It has been a long while since I've shared.  I've been on to see how some of you ladies are doing but just haven't taken the time to blog!  I've been having some problems again posting pictures so that has contributed to me not blogging much as I want to share pictures and just see a box with no pictures, any ideas what i'm doing wrong, let me know!  suddenly it doesn't work anymore...

We are enjoying our summer.  We've been to the library just about every week, I am happy to say my oldest, Viviana, is reading about 1 book a day, decent sized books!  I pray she will love to read, It really seems like it!  She is into the Nancy Drew Mysteries and American Girl Books.  My other two girls have enjoyed us reading to them too.  We came home with about 15 books or so and am happy to say we read through everything!

We have decided to go with KONOS curricullum for the new school yr.  Totally feel The Lord leading us to it, we sure have to work on some Character issues!  Our books arrived yesterday and so far it looks like a curricullum that we will all enjoy to learn from.  We also ordered Math U See for the two older girls.  I will supplement with abeka for grammar and some math for Viviana.  I am also working wth Bella to get her reading at a faster pace, she is breezing through her sight words so that's awesome!

I will be getting together with another family that i met through a homeschooling website and we will do a co-op once a week so we are really excited about that.  I am so amazed how the Lord is blessing us with 2 new families that I met through the computer!

About 2 months ago I discovered I had a desire to work with fondant and decorate cakes!  I have been creating some cakes for fun, next week will be my first actual cake that will be for an event, a friends bridal shower then i will make a fondant cake for my nieces 2nd birthday, I'm going to do an elmo theme.  As I said, i've been having problems with posting pictures so I will try again to post as I'd like to share some of my creations with you and also pictures of the children.

Aaron just turned 8 months old.  He is such a smiley happy baby!  He is soooo loved here...his big sisters are always around him making him laugh and carrying him around( Will he ever learn to walk!)  He is eating some solids not too much mostly oatmeal for babies, he's still adjusting to the new tastes of fruits and veggies.  Nursing is still going strong!

God is so good, he had blessed my husband with a bonus so we were able to pay off another credit card and also use some for the curricullum.  And with the stimulus check we used some for another credit card.  So little by little we are moving towards our goal, to be debt free!  We once again have been blessed through church as my husband received a call from a friend saying they had diapers for use, they had months ago blessed us with diapers galore for both children!  pullups too!  let me tell you when we were on our last pack of diapers that's when he got that call that they had more diapers for us!  isn't God so Good!  this time we have a lot of pullups which is a blessing, let me tell you...Aaron is 8 months and we have never had to purchase diapers for him!  The blessings of our Awesome Lord....JULIET

We've been trying to make it to this family camp for about 3 yrs now and finally this was the first year we could attend, Thanks to our brother in Christ, Gus!  He asked me one Sunday"if you could go to camp and money wasn't an issue, would you go?"  I said "yes"  He said "start packing!"  He's the best!

My girls were ecstatic!  all there friends go every year and it seemed as through we were the only family not going. I started packing early in the week as you know having 4 children including the baby, I would need lots of clothes for 4 days of camp! 

Friday my hubby took the day off so we could get an early start for our 2 hrs + drive to Michigan.  We left after 2:30( we were a little off schedule)  we had some snacks and water ready for our long car ride...3 of our children fell asleep for most of the ride!  Aaron was in his front facing car seat and was enjoying every minute of us looking back at him , So the ride was a breeze.....

We checked into our cabin and started uppacking, the room had about 10 twin size beds...bunk beds so we were to share with another family from church, they didn't arrive until the we hours the following morning. 

This camp's goal is to bring the family close together during the weekend and they had games in which the family had to work as a team to accomplish the task...It was a blast from climbing huge sand hills, to passing a life saver candy with toothpicks to each family member w/out dropping it. catching a fish...our team was crazy...they went to the river, and drove to burger king for a fish sandwich!  It was accepted!  and we got to eat 3rd at every meal.

here's some pictures

Wishing all my blogger friends a very Happy Mothers Day!!!  Enjoy your day!

Today we were going to go out to eat with my brother and his family but early this morning it was pouring rain and winds were about 35 mph so  we decided to just stay home .  Hubby ordered  beautiful multicolored roses ( white, peach,pinks reds )in a beautiful vase with delicious chocolates. The flowers are breath-taking! beautiful handiwork of our Lord!                                                                                                                                                                                               My girls all made a beautiful card and came with lots of hugs and kisses to share!

I enjoyed a nice hot bath, and just relaxed for about 30 minutes, It was wonderful!

