We have wanted a larger family for  a long time. I had given up hope of having another little one when we found out we were expecting.  After my health problems,  we know three is all we'll have now, and it is very, very good so far. I find myself alternately humming the Southern Gospel song "I Am Blessed" or the math song from ABC's Schoolhouse Rock "Three Is A Magic Number."

The schedule around here isn't as smooth as it was pre-infant, but we are enjoyng LIFE.  Watching our older two children with their new sibling is rewarding--they aren't jealous but have welcomed her. Her every smile becomes the topic of conversation for us and we all compete to see who will garner the most.

God--and the life He has blessed us with ---is good. Very good.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm113:9

The kids have really enjoyed waiting for a baby brother or sister. They have each had hopes on their own gender because that means sharing a room. And sharing a room means the ultimate sleeping accessory for all kids---BUNK BEDS!  It's useless to try to explain that the baby won't be rooming with them from day one in the bottom bunk; the children have visions of bunk beds no amount of reasoning can alter.

Today, finally, we have the ultrasound to see whether I pull out the space bags with boy or girl clothes.  I just hope Little One is cooperative. I can deal with waiting but I don't think the siblings can!

I'll be posting after we get the news!

We had a very warm day today so I got to do a little yardwork after school. The kids helped and enjoyed riding their bikes.   I was busy weeding and putting rock borders down for my back flowerbeds when I overheard them.

Brother:  "How come you know so much all of a sudden, sis? Huh?"

Sister: "Because I'm six years old, that's why!"

Brother: "Well I'm three years older than you are, whaddya think of that?"

Sister: "Everybody knows you lose your smarts after you're six."

Brother: [uncontrollable belly laughs]

Mom: [turn away, don't look, don't grin, pretend I didn't hear....]

Some days I wish we could say that.  But our kids really are in the "parroting" stage. And have been for years.

We are diehard Andy Griffith Show fans. My daughter--codenamed "Thelma Lou" --can imitate almost any character on that show.  I decided to try a different show for family our family television watching when she started copying Otis' line, "Slow it down and let me in or I'll go out and get some gin...."  She also does a mean Daphne-of-the-Fun-Girls interpretation---"Hello, Doll".  Well, we've had to "nip that in the bud,"--sorry!

So, we started watching a couple of old episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies for a change.

She called her brother a jackrabbit this morning and tried to box him.

We tried watching Thomas the Train on PBS.  She played runaway train down the hall.With a laundry  basket on her head.

We happened to watch a Gomer Pyle episode and now we hear at the most unlikely times this angelic-looking  little creature boom out, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" like Sgt. Carter....

I guess I'll have to accept some imitations while she's in this stage. She doesn't watch much TV at all. Maybe an hour at night when Dad watches something. Hopefully the rest of the time my little blonde tornado will be learning to imitate Jesus. 

She saw an old Gunsmoke episode recently though. Now she loves to imitate Chester Goode, limp and all. Oh, dear.....

Today was not a stellar day for DoeHill Homeschool. To begin with we feel cruddy with stuffy noses, coughs, and fevers. Ergo, my dream of a scheduled taut-ship-of-homeschool-day fell apart  right away. Earnest T. asked why Sis was walking around with her mouth open. When asked, she replied, "I can't bweeve fwoo my nose!"

We watched the Drive Through History  with Dave Stott DVD about famous Americans this morning. We listened to our next Bible chapter on the computer because my throat hurts so bad I sound like Mickey Mouse.

Then I gave serious thought to just not doing much else. But my son finished "The Whipping Boy"--boy was that an ill omen. Thelma Lou and Earnest T. Bass had been well dosed with cold medicine and tucked into Momma's bed. I even served them breakfast in bed today. Then they got to watch The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and just rest .  The doctor's office called twice today to check on them after I had called them yesterday. They recommened rest and lots of liquids and by doggies, that was what they were going to get.

At some point during the day, I walked into the aforementioned bedroom to smell something. I was immediately alert because I haven't smelled anything all week. Then I saw IT. An Iron. On the carpet.

 While I was kneading some bread for dinner tonight, those two little  [spit it out Mom! ] blessings  had gotten the iron out, plugged it up, and proceeded to experiment with temperature, texture, and color change.  THEY SCORCHED THE CARPET!!!!

There is nothing more un-scary than a crazy mom lexturing in her most fiery Mickey-Mouse voice. That's when I had to use the secret weapon.  Dear old DAD! 

They thought this was just a spot I could get up with Sol-u-Mel from Melaleucca!  Good night, nurse, I wish I could!

