Well I have set down to type this out several times, but just could not. The blessings of the Lord have just overflowed from beginning to the end of this birth experience and the best part was not only did I get the blessing of a new little one, I got a great friend and midwife.
I guess my birth story actually started with Bethany’s. After having her come via c-section because of being breech, but not just that it was being in transition with her and not being able to push for so long and then the c-section itself, I was scared. Could I handle the pain? When I was pregnant with Isaac I would dream about her birth and wake up shaking. I could think about it, and still feel those pains that I had long since forgotten with the others. So this pregnancy was spent in a lot of prayer and fighting fear or better yet the author of fear. It was a growing experience.
Toward the end of my pregnancy I had several nights of contractions that were crampy, but that did nothing. In fact, twice we called the midwife only to have her leave after midnight with no baby. So I prayed some more. I asked the Lord to give me a sure sign that this baby was coming otherwise I was not calling the midwife and Gary would have to deliver. Although he has delivered many calves, I preferred to have the midwife here ;-D.
On the morning of July 2, I woke at about five to go to the restroom and upon wiping noticed a bit of blood(my sign that I asked for). I had no contractions. I came to the living room and sat down. I was shaking, so I prayed and called the midwife. She told me to call her back when things started happening and she would get ready. It was finally happening. I was excited and yet nervous. After I hung up I had my first two contractions. It was 5:15. They were five minutes apart. This concerned me as I have had fast labors in the past, so I called the midwife right back. She was on her way. Gary started filling the pool. I was actually looking forward to the pool and I bet no one knew that hahaha. Both times that we called the midwife that was the first thing I told Gary, “Get the pool ready, when it is time I don’t wanna have to wait!”
In the meantime I walked and stayed on my hands and knees when I tired of walking. They began to hurt more and I could feel myself getting scared so we called the midwife to see if I could get into the pool. She said yes, but that it’s possible that it will speed things up and she might not make it. She was not far away, but I did not want to take any chances of her not being here so I waited. Becca and Leah were great. They fixed breakfast, walked with me, talked to me(when I was not having a contraction) and prayed for mama.
As the contractions increased and hurt more I found that if I focused on God and praying and not the contractions, they did not hurt. I don’t remember a whole lot of who I prayed for except for Brian and Sandy who were both having some medical issues that they could not find a cause for. Sandy found out a month later that hers had been caused by a recent outbreak Fifths Disease and only after a rheumatoid doctor ordered blood tests. It was a total act of God as to how it came to be that they got the answer. Meanwhile, I was hurting enough that I did not feel like walking so I was up on my hands and knees with my head laying on the bed.
A little funny here, both times that I had called the midwife this is the position that I liked best. Of course when you are in labor there is no need for panties. Bethany saw this and told me with the midwife standing behind her “Mama jou need to get jou panties on. The midwife’s gonna see jou butt!” This was said with her face right at mine. It was hilarious.
The midwife arrived and did a quick check on the baby and me. When she palpated the baby she found that the baby was breech. During the night I remembered waking briefly and feeling light hits on the left of my tummy and harder ones on the right and then I dozed right back off to sleep. I immediately began to feel fear creep in. I got back up on my hands and knees again and started praying and rebuking Satan and the spirit of fear that I was feeling. I asked the midwife about her previous breech deliveries what her thoughts were and she said that her last one the woman had to wait 45 minutes after feeling the urge to push before she could push. We discussed a couple of options one was having the baby at home or calling the Dr and seeing if he would allow me to try a vbac at the hospital possibly under an epidural. We prayed some more and asked God what we should do and to give us peace. This was my third breech baby. The first two that were breech were both c-sections. Gary, the midwife and I talked.
I knew that when I hit transition was when fear is at its worst for me. So much so that I ask for an epidural, which to me is a scary procedure. Once I have the urge to push it is very hard if not impossible for me to stop pushing. This was the part that was so traumatic to me with Bethany’s birth. I remember being on the operating table and trying so hard not to push that I would raise my bottom up off of the table and squeezing my legs together to keep her off of my cervix so that I could keep from pushing . We talked some more about calling Dr D and I just felt a total peace about doing that. I told Gary to make the call. I remember him calling and while waiting for him to call back I told Gary that if we were going let’s go ahead and head that way and then when he calls we’ll be that much closer in case these pick up and get worse. I did not want to deliver in the suburban, nor did I want to have a lot of pushing type contractions on the way to the hospital. Just before we left Dr. D called and agreed to at least check me.