Mike went out in the horrible weather for some brunch for us and we ate upstairs with my parents.   We had a good time talking and eating.... My mom is so sweet she bought me some very beautiful silverware, they are silver with gold edging, all in a nice wooden storage box.  It's so funny, yesterday Mike and I were at target and he put some silverware in our cart and I said do we really need this?  so I put it back good thing....

We watched Mary Poppins with the kids, I really enjoyed just being home with my hubby and my little blessings!

This past week has been one of sickness.....everyone has gotten sick except me, so far!  It hasn't been too bad just a lot of coughing.  Yesterday Aaron started, he was just miserable.  He still managed to give me some smiles!  his little nose was all stuffed up, I couldn't find his baby vicks rub so I had to use a little of the regular one.  I had the humidifer going on blast, crazy.... with 70 degree weather!  So he slept in our bed, Mike ended up sleeping in the girls room in viviana's bed; she had her friday sleepover with grandma.  Our other girls totally loved having daddy sleeping over in their room.

Aaron woke  a few times and I just nursed him and it seemed to comfort him a bit but he looks a lot better this morning.  Thank you Jesus, tomorrow we are planning to dedicate him at church.

my 10 year old decided she wanted to sew, my initial reaction was no.  But after thinking  about it , I thought it was a good think and that she was old enough.  I  let her take  out the machine and practice. 

Watching her reminded me of myself.  I believe she is like her mama ( i love making things...I have an interest in sewing, crocheting,crafts) you name it, I have an interest in it.  I'm not an expert at any of these but would really like to take an advanced sewing class and sit with someone who can crochet good. 

 My gradmother was awesome at all of these things.  My mom said she'd whip up a dress in a few hours without using a pattern!  and could she crochet...she made some beautiful things for me as a little girl.  I remember being about 8 yrs old sitting there trying to teach my self how to crochet.  My grandmother passed away when I was about 8 so I never had a chance to learn from her.

Unfortunately my mom is not crafty, she learned a little crocheting, made a blanket once but has never had an interest.  I guess it's in the genes?

anyway, I showed Viviana  how to thread the machine and how to operate it, she picked up immediately and made her sister a little purse, it came out pretty good for the first try!  The following day she wanted to try again, she made 2 more little purses, she's getting better every day.  Maybe we can learn together and create, create, create!!  (pictures to follow)

                                     MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Can't believe that Natalia is 3 already!  it was 3 years ago at 11:06pm that my 3 precious baby girl was born.  My first look at her, dr. said she was full of cheese!  They weighed her and she was a big girl at 8lbs 14 oz.

She brings such a joy to our household, Her smile is beautiful! She loves to dress up, although it doesn't always match.  

her favorite food is pizza

fruit-strawberries

drink-choc. milk

toy-bear called BABA (meaning baby)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIA

Natalia had her 3 yr checkup and Aaron had his 1 month.  we had the first appt of the day.  The nurse took Aaron's weight and it was 12.3 lbs!  wow, he had gained 3 lbs in 3 weeks.  The doctor asked how nursing was going then said "forget that question, his weight shows he's doing well."  She said to give him a bottle of formula a day or a vitamin supplement as breast milk does not have this vitamin, forgot which one and I'm still shocked that breast milk doesn't have all the vitamins needed for our babies.

Natalia was weighed while I was with Aaron, so I didn't get a chance to jot down her weight.  She was so excited to go see the Dr.!  she had a cold, but her lungs sounded well.  We have been concerned as she had two colds back to back within days of each other.  Doctor said it's pretty normal. 

Natalia needed 1 shot, so called Mike down so he can go with her, he works for the clinic.  I just had the 3 young ones with me and wow, I was going nuts...trying to juggle winter coats, car seat, blanket and carry Aaron to go meet Mike at the other end of the building!  I was stressed out! 

Natalia took her shot with no problem she gave a little whimper and wanted her scooby doo stickers!  she proudly walked out to show me her stickers!  Praise God, In March, Ms. Isabella will have to go for her checkup and get shots and I know that there will be screaming.  Last time, Mike, was with her and she screamed at the top of her lungs, he was so embarraced.  He got a little taste of what I have to go through!  Aaron will get his shots at month 2!

Last week I decided to put my wedding rings back on I had taken them off 2 weeks before the babies delivery, I was afraid that they would get stuck on but they came off easily. 

Friday Night I was busy finally putting up our Christmas decorations when I noticed a funny feeling in my finger, I looked down and my ring finger was swollen.  I immediately grabbed some soap and began washing my hands but they were not coming off.  I looked online and it said to try windex,cooking oil and even floss but nothing were getting these rings off! 

I had my grandmothers wedding bands on plus my engagement ring   and I was fearing that I would have to have them cut if they were not gonna come off.

