  We'll also be talking about getting him on the pump.  He won't get it tomorrow as we'll have to go through some classes first. 

His numbers at the beach were pretty good - though he began to have a lot of lows.  I think it was from all the time running around on the beach playing.  I adjusted with his snacks and that helped a lot.  The last day we saw highs - really unexplained.  Things seem to have evened back out today, but I'm not sure what was going on with those.  This disease can be so unpredictable!

Also this week we have our usual round of therapies - 2 speech, 2 OT, 1 PT, and 1 music.  It will be nice to have those after having a week off.  We are blessed to have a great team of therapists too.

We have a field trip coming up and I'm praying all of my children stay well!!! 

I'm working on making Colonial costumes for my children to wear when we visit Williamsburg.  I'll also be making 2 lunch and 2 dinner meals for the gals (and family) who run a local consignment sale.  I have done some shopping there and got some great things for our kids.  (Especially Eliana - it is sooo much fun to shop for a little girl!)

I got to sleep early last night - before 11pm!  It was nice, so nice, to get more sleep.  I was able to wake up at 2am.  This has been my fear that I wouldn't wake up for Joshua's check which is why I usually stay up until then.  I'm hoping I can do better about going to sleep earlier and just waking to the alarm. 

Will try to load pictures soon.  This isn't a real exciting post - sorry!  Just trying to catch up again.  :0)

Love
Leslie

Posted in Family

That is how I'm feeling today.  Weary and sad.  It is nothing big or terribly wrong - I think it all just hit me today.  I'm just ready for some of the hard things to take a break for awhile.  Maybe more realistically, I just need more of His strength and less of my own effort.   

We had planned on going to our first field trip today - a park outing at a really great local park with our friends.  During the night, Isaiah threw up.  He felt better by the morning, though I'm not comfortable taking the kids out unless they have been well for at least 24 hours.  Christopher had agreed to stay with him while the rest of us went to the park.  This made Isaiah very sad.  Eliana at this time is cranky and just not herself.  Can you see where this is going?  Yes, she got sick too.  Not a lot - and just one time.  Thank you God!  She did remain cranky for a good part of the day though.

Well, that sealed it for all of us.  We stayed home.  We all really wanted to go, but will just have to look forward to the next outing. 

I got an extra hour of sleep last night, but was still feeling tired.  I'm finding it hard to get in good sleep with the times that Joshua needs to be checked.  I was hoping to take a nap.  Well, that wasn't to be either.  When I checked Joshua at 3pm, he was 56 and not feeling it.   (Yesterday at this time, he was a 44 and didn't feel it!  That is very low - his lowest yet!)  I had made an adjustment in his insulin at lunch, but think I'll adjust more tomorrow.  It's better for him to run high than this low.  (Yes, I did email his dr and have not heard back from her.)

This was a persistant low too.  We treated it and tested.  Still low.  Treated and tested again.  Better this time, but still not so high.  Gave strong protein/carb snack.  I don't even know how to explain how exhausting this disease can be.  It just NEVER gives you a break.  NEVER.  I hate that he will have to deal with this the rest of his life. 

In the midst of life, I was just feeling sad.  Just weary and sad.  (Please don't worry Mom, I'm going to be alright!)  Like I said, it was nothing huge today, just feeling like some of it was catching up with me.  I would love prayers to find peace, balance and perspective - to see God's path clearly - to see God clearly.  I ran a brief errand tonight and it was a good time to listen to praise music and just cry a few tears.  (I was stuck in traffic for about 15 minutes in a construction area.) 

I know that God is still in control.  I know that He loves me/us.  I know that He is good even when life stinks and not just when life is good and rosy.  I know that He has spent a lot of time the last 3 years carrying me.  I'm thankful for Him.

I know He has promised to take my burden.  The last 3 years have just dumped medical issues on our family - on top of way tooo many sickness this summer and also right after Eliana was born!

I've written and rewritten some of the next part.  Here are some of the things we are dealing with or have dealt with in the past. 

Me - osteo arthritis - diagnosed just before pregnant with Eliana.  Dr told me it was a result of the severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum I had experienced in my pregnancies.  (Extreme vomitting, hospitalizations, IVs, drugs, etc.)  Some pain, loss of motion and my hands/joints are physically changing.  :-(  None of it is too bad now most of the time.  If anyone has suggestions on how to treat this, I would love to hear them.  My dr told me that there was nothing I could do.

Eliana - Down syndrome, feeding issues (NG tube and G tube), heart defect (repaired!), being watched for vision issues, has 5 therapies per week.

Other children (in case they don't want it all spelled out):

*Sensory Processing disorder.  Therapy once per week.  Feeding issues which have improved along with other things. 

