So I was sitting outside the other day while the olders bounced on the trampoline and the littles played in the water (baby was on my lap) and I discovered why you see Southern ladies with fans. It has nothing to do with keeping cool - really doesn't help much to move the hot, humid air. The reason they have fans is to keep the gnats out of their faces!!! I don't own a fan, so I grabbed the nearest thing - a frisbee - to keep the pesky bugs away. If you have never experienced the fearless things, you cannot imagine how awful it is! They fly into your eyes, hair, ears, and every other part of your face! They swarm around your head - don't dare to look up! Now I know God created them for a purpose, but don't you think they should just stick to that purpose and leave us humans alone???

The other day (okay, it wasn't day - it was very early morning during a feeding) I was thinking about how dh and I want to lose weight. I started thinking about the reasons people should lose weight. We want to be healthier, more able to do things, look better, etc. While pondering this, I began to consider how our house is much the same. It needs to lose weight as well. Things have gotten very cluttered and we just have too much stuff. We spend all our time cleaning up and putting away. It is unhealthy because the dust settles on everything. We can't do the things we want because we are too busy keeping up. The house would look much better with less in it. God loves order, so our house should have order, too. We should not be slaves to our stuff. We can't hear God if there is chaos! Therefore, we are putting our house on a diet. This is a drastic, no mercy diet. I am getting rid of at least half of the stuff in our house. We will give some to the local thrift store and sell some. If we make some money off the stuff we will put it aside for our larger van. The children are going to help with this, too.

Today we started the diet by cleaning out all the clothing we had stockpiled. I had the children bring up all the stored clothing (picture to come soon). We went through it and got rid of lots. We saved things that tend to cost more to replace (remember, we can pass clothes down). These are items like dresses (hard to find the longer, modest ones), sweatshirts, long sleeve t's and pants for the boys. We separated the big pile into girl and boy clothes. Then we categorized by size. What a job! But it is great to have much less. Not sure what we will tackle tomorrow - maybe the playroom??? Stay tuned...

Oh, and as for dh and I losing weight? Eating healthier and exercising will take care of us (I don't do diets). Dh has been riding his bike to work - a little over 12 miles each way. The children and I will be going walking.

Does your house need to lose a little weight? Look around and see if there are some pudges that could use reducing!!

Have a blessed day!

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Here is a picture of the cake I made for dd (3). It turned out pretty good, considering it is the first doll cake I have ever made. It is all pink because dd loves pink - not because I can't use other colors .

I hope you are having a blessed day!

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3 years old today! How the time flies! We had cake and presents Monday. Tonight is her favorite dinner - meatloaf!

I will post cake pictures soon.

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The baby is one month old today! The time has gone so fast! She is so alert and loves to look at new things. She is a wonderful blessing!

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We only have a couple more weeks before our school year ends! We are almost done with all the work and everyone is looking forward to having 2-3 weeks off before we begin our new year and new adventures.

I am busily trying to get next year scheduled. This is proving somewhat difficult because I am REALLY TIRED by the time evening comes. It will get done, though.

We will be studying the Ancients when we start up. We will cover Old Testament, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. There will be lots of activities and a lot of reading. I think the children are looking forward to the activities most of all. This year was mostly workbook learning and I wanted to give them a year of exploring their creativity.

I hope your summer is going well. Blessings to you!

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I am still trying to recover from this third c-section. Recovery is not fun. Recovery is painful and frustrating. I want to be able to do everything right now, and I just can't. I want to clean the house, do the laundry, do the dishes, mop the floors, scrub the bathtub and pick up toys. I want to be able to lift my littles and carry them around if they need it. I know that in another 3 weeks I should be pretty fully recovered, but it seems so far away!!

The recovery does seem to be going well. I don't think I have any problems. DH says the incision is looking good (hooray - I usually end up with infections). He checks it because I don't want to see it - yuk! I am not taking much medication now. I gave up the strong Motrin dose because if I didin't take it every 6 hours I got a terrible headache. Don't need that!! I will take a couple Tylenol every now and then - especially if I overdo things. Yes, I do try to do it all!

I am so happy to have this wonderful baby girl to hold and cherish, though. I would do the whole thing over again! All the pain and frustration is worth it!

Have a blessed day!!

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We have been so busy! It is always an adjustment when you add a new blessing to your family, and we are no exception. I haven't touched the computer for almost 2 weeks!! I had way too many emails to read!

Baby is doing very well. She had dropped to 7lbs 15 oz after birth, and at her 2 week appt, she is at 8 lbs 15 oz and 20 3/4 inches! The doctor said she certainly isn't failing to thrive!

Things are calming down a little now, and we are finally back to school this week. We are in the final month of our school year. We will end the last part of July, and start again the second or third week of August. I have a lot of planning to do before that! I will post more about that later.