Morning came and my finger looked the same,SWOLLEN!  Mike tried to twist them off but it hurt too much.  I decided to call the jewlery store at the mall and see if they cut them for me.  They said to come down.  I immediately got dressed went upstairs to tell my mom what was going on, she had given me these rings, they were her moms rings.  She saw me and said"what's wrong?"  I explained and she said" do what you have to do, grandma wouldn't want you to be hurting, don't worry about the rings."  I felt a little better. 

At the Jewlery shop the salesperson got one thin band off and then the second was a diamond eternity band (this is the one that was causing all the swelling) this really hurt as he cut into the band, it was so tight.  after 5 minutes he got it off.   I still had 1 thin band plus my engagement ring, those were not tight. 

I was so thankful they were able to get it off, the salesperson told me that they are not suppose to cut bands off because someone before sued because they were cut. I'm thankful he took a chance!

 I was thinking of having my engagment ring,band and my grandmothers ring redone all into 1 ring.  Last night I was able to take off the rest of the rings.  What a day!

on Monday, november the 5th, 4 days before my due date, I was having baxton hicks consistantly every 30 minutes for hours...it wasn't until later in the evening I started to think this can be the beginning of labor (with all my girls I've been induced and never experienced this)  So I mentioned to my hubby about the contractions, he started to keep track of them at 10pm and they continued .....went to the bathroom and noticed a hint of pink on the toilet paper.  I thought"could this be the starting of labor?"  This was my prayer that it would happen naturally and in the Lords timing.

I told my hubby about it but decided to head to bed as there were no other symptoms.  I awoke at 2:15am because in my dream I was having some contractions, I thought maybe they were really happening....went to the potty and started losing my mucus plug w/ a bit of bloody show.  I was so excited as the Lord had answered my prayers.  Mike immediately awoke and joined me in the living rm and had tons of questions, how much blood, how far apart are the contractions, whats next.....

by then the contractions were 20 minutes apart, my dr. wanted me to wait until they were 10 minutes apart for me to call her.  By 4:30 am I paged her and let her know this was the day, she said to call her when they were 5 minutes apart so we can head to the hospital.  I thought for sure I'd have this baby by early afternoon.  I decided to take a shower and get some last minute things finished at the house.  My contractions had slowed down, back to 20 minutes apart...so I started walking a bit more hopefully to get them going. 

 At 10am we decided to head over to the mall to walk (fall weather was here, it was 40 degrees outside)  at the mall we walked for an hour and a half and I really only had 2 contractions so we decided to go back home so I can rest. I had been up for almost 12 hours.

I came home and laid down, I had my hubby's Ipod, with tons of worship music going...some minutes later the contractions started again and they were getting painful.  I just stayed in bed and dealt with each one as they came 2:15 came and by then I was contracting every 8-9 minutes, Mike said" I think you should call the dr. "  The doctor agreed that I should start heading to the hospital, we gathered some items and said goodbye to the girls and my mom and left.

Once in the car those contractions were coming strong they were now 5 minutes apart.  I'm glad we left when we did, before traffic picked up.  We arrived at the hospital and mike had to park the van so I headed into the hospital and decided to walk to labor and delivery instead of waiting for him.  I got there and the waiting room was packed, ":great I thought, " I didn''t want to be in a crowded waiting area during these contractions, the receptionist took my insurance card and within 5 minutes we were in triage.

It seemed like forever for the nurse to come check me, when she did I was 5-6 centimeters (I have never gone this far without an epidural) I was hoping they'd hurry up so I could get an epidural.  They had to order antibiotics as I tested + for GBS it took about 40 minutes to arrive, we were transfered to the birthing room and my dr. arrived, she said I could stand and walk around my bed area. 

Doing that was great, I was able to deal with contractions better, so I did this and prayed for the Lord's strength to get me through this.  All the nurses and resident dr.s that came in commented on how well I was doing through the contractions.  My dr. asked if I wanted any pain meds.  she said I was doing great dealing with them, hubby thought so too.  I wrestled back and forth and decided to go drug free, I asked how far apart the contractions would be as I approached 10? she said about 2-1minutes, that was how afar apart they were at this point.  I continued to stand and pray. when I was checked again I was 9, and then I felt some trickling of water and knew it was my water bag at that point I was told to sit on the bed, the contractions were fierce at this point.  I was in my own little world crying out to the lord, all in my head.  I was told to lay down and try to push. 

This was it...I pushed and thought I was crazy for doing this naturally.  I even felt I couldn't do it, the pain was so intense, my hubby, dr. and resident dr.s cheered me on and with 5 pushes my Little Aaron Michael was born.  He had a full head of dark hair and was immediately placed on my belly, I thought he was big maybe 8lbs but they weighed him and said 9lbs 6oz I was in shock no wonder I was in so much pain those last 2 months.  Aaron started peeing on daddy!  He didn't cry much, even with the shots!  