Gary readied the suburban and I made a bee-line for it. Gary was concerned that I had no panties on and I was not in the best position for modesty. I was in the back seat, again with my fanny in the air and my head on the seat. Thank goodness for tinted windows. The midwife was right behind us. No one got to eat the breakfast that Rebecca had fixed. On the way to the hospital I prayed that I would have very few contractions or none. I believe I had three until two lights before the hospital when I started having them close together and felt the urge to push. I put my head on the floor trying to keep baby off of my cervix so that I did not feel the urge to push and I told Gary to run the lights and put on his hazards. Those were the longest lights ever.
I got out at the door of the emergency room and the lady wanted me to sit in a wheel chair. I looked at that thing trying to figure how I could get in and get my head lower than my bottom. I tried to sit backwards and it was a no go. I hate sitting during contractions. I told her to get me a bed lol. She took me to admissions and I told them there was no time this baby was coming and if they didn’t want to deliver it they better get me upstairs. When they found out I had been there before and this was our seventh baby, we took off upstairs.
When I got upstairs the nurses wanted me in the bed. I was having contractions hard and fast and could not move until it passed. Somewhere between the wheelchair and the bed my gown was changed. I finally got in the bed on all fours. The nurses started yelling at me to turn over. I told them no I just needed a c-section the baby was breech and I could not move. I heard them ask Gary what he wanted me to do. At that point I hated to tell them I didn’t care what anybody wanted lol. I finally got turned over and they put that dreaded monitor on my belly.
Dr. D came and found the baby had turned and I was at 8 cm. I remember Dr. D asking how much weight I had gained during this pregnancy and no one could tell him, I thought that was so funny. Here I was in labor and all he wanted to know was how much I had gained. I know now it was because he was concerned with how big the baby was, but the mind does funny things when you are in labor. It is amazing that you can be in so much pain and it is like your mind is a totally separate part of you. All I could say was give me an epidural lol.
They said I was too close and he could break my water and make it better in 10 minutes or not and it be 30 minutes, but first I had to sign the papers saying that I wanted a vbac. I was having a battle in my mind. So they had taken away my epidural and the quickest way to get out of this pain was a c-section so I asked for that lol. Gary and the midwife reminded me that that was not what I wanted and I just needed to sign the papers. So now they were taking away my c-section option too lol. It was funny the way my mind was thinking. So I relented and signed/scribbled on the papers. I started having another contraction and I knew I could not take it on my back so I started to flip over and the nurses started yelling no. I said that could not take it and I flipped over. I heard Dr. D tell them to leave me alone I was okay.
I immediately started to push. I felt my water break. The baby was coming down. For the first time I felt and was aware of the baby moving down the birth canal. I was totally inside myself. I heard no one. I felt the ring of fire and then relief. The baby was born and we had a big boy. Daniel Roger was born at 8:10 weighing in at 9 lb 13 oz and was 22 inches long. So many feelings flooded my heart. It was wonderful! I had had a baby naturally, again.
I had prayed for so many things for this labor. I had an aunt that told me to pray specifically in detail and so I did. I prayed for as pain-free a delivery as possible, God answered this for as long as I kept my focus on him, I felt no pain. I prayed for a vbac and I had Daniel naturally. I prayed for my water not to break until I was ready to push and it broke as I was pushing. It was wonderful to pray during labor and see God move immediately. I remember at one point singing “How Great is Our God,” and just feeling his loving arms around me, totally wrapped in his love. Our poor midwife and Gary, I can’t carry a tune in a bucket on my best day and here I was in labor singing. It has been two months today since giving birth to Daniel and I still cry when I think of the amazing things that God did during this birth.
Aaaah we have had three days now without anyone being sick. I spoke too soon, little Isaac is back to running a fever hmmmmmm. Just when you think it is over someone else comes down with something lol. The week of January 12th is what started it, we all had the stomach bug and it has been something ever since. I thought it had ended after Lydia had a six day stay in the hospital in the PICU with her asthma/pneumonia, but that was not to be. The week we came home we had two with ear infections, two with strep throat and three with a bout of a stomach bug and if that were not enough my dad was cutting down a tree and it kicked back and hit him in the leg breaking it. The dad came home his older brother went into the same hospital just down the hall with pneumonia too. I think they just thought the other was having too much fun. Dad saw that Lydia got the remote to herself and then my uncle saw dad got it so they just had themselves a good ole time, we should be well known by now lol.