I hope you have a blessed week!

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Baby has arrived! She was born June 8 at 11:34 pm via c-section #3. She was 8 pounds 1.2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful and we feel very blessed.

Thank you for all your prayers!

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Psalm 37:4-5

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Marci at http://amazinggrazefarm.blogspot.com/ is having a giveaway! She is giving away Vision Forum’s new Reclaiming the Culture DVD Collection. Check out her blog to sign up.

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This little girl still hasn't arrived? The doctor can't.

I had an ultrasound today to check on fluid levels - all was well. The non-stress test came out well, too. The doctor estimates her weight at 8 lbs 13 oz right now. She needs to be born soon. I have a c-section scheduled for Friday the 13th, but hopefully baby will arrive VBAC before that.

We had strong storms today and our driveway washed out a bit. The ditch became a small creek and we had a lot of water flowing all over our little plot of land. We have not had rain like this since we moved in, so it was quite interesting. I will try to put up some pictures in the next couple days - it really was amazing to see.

Tomorrow is our last day of school for the week (we are still a few weeks shy of finishing the year). It is a favorite day because everyone gets to do art!

Have a blessed evening and weekend.

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Yes, we are still waiting on this precious baby girl! She has decided she likes it where she is. I am doing as much walking as I can, etc., but I know it is not in my hands now. She will arrive at the moment the Lord wants her to. What a wonderful feeling of freedom! This is not to say that I am not frustrated and impatient now - I am. But, it is not about ME!

We have a neighbor who is moving and last night he came over and offered us their trampoline - complete with safety netting. The answer here? A resounding YES! So now we have a trampoline. The olders are thrilled. Hmmm...I wonder how funny a 40+ week pregnant Mom would look bouncing on a trampoline??

Have a blessed day!!

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How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.

Psalm 119:103-106

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This is a post from the archives of my other blog. I think it is important enough to repost.

What image do you give when you write on your blog? Is it truly the image you want to show? I'm not only talking about pictures, but about your words. I am a mother who loves spending time with my children. All the time - not just when they are quiet and obedient. I even enjoy the times when they are talking my ear off! Maybe it has something to do with losing a child - you do gain a different perspective. I know that God has given me a heart dedicated to my family and I am so glad!!

Why this now? I was reading the blog of a friend (her husband knew dh from school and we attended their wedding). This friend has 4 children, her husband works in ministry, they are very active at church and they homeschool. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? I know she loves her family - especially her children. The blog, however, does not always reflect this. She writes that she is so glad to drop the children off at homeschool group where she doesn't have to stay. Before she could take the youngest she struggled because he talked non-stop the entire time the other children were gone. She sounded so relieved that he could finally go join his older siblings. Now, she is a comedian, and maybe she is just writing to be funny and these are not her true feelings. I really hope so.

It saddens me when mothers look forward to time away from their children. It breaks my heart that the children hear these things coming from the mouth of their mother! I asked my children how they would feel if I said things like this, and they agreed they wouldn't feel very cared about. I am not saying that I don't ever feel I need a moment - I think we all do. If my dh is home, I will take a moment away down the hall or in the basement (doing laundry or cleaning, but, hey - it gives me a moment). If he is not, I say a quick prayer for strength and lovingkindness and give out extra hugs. I could never drop my children off somewhere and feel good about doing whatever "I" wanted to do. There will be time for that when they are all out of the nest. I don't look forward to that day - I think it will be so quiet!

Pay attention to your words when you blog. Do you want people to know you cherish your dh and children? That message does not come across when you state that you can't get anything done because the children are all home and dh is home. It doesn't come across when the children are once again in Sunday School or Children's Church because you couldn't possibly have them sit with you and interrupt your worship time. It doesn't come across when you state that the littles kept you up all night so you just had to sleep late and then the whole day fell apart because you were cranky and tired. You can choose to make the best of those days - ask me how I know!!

Please be sure you show the love you have for your family when you blog. I know that I represent mothers with many children (though I still think we have a small family) as well as homeschoolers. I don't want people to think that life is always a wonderful and quiet time, but I also don't want them to think that I would choose anything else. I love my family, I love the occasional chaos and I would not change it for the whole world. I want my children with me - all the time. They are a joy and God's wonderful blessing. I am charged with caring for them for as long as He sees fit, and I plan to do this with all the love, attention and affection I can.

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I had a good appointment today. I was at 3 cm and 30% effaced - definitely progress, though slow. The doctor did an ultrasound because of my swelling, but all is well. He will wait out natural labor since they won't induce. If this baby girl doesn't show up by 42 weeks, he will do a c-section.