We were so excited to having a blessing arrive safely!  Praise God!

Aaron Michael

Tuesday,  nov 6th, 7:49pm

9lbs, 6oz , 21inches

We are doing well, he is just adorable, looks like a little turkey!  He is nursing great! I will post pictures tomorrow.

Sex....

My hubby and I had been feeling we needed to touch this subject with our daughter Viviana for about 1 year now but had never got around to it, I think we wanted to hold off and tried to avoid the subject.    God had really been speaking to my heart about this area for several weeks and it was confirmed when my mom asked if we talked to viviana, I said no but want to soon.  So I immediately when online and found a book that was highly recommended (Before I was born) --God's design for sex       this book is for ages 5-8yrs old, is God centered.  I called Mike to ask him about this topic and he said order the books so I did!

  Yesterday we decided we would speak with the girls, we prayed about it for God's wisdom in this area.  The girls were excited, we first asked them if they had ever heard the term "sex" viviana said yes, but didn't know what it meant and bella said "no" we asked if any one had ever talk about it at sunday school they both said no... Praise God!   (that was my concern that someone might of talked about it) so we explained and got right into the book. Mike and I took turns reading pages and it went really smooth.  We felt Bella should be there (the book is geared towards her age) she really didn't understand a lot ( she looked a little bored) but we explained a lot about were babies come from and how girls and boys are different (as soon as their baby bother arrives they'll understand!) 

Viviana  didn't giggle or anything, just listened to every word, I think she didn't understand fully, but that's okay.  I know soon she'll have questions.  We told them we are there for them in case they have any questions, we closed in prayer.  I am so thankful it went smoothly, and we were the first to talk to them on this topic!  Praise God!

My 9 yr old has been homeschooled from the beginning and she has taken after me in the area of shyness.  I went to a public school and can say that I never had close, close friend but played well with children once I got comfortable.    My mom noticed it and is concerned it probably is the homeschooling, I not sure of what to think.  Would she be like this if she attended public School?

Observing my daughter recently, I've noticed she is struggling in this area and I'm not sure how to help.  She's involved in her Sunday school class, and particpated this month in a musical at church but noticed she does better one on one instead of a group of girls.  If there are 2 of her friends together talking or playing she has a hard time joining them, she'll just stand or sit alone.  Sometimes I will walk her over there and help get her started.   These girls she's known for years....I tried to explain that sometimes we need to make the first move and approach our friends, that we can't expect everyone to always come up to us. 

She will be attending a B-day party tomorrow she will know most of the girls there but I'm concerned that she'll sit at the sidelines and not talk to anyone,  The funny thing is my 2 year old is so outgoing and all the girls my daughters age tend to approach her, picking her up!  Now she's a social butterfly!

Has anyone experienced this before and have some ideas of how to help her overcome this area?  thanks

Visit Tiany for more info. on how to join!

Our Homeschooling Open House

This will be our 4th year of homeschooling.  We feel so blessed that we are able to do this and pour into our children daily and watch the Lord move in their little lives!!

My Blessings are:

Viviana 9 yrs old, Isabella 5 yrs old, Natalia 2 yrs old and my precious baby boy due 11/10/07

Curriculum we use:

ABEKA, MathUSee and Konos (?sp)

free printables off the internet

Our Schedule (not set in stone)

For science and social studies we will get together 1 or 2 times a wk with another family and do these subjects.

mom rise 6am- devotions, exercise  

girls rise 7:am

7:30 breakfast and morning chores

8am bible reading with girls

8:30 am schooling with Isabella, Viviana plays with natalia

9am viviana starts Language, reading and math, spelling

10:30 individual time with  younger girls (art or coloring), viviana continues her schoolwork

11am - outside for a walk or play in yard

lunch 12pm

12:30 girls cleanup, story time for natalia

1pm ,naps or  for older girls:quiet time/finish any schoolwork

2pm Sewing/crafts for mom and viviana, bella

3pm Little house on the praire show tv time, exercise on stationary bike for viviana

4pm guitar lessons for viviana, bella computer time (educational games), natalia educational tv.

5-5:30 prepare dinner

5:45-6pm dinner and cleanup

6:30 girls baths

7:30 natalia story and bedtime

8:00 viviana and bella story

8:30 older girls bed time

9pm shower, read, quality time with mike

10:30/11pm  lights out

Where we homeschool

we homeschool in our basement, we have a section for all our schoolbooks and supplies, we have another sections for toys for the younger girls...the great thing is I can do my laundry while we school!