This past Sunday we actually thought we might all make it to church when Isaac woke up with a fever....fuuuuuuun. Is spring just around the corner? Needless to say school has been a bit hit or miss. We hit at least something each day, but not what I would like to.
And no my little Bethany would not be spitting her milk back into her glass and yes that is snow in the background and no they were not happy that they had to do school on a "snow" day . Their aunts and uncles did wear them out later that day though because we went to mom's to wash clothes(washer is out) and they had a ball sledding. There are birdfeeders right outside the window that they were watching so they could do their bird notebooks. Our cats remind me of the old Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, they like to sit in the window and look like they are pretending to be bird"feeders", boy would they like to feed on one lol.
All in all though I have to say Praise the Lord!!!!! Yes you heard me right. First I am thankful that I have a house full of children, even though they are sick, it keeps me on my knees. I am thankful that Lydia's asthma has been no worse than it is. Though this bout landed her in the hospital she could have asthma much worse than she does. It only seems to bother her when allergies or colds or pneumonia in this case has a hold on her. And well I am very thankful that even though dad may have a long recovery period ahead of him the Lord was watching over him. He could have been killed, instead he has a broken leg that will mend. Here are a few pics for you(I will not post dad's leg though, he had 39 staples in it from the surgery to put him back together)...
The first is Lydia while she was in PICU with her brother....
She did enjoy her stay. She had the television all to herself and they had a great play room and she had a wonderful nurse that spoiled her rotten.
Last week we had a few days of really warm weather. We planted three and a half rows of peas and a partial row of carrots and the kids had a great time playing outside without coats. This picture is the only one that does not have a child with their tongue stuck out. First it was Bethany and then she finally smiled and then Isaac had to do it. Needless to say it took about six pictures to finally get one without a tongue in it. No she is not as innocent as she looks either one of them roflol
This past Monday we woke up to this....
It is pretty, but this mama wants spring. I guess we will have a taste of it as this weekend our highs are supposed to be in the lower seventies. Doesn't that sound nice?
And now for Isaac's hair cut picture. It really does not do the hair cut justice as there were really big chunks cut out and several gashes that were to the scalp. hehehe
Well I hope that everyone has had a very blessed Christmas. The above picture was taken by my oldest ds. It looks like a Christmas card picture. I absolutely love Christmas and this was about all of the decorating that got done. We have an artificial tree because of the wood heat and it sits right by the fireplace so a real one would dry out really fast.
School is going. That is about all I have to say. With morning sickness we have done very little, but it has been going. Lydia got glasses a few weeks ago. When we went for a routine exam he asked how she was with reading, well that does not go well because I thought she was being lazy and just not wanting to do her work. Bless her heart she could not see. She could concentrate and get it, but it was such work so now she has glasses and is doing much better.
There is never a dull moment with Bethany. Here are some of her latest things that she has done.
Bethany has been asserting herself a little more....the other day the older four were in the dining room making the usual noise and talking when she walks in and shouts "SILENCE........My Kill You." I have no idea where she got it from, but it did not help the noise level....afterwards there were gales of laughter. Oh well.
She must have heard me tell her dad that Isaac needed a hair cut because yesterday, she gave him one. He now looks like a little GI Joe with a few gashes here and there. Yes I got pictures and will hopefully upload them later. Rebecca had trimmed her bangs and left my hair cutting scissors down. My aunt who cuts hair had decided to not cut hair yesterday unless it was an emergency......she said we qualified
I looked in the Ag Review and found a milk cow for sale. Unfortunately she was sold, but he had another. I am so trying to talk dh into getting one. After all if it doesn't work out they seem to sell really quickly and after all we are now going through 6+ gallons a week(if I buy six they drink six and if I buy eight they drink eight) and with my insomnia I am up earlier and and and........well we will see.
So much has gone on since we announced our newest little one, including morning sickness which I have been so blessed not to suffer before. That has now subsided, but the pregnancy induced insomnia has come to visit hehehehe along with the stomach bug that has been hitting about one person per week....at this rate we might be over it by February. Do not take this as complaining, I love every minute of carrying a little one inside. Those little flutters have come and just make my day to feel. Well that is all for now. I need lunch and a walk.
Sorry Guys! I cannot believe how long it has been since I last updated. I will do a quick run down of our events since March 4 UGH!