*Vision issues - all of my children are being followed.  Five wear glasses.  Eliana does not.  Neither Roger or I wear glasses. 

*Colorblind - 3 of my boys.

*Learning disability of some sort.  In process of testing and hope to have answers soon.

*Juvenile diabetes.  Kidney problems - possible surgery, waiting for further testing.  Urology problems - probably surgery, waiting for specialist. 

After typing this, I realize that I may sound like I'm complaining.  I don't mean to be.  Maybe I should just delete. 

I'm so very thankful that we live where we do and have access to wonderful medical care.  I never knew we would have need of such a variety of specialists.  I'm truly thankful.  I'm thankful for each of these precious children!  God has blessed us richly and I am so thankful to be a Mom to each one of them.  My life is richer because of each one of them and even though the trials have been hard, I've learned a lot.  God has been good to us. 

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

Blessings

Leslie

Posted in Family

I had a sweet birthday at home with my family (earlier this month).  They treat me like a queen - special seat at the table, flowers, hand-made cards and no cooking for the whole day!

Breakfast:

Lunch - even served on the red plate. 

Posted in Family

I'm going to try to upload photos and post them over the course of the week and hopefully be "caught up".  Well, as best as I can be at this point.

Eliana has started music therapy.  We have had a lot of juggling to do to get this going.  She was supposed to start the week Joshua ended up in the hospital.  Then with the sickness getting passed around we missed some weeks in July too.  Hopefully now we'll be more regular in our time.

Eliana loves music!  She likes to dance, listen and to play instruments.  I'm so glad that she has this time and that our case manager suggested it for us! 

She is learning different concepts and skills and I'm finding ways to incorporate this into our daily lives.  I'm learning new things that I need to be teaching her because she is ready to learn.  I think it is going to be a great help for us!  The cabasa (below) is one of her favorite instruments!

Joshua and Christopher are playing football and practicing twice per week now.  It is going well and they are both enjoying their time.  They are in a great league with which we have had great experiences in the past.

Isaiah lost that other tooth.  I love the look of no front teeth on little kids and think it is really cute!

My sweet friend Catherine came for a visit so we could have some "girl's time".  We had fun and even got in some scrapbooking.  I'm thankful we can visit, but sure wish they still lived right next door!

 This is brief, but just a peek into a few more things going on in our days.  I hope your day is filled with God's blessings!

With love
Leslie

Posted in Family

I'm feeling swamped and trying to stay on top of things.  Actually, things are going pretty well, but my free time for blogging has suffered as I've tried to organize and get on top of other things.  (I actually loaded a lot of photos tonight so hopefully I'll get to that later this week.)  I'm working through my emails (slowly) and trying to tackle other projects.  (If you have asked for the form I made for Eliana, I haven't forgotten and will get to that soon.) 

Headed to sleep soon, but wanted to share a little something cute. 

Christopher is working out and often doing push-ups.  Eliana loves it when he does as she thinks it means it is time for a ride! 

Hope this brings a smile to your face.  It always makes me chuckle.

Praying God's blessings on your day!

Leslie

Posted in Family

We've had a few things going on here the last couple of weeks that didn't involve sickness or diabetes.  (Not a lot, but a few.)  I thought I'd share some of them.

Isaiah lost a tooth.  It's been bothering him (didn't think he could eat certain foods with it being looose).  I was glad to see it come out.  The one beside it is also loose and should come out soon too.  I love the look of no front teeth!  So cute. 

A funny story on this loose tooth.  While it was loose, he really didn't like things touching including food and the toothbrush.  One night when Roger was brushing his teeth, Isaiah pointed to the loose tooth and said that this tooth didn't need to be brushed because he didn't use it anyway.  LOL  He cracks me up!

We've redeemed a few coupons from the children's coupon books.  Isaiah chose to cook with Mommy.  He was able to pick what he wanted to cook and he chose pizza!  A hit all the way around.  He did such a good job with all of it!

Here is one of the finished pizza - doesn't it look yummy?!  (It was!)

Just had to share a picture of this cutie all ready for the 4th of July!

As a special treat, Rebecca made us a festive and patriotic looking dessert.  It was yummy too!  I love that she initiates cooking treats for us!

This is not the best picture, but it is the best one I have.  Eliana fed herself lunch!  Mac and cheese!  She did it all herself.  :-)  What a sweet thing to watch her using her little fork and feeding herself.  I realize that this may not seem like a huge milestone, but it was a very sweet one for all of us.  She has been a little resistant to feeding herself and honestly sometimes it is just easier for one of us to help her.  I'm so proud of her for doing this and she seemed to enjoy it too!