He estimated she weighs about 8 lbs 4 oz, so I guess she's going to be a larger baby. My biggest was about 8 lbs 10 oz, so she has a little more to gain to beat her sister. Not that I want that competition!!

To everyone waiting to hear - don't hold your breath! Have a blessed day!

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We are still waiting for the arrival of this little bundle of joy. Things look to be progressing, though, and hopefully we will be holding her very soon. I am so glad the doctor is willing to try for the VBAC - it is a great relief to me.

Today is a school day, so we wll be busy with our normal subjects as well as art (a favorite around here). We have no special Memorial Day plans - we don't usually travel over the holiday weekend anyway.

I hope you have a very blessed day!

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Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5

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I have a confession to make. My sheets aren't perfectly folded. Oh, and the toast crumbs from breakfast are still on the counter. There are 3 laundry baskets of clean clothes decorating my living room (which really could use vacuuming). Does all this bother me? Of course! Will it all get taken care of? Of course! (Well, not the sheets - never have figured out how to make them perfect and truly, does it matter???)

I am not perfect, my children are not perfect and my house is not perfect. We are a homeschooling family of 7 (soon to be 8). We are here, living in our house, all day, every day. Sure, if I took everyone to public school and daycare, I could have a picture-perfect house. It isn't worth it. Give me a little dirt and some messes any day.

I get very stressed when the house is messy. Messy as in there are toys scattered throughout the living room and I can't walk anywhere. Then it is time for a quick pick-up. A few things laying here and there don't really bother me. It means my children are playing and learning and enjoying.

Don't worry so much about a spotless house! Don't stress over a laundry basket or 2 (they make great obstacles to run around). There will come a day when your house will be quiet and empty and you may just find yourself wishing for something to trip over.

As for perfect sheets, I am still working on my folding technique, but honestly, should it take me 15 minutes to fold something we are just going to lay on and mess up anyway? I don't think my children care if there are perfect fold lines - I know dh doesn't. Now towels are another story...

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Tomorrow is my 40th birthday! I know that many people have a problem with turning 40, but it doesn't bother me at all. I don't feel like I'm old - maybe because of the littles running around??

We don't have any special plans - I don't make a big deal about my birthdays. I may have dd12 make a cake - she enjoys doing that and it counts toward Home Ec. The day will go on as normal, though. Laundry does not wait for Mom's birthday!!!

I pray you have a blessed day today!

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Today begins another school week at Living Tree Academy. Everyone is looking forward to learning a lot. I thought I would give a glimpse into our school day routine (always subject to change).

Everyone is pretty much up between 6:30 and 7. I'd love to say all the beds get made, but they don't. Everyone does get dressed, though!! Breakfast is at 7:30. Chores follow: dd12 unloads dishes from dishwasher, ds7 unloads silverware, ds9 clears the table. Ds9 and 7 feed and water the dog. Mom washes the dishes (if I don't wash the morning dishes, I end up washing more at dinner time - they just don't all fit in the dishwasher). The 2 oldest read a Proverb each day. We usually do our Character Curriculum at 8:30.

9:00 Reading for dd12 and ds9, workbooks for ds 7, Mom reading to the littles (they LOVE this)

9:30 Ds 7 reads out loud to Mom, littles play or listen to big brother, older 2 move on to math

10:15-10:30 School is done for the morning and we prepare for lunch - this includes a quick living room pick up

10:45 Lunch time (yes, I know it seems early - it's what works for us)

11:15 Relax time - book on cd in living room - littles nap, olders draw while listening. We are currently listening to The Lord of the Rings

12:30 Littles still napping, older 2 begin Language Arts/Spelling

1:00 Relax time over - littles play or beg to be read to

1:15 or so - dd12 does Bible study and then we move on to history and science depending on the day. We finished with our set curriculum for these, so I change what we do from day to day.

2:30 Daddy gets home. Exciting time of day around here. He usually grabs the older boys and gets moving on some project.

3:00 Dd12 does Home Ec. This ranges from cooking something (usually with dd2) to sewing. She is working on a quilt and will be starting a skirt soon. The rest of the children are free to read or play.

4:00 Mom starts dinner. Dd12 helps prepare and sets the table. The rest of the children clean up the living room.

5:00 Dinner. After dinner chores - dd12 packages the leftovers, ds7 scrapes dishes, ds9 loads the dishwasher. Mom washes the hand dishes. Dd12 washes the table and chairs, ds9 sweeps the kitchen, ds7 and the littles do any extra picking up around the house.

6:30 Everyone puts on jammies (the littles brush teeth and wash faces) and prepares for Bible time with Daddy. He reads a Bible story and we have prayer time. Usually around 7:15 everyone is tucked in and the olders have free reading time for an hour or so.

That's our day in a nutshell. We try to stick with the routine as much as possible - makes for a smoother day.

Have a blessed day!

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