Needless to say, the story didn't end there, but I will. However, they did manage to get in math lessons, spelling lesssons, phonics, lessons, handwriting lessons, and some reading lessons done with the remainder of their time today.

I didn't even try to do science.......we've had enough of that.

My dear friend Kasey was so sympathetic when I told her. "Wow, Ging, I feel ike Martha Stewart now that I've heard about your day."   Ha, ha, how droll!  But how could she not laugh? Big ham that I am, I played that story for all it was worth over the phone.

In the best outraged Mickey Mouse voice that I could muster.

Kids are so much fun. But some holidays we want  to skip the stuff we don't like and just make happy family memories.  We don't celebrate Halloween with witches, vampires, or the undead [gee, aren't the living nightmare enough sometimes?]   No evil costumes/movies/toys/books/or-eye-rolling-over-banned-items are allowed in Doehill.

Our church has a trunk and treat where the children are allowed to dress up [NO EVIL STUFF THERE EITHER!]. DS wants to be a cowboy again. Thankfully he enjoys role playing and one day I'm going to get him some of those neat costumes from Vision Forum. But dear daughter has her own ideas....

DD: Mom? Know what I want to dress up as for Trunk and Treat?

MOM [trying to give guesses that might help her make an appropriate choice]: Raggedy Ann?

DD: No.

MOM:  A Princess?

DD:  No.

MOM:  How about a lamb?

DD: Nah, I'm gonna be a scary ice skater.

Where oh where did I go wrong?

Okay, I admit it. My kids watch the same old cartoons I did when I  was little. Perhaps that explains my young daughter's answer to a question on her Bible quiz about Genesis:

MOM:  "What did Joseph tell Pharoah his dreams meant?"

DAUGHTER:  "Oo--Oo--I know this one--that  phantoms were coming to Egypt for seven years!"

SON [uncontrollable laughter]

MOM: "No, honey, not phantoms--FAMINES!"

This was almost as good as her singing her favorite church song about the love of Jesus being "way down in the hips of her heart".  

I re-use plastic bowls that margarine and cool whip come in. Some we use on the porch to feed and water the cats, some for other uses. We finished a sugar free cool whip tub this weekend, so it was washed and put in the drainer. This morning, I was in a hurry to get breakfast ready, and just put my daughter's cereal in the CLEAN cool-whip bowl.  She sat staring at her bowl.

Disgustedly she said, " I can't believe you are making me eat out of the cat's bowl. "   

A few years ago I would have described myself as an overweight, underread, un-motivated, and somewhat isolated slob. I have been concerned about myself only enough to complain about what hasn't been right, but not enough to proactively try to fix it.  This year has definitely been a year of change. I am finally, after all these years, moving from undisciplined to disciplined. It's not an easy process!

Two books have helped me shake off the self-induced lathargy and try to DO SOMETHING about the shape I'm in.   One was Pam Forster's topical Bible guide "Polished Cornerstones" and the other was Beneth Peters Jones' "In The Best Possible Light".    I wish I had these in my teens!

I tend to let things go--chores, paperwork, friendships,  my health/looks. I recently celebrated my 34th birthday.  It set me thinking about the future, goals, and the need for accountability to keep them. There are some disciplines in my life that keep me accountable spiritually, for example, being a faithful church member and  friends who gently admonish and greatly encourage me in my walk with the Lord.

But I have been very resistant to inviting accountability into other areas of my life. I am a natural skinflint, so money has never been a problem.  Homeschooling isn't a problem either because I love to learn and so do the children.  Have I made it  too easy, though,  to learn about things instead of doing them?  I guess I just didn't want to hear somebody tell me where I've gone wrong, because I already knew it! 

A great help has been the Flylady emails. While I don't do them as faithfully as I should, those constant cheerful email reminders  to establish new habits are affecting on how I approach each day. Joining THE WALKING CHALLENGE was a major step. Reporting to others whether or not I kept my goals is forcing me to really try to keep them--just not pay lip-service to them.

This weekend, I discovered that two acquaintances are also trying to build accountability into their lives in different areas.  One is wanting to read more, so we agreed to try reading the same book together and discussing it as we go [we're reading Hind's Feet on High Places].  Another lady is needing help in physical fitness, too. We have agreed to remind each other to walk a little bit every day. Hopefully, this partnership will help us reach our goals, but will also develop Godly friendships, as well.

Remember at the first how I described myself ? I think I've attacked everything but the "overweight" part.  It's NEXT!