Rebecca attended another drama camp.  This time the production was Get Smart.  Remember the old tv series?  It was very funny and the kids had a blast putting it on.  Rebecca was a "blond" - that wasn't.  LOL  She is on the right in brown. 

 This is the cast.

We all enjoyed the play - it was very funny and they did a super job!  Wish you all could have been there.  Afterwards there was a snack reception which provided one of those tough moments for Joshua.  We had planned ahead and brought snacks that we knew he could eat.  Well, of course he wanted to have some of what everyone else was having.  I can understand that.

He had 2 oreos and then some of what we brought.  I thought it was a good compromise.  He was bummed not to have a drink (even though we'd brought something for him).  I think it is just some of the loss he is dealing with.  I hope I don't make him sound like a whiner for the way he is acting because he really isn't.  It is a loss.  A loss of freedom to be able to eat what you want and when you want it.  It's a freedom that most of us take for granted.  I know I have.  I don't have to eat on a schedule and only certain types or amounts of foods.  I've tried to encourage him that it will get better as we are better able to regulate his numbers and going to a pump sometime in the future would help too.

Just a little of what is going on here.  I remain behind and have just accepted that perhaps that is to be life now and I'll just enjoy it where I am and do the best that I can each day.  I know God has a plan for me, for my days and for my time.  I'm trying to follow His lead as best I can.

Blessings

Leslie

Posted in Family

I'm taking Joshua in today to see the doctor for some testing.  He has had some things going on for a few months - and it's really gotten worse recently.  It was especially obvious this week.  Some of the symptoms point to diabetes.  I've asked for the doctor to run a urinalysis to test for this.  (This is all via the appt nurse so hopefully it will happen.)

I've called this morning to see if we need to do anything special (fasting?  eating/not eating certain foods?) before coming in and am waiting to hear back.  Also wanting to confirm that the testing can start today. 

Would you pray that we would get clear answers as to what is going on?  I'm concerned, but also at peace.  I know that Roger is also very concerned.  At this point, Joshua seems calm about all of it.  I just want to find out if there is something we need to do to help Joshua.  We are obviously hoping it is not diabetes. 

I'll update tomorrow when we know more.  Well, I hope we know more, but I'll update either way.

Thank you,

Leslie

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Our little boy is 5 today!  Where have the years gone?!  Sometimes when I hear myself say things like that, I think I sound so old.  The years just seem to fly by at times and I'm doing my best to try to enjoy the days and not live with regrets. 

Our precious Daniel.  A blessing from God (as are all children!).  A strong role model in the book of the Bible bearing the same name.  I pray that as he grows that Daniel will be able to stand strong in a culture that has turned from God.  I pray that He will hold fast to God.  I pray that he would love God wholeheartedly.

Five years ago we welcomed a healthy, blond-haired, blue-eyed baby into our family.  We were thrilled to meet him!  It had been a long and hard pregnancy - periods of it that I don't even remember.  (I have Hyperemesis Gravidarum which makes for very sick and very rough pregnancies.)  Lots of meds, IVs, hospital visits ... it was all worth it though - every moment - to welcome Daniel into our family.  Thank you God for blessing us!

Daniel is such a delight to me.  I love his smile and the way his eyes light up.  I love his impish grin.  I love his giggle and the silliness that is still a part of his personality.  I love hearing his stories and seeing where his imagination takes him.  I love seeing what interests him.  I love seeing him play with his siblings.  I love his hugs and holding his hand. 

We spent the last week at the beach and I loved being with him and watching him collect shells.  He learned about various shells - olives, augers, baby ears, "fairy boats, and more.  He has a good eye and is persistant and careful in looking for shells.  He also enjoyed watching the crabs along the surf and digging in the sand.  He likes to walk along the shore (so do I) and hold hands.  Mostly though, he loves looking for shells. 

Daniel is creative and likes to paint and will spend time getting his pictures just right.  He had good attention to detail and is proud of his work.  Daniel enjoys listening to stories, riding his jeep, playing inside and out and collecting things.

Daniel has grown in so many ways over the last year.  He deals with sensory issues and has made a lot of progress in both the types of foods he is willing and able to eat as well as in dealing with things around him (noise, people, dirt, distractions).  I'm happy to see he making such progress and excited that he is able to enjoy his world more these days.  I have to admit that some of his "quirks" are ones that I have too (not liking to have my hands dirty is one of them).  They aren't all bad.  LOL

I'll post more pics later in the week.  We had a party for Daniel while we were at the beach with my family.  We also spent today just playing and doing the things that Daniel wanted to do - games, playing playmobil, riding his jeep, going to McDonalds, watching a movie and just hanging out with his family.  It was a low-key and fun day.

Daniel - I love you very, very much!!!  Thank you God for blessing our family with Daniel!

Love,

Mommy

Posted in Family

Just a few things to share that were random - or that I haven't gotten around to yet.

We enjoyed a week-end visit from our friends in VA.  Eliana and Caleb just looked so cute "working" at this little table together.

We are a game loving bunch.  Always someone willing to play a game around here.

Roger has been working on organizing and cleaning out the garage.  He is doing a great job!!!  Part of the clean-up has unearthed old, broken things.  Before just throwing them out, he let the boys disassemble them.  They loved doing this!

 That's it.  Just a few pictures.  :-)

And a birthday wish for my wonderful sister!  Happy Birthday Laura!!!  I hope your day is great - just like you.  Wish I could be there to celebrate with you.  Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Blessings

Leslie

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I'm so very blessed.  I need to remember this when I'm frustrated at all that I "have to do".  Amidst the clutter and chaos, I am blessed. 

A list of some of my blessings.

Lots of noise - it comes from active and happy children.

Messes - children that are busy, creative and curious about life around them.

Clutter - we have abundantly more than we need compared to most of the world.

Interuptions - God's appointments for me.  Opportunities.

We are also blessed with good health.  I'll never view that one the same again after Eliana's rough first year.  Freedom.  I'm thankful to live in a time and country where we can worship and school as we think is best.  Family and friends.  Mostly, I'm thankful for a Saviour.  His abundant love and grace are just priceless.

God give me your eyes to see things in my day to day life. 

Here are a few recent pictures to share.  Eliana playing dress-up with Rebecca.  They both have fun with this and whenever Eliana has been dressed up, she tells Rebecca that she wants to show me.  lol  They are too funny!  Isn't she just a doll?!!!  (I know, I'm biased!)

Laughter.  It does my heart so much good.  I enjoy hearing my children playing and laughing together.  (And no, they aren't like this all the time.  They argue and bicker too much for my likes - though any would be too much for me.)  Eliana is often in the midst of the laughing.  She has a great sense of humor. 

This picture is a little odd because one of my boys had turned it to night vision.  I wanted to snap the picture before I missed it and this is what I go.

We learned about grain today to go along with Climbing Kansas Mountains.  Isaiah thought it was quite funny that there was "germs" in grain.  We ground grain and then made bread.  The boys helped me to make 8 beautiful loaves of braided herb bread.  It's so yummy.  I was planning to take a picture of the finished product.  As i was waiting for it to rise, I noticed something on the counter.  An ingredient that had been left out.  *sigh*  It was the yeast.  So, the bread was a little ... dense.  It didn't stop us from eating 3+ loaves of it though. 

Hope your day is filled with blessing both small and large.  God give us eyes to see the blessings all around us. 

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in Family

Want to post about our week-end - time with friends and an awesome field trip.  Will do that when I figure out which cords to plug back into the computer so I can download some pictures.  ;-)  Sad being so computer illiterate sometimes, isn't it? 

I wanted to share just a few random shots from this month.  All of my children love riding on the plasma car.  It's not surprising.  I think its fun too!  You make it go by moving the steering "wheel".  Even Eliana can do it!  We have a circular path around the center of our house which is often the path for the car. 

Eliana is such a good sport about being dressed up.  My children have been big fans of dress-up and pretend play and I guess she is just following their lead.

Eliana doesn't wear others shoes often - she barely keeps on her own shoes.  Even then, it's just if it is the one pair that she has not yet figured out how to unbuckle.  I love pictures of children in shoes that are way too big! 

One day when I walked upstairs, this was the sight that greeted me.  I had to stop myself from laughing out loud so I could go back down and get my camera!  This boy loves to read!!!

 I host a Mom's meeting for our FIAR (homeschool) group once a month.  Rebecca graciously made a dessert for us at one of them and I said she was hired for the rest of the meetings.  She has glady taken on this role and has made some lovely (and delicious!) things for us.  Here's a look at last month's goodies.

Praying this week is filled with sweet blessings for you and those you love.

Blessings,

Leslie

Posted in Family

I've had several people ask about this since I've posted some recent pictures.  I thought I'd share a little more with anyone reading who might be interested in sharing this tradition with their family.  :-)

Several years ago, Rebecca wanted to go to a pottery place on her birthday (I think this was either '05 or '06 because Daniel was little and Eliana wasn't here yet).  This was the type of place that glazes and fires your pieces.  While she painted, I decided to make a plate for our family.  I chose a square one because it was different.  I painted it red because I thought it made it really stand out - and it reminded me of love.  I decorated it very simply and added the words "You Are Special!"

My idea was that we would use this plate to mark milestones and special events - like when Christopher got his driver's permit.  I also thought it could be used when someone was extra helpful or needed to be reminded that they are loved and valued - not because of what they do, but because of who they are to us and in Christ.

I've been sporadic in using this.  I've used it a couple of times recently though and hope that perhaps this will help get me back on track with it.  I want my family to know how cherished and special they are.  I want them to look for ways to encourage and affirm each other.

To help make this more of a keepsake, I also purchased a journal (at my favorite store - Target).  I wrote a letter to my family in front of it telling about this plate and the journal. 

I started recording the date, person eating from the plate and why they received the plate. 

I am praying that this will be a sweet memory that our family has of times spent together.  I am praying that my children will always know that they are special and loved. 

God said "You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you."  Isaiah 43:4

Blessings,

Leslie

Posted in Family

For those that haven't known me for long, you might not know my Dad.  Or that I was a Daddy's girl.  I grew up thinking that my Dad could do no wrong and I wanted to do anything I could to make him proud of me.  I was certainly proud of him.

My Dad was a college basketball coach.  A job that can be glamourous - and also very difficult.  As a child, it was hard to hear the "talk" that went around when the seasons weren't going as well as you hoped or prayed that they would.  It was hard for me to understand why some coachs who were less than honest were successful, while others had years that were hard. 

My Dad taught me a lot though - and the tough times gave room for many of those lessons.  Isn't that always the case?  Why is it that we learn more when times are difficult?  Is it because we are more apt to listen to God, to stop to hear what He has to say?  Is it because we can become too weary to stand on our own and just sink into His arms? 

I learned early on when I would complain about something that "Life isn't fair".  I learned the importance of attitude (having a positive one) and teamwork.  I learned to look at the bright side of things even when it was hard to find.  I learned that your faith can be quiet and private - and carry you through much.

I'm proud of my Dad and that would be true even if his job didn't come with accolades and praise.  I'm proud of him for being honest, for caring about people, for knowing that family and people come first and for his love of God.  I wish you could all know him.  He is honest, interesting, caring and down-to-earth.  I know you would like him.  

This week-end at the ACC tournament, my Dad along with 7 others will be honored as "Legends of the ACC".  If you would like to read more about it, you can see an article here.   My Dad is Bill Foster.

If you want to see my Daddy, check out the half-time program of the 1:30 game on Saturday. 

I'm proud of you Daddy and I love you!!!

Leslie

Posted in Family

We are studying a variety of things around here.  I thought I'd post a little bit of our fun from February.

Daniel - We have been reading Jesse Bear.  One of his favorite activities was painting with stamps made from potatoes.  They were cut into various shapes similar to the pattern on the floor of the kitchen in this book. 

Isaiah and Joshua have been learning about cowboys in Cowboy Charlie.  One of our dear friends is from Montana and has some of his artwork which the boys were thrilled to see.  One keeps asking if we can go to Montana and see more of his work.  LOL  The other has decided that when he grows up that he wants to be a cowboy or a rancher or a farmer. 

Part of our studies with Five in a Row is making a meal to go with our studies.  We had a yummy meal of meat/potato casserole and peach pandowdy for dessert.  The hit though with the boys was rootbeer!  lol

We also studied Bee Tree.  We were invited to a friend's birthday party at which a beekeeper spoke.  It was a fun to have a hands-on lesson. 

We also made biscuits with honey just like in the book.  We didn't have tea though - I made green smoothies instead.  (which they liked even though they looked funny).

Rebecca is studying Neil Armstrong.  One day she was working on making a map.  She made a treasure map for her brothers by counting steps to go along with the directions on a compass.  The boys had to go around our yard, through the woods and back again before finding the buried treasure - candy!  It was a lot of fun and Rebecca did a super job making the map and teaching the boys how to use it!

 Another day she and a friend made "helicopters" as they were learning about flight.

 Rebecca made Yorkshire Pudding one day which we ate with honey.  It was delicious and we cleaned out a 9x13 pan in no time!  I love too that she decorated the table and made it all look so inviting and lovely.

That's all for now. 

Hope you have a great week-end!

Blessings,

Leslie

Posted in Family

Just a quick entry with a few pictures of some of teh fun we had while visiting my sister's family.  It was beautiful and we enjoyed the outdoors.

Towards the end of the trip - Eliana learned something new.  She wanted to be outside and had been brought in.  Well, she figured out how to get out all on her own.   We thought this was just too funny!

 Have a great week-end!

Leslie