Easter was great! It always great to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Spring is also one of my favorite times of year. The girls baked and decorated a cake for Easter and it turned out very pretty.
They Clean Up Rather Purty Don't Ya Think?
Little Isaac celebrated his first birthday on March 30th. Where did the time go. He is walking and climbing, although he was climbing before the walking. He has given me many many near heart attacks.
This tractor was given to Kaleb on his first birthday and so was the little boat in the background
I had a great aunt to pass away and we had to drive up to Virginia for the visitation. On the way we stopped at Pilot Mountain. We did not walk around the pinnacle, but it was fun to visit again.
Next came Mothers day in May. I appreciate my mom and mother-in-law. They are both precious ladies.
Can't find my pics UGH!
At the end of May we celebrated Bethany's 3rd birthday. She cracks us up with her Bethanese. When you would ask her to sing her ABC's she sings C IIIIIIIIIIIIII D, now she is really getting the hang of the ABC song errrr in her own way. It goes something like this A, B, C IIIIII D, E, F, G etc lol. Leading up to her birthday she would come running up to me grab my face in both of her hands and say "Mama, mama my birday comin".
Oh and no she is not 716 lol. We could not find any birthday candles except for these...so we put three numbers for a three year old lol. She also wanted a John Deere tractor and a Dora cake...so she got both.
This rose bush is one that her aunt and uncle gave to us when she was born...they are both growing so fast.
These two cousins are just two days apart. The one on the right was first and we were supposed to bring them supper on the day they came home from the hospital. We had to call them that morning and let them know that we would not be coming after all as we had had our little one. Grandma got two beautiful granddaughters in one weekend lol.
Then came Father's day. I love my dad and he thinks I am perfect...what else can I say there. He is too. We love to say that around family, of course they just roll their eyes. In case you don't know I am the only girl, I have four brothers so of course "I" am the perfect one lol. We had a great time with our dads. Dh got the same thing I got for Mother's day....quarter round to finish up our project at home. I do have a couple of Father's Day pictures! First is my dad and then Gary's!
Next came Lydi-Birds birthday. She is becoming quite the young lady. This is the one that we constantly say belongs to my sil. They both have blond hair and both do not like strawberries. WHO DOES NOT LIKE STRAWBERRIES? Well not these two. They both have dainty features too so she could pass for one of their children. Coincidently one of theirs could pass for one of mine lol.
Then came Kalebs birthday. He turned the big 17 and now has his drivers license. He is a right nice looking young man.
And little brother enjoying big brothers cake the next day! He was found sitting on top of the table having his own little party!
And here are just a few pictures I really liked!
My dad and Bethany
And our day at the park last week after the movie!
Just like a tree planted by the water Lord I shall not be moved
Sunday was so warm that we went walking on my fil land behind our house. It was so much fun. All of the children went except for Rebecca who opted to walk to grandma's. Actually she wanted to read the comics before I did and read through the sale papers uninterrupted.
We had a good time though with some hunting crawdads and others running from them lol. I love the song I shall not be moved. I kept thinking of the part "just like a tree planted by the water". There were several instances to see tree roots where the water had washed away the soil surrounding them and they were huge. Enjoy the pics....by the way for my birthday I received enough money to buy me a digital camera. Thank you Lord for providing!
Crawdad Catcher
Crawdad runners
Bionic Man(alias dh)
Mommy and Frogman
Ds and his brown jug(actually it is an old Clorox jug he found)
Dh has a halo
Sisters
My heart was so full as I left the wood that day. The wonderful blessings God has bestowed upon me. Lord I pray that I can stand as tall and as strong as those trees....let me not move to the right or the left, but stay forever grounded in you.
What a beautiful morning we woke up to. Enjoy the pics and those Carolina blue skies.
A view from the back porch
Our little house full of blessings and if you look really close you will see a certain almost three year old standing behind the wooden deer and the bottom of the porch railing in nothing but her night shirt and diaper....NO SHOES brrrrrrrrr!
At the end of this field you may be able to see a tobacco barn...this is where my dh's family lives...not in the barn beside of it lol
I am sitting here in a stunned silence.I have just learned that a dear Momys and fellow homeschoolblogger’s little one has gone on to be with the Lord.http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/raisingarrowshttp://raising-arrows.blogspot.com/Please pray for Amy and her family.Her little one, Emily had been sick, but she was home and doing well…..I just cannot imagine the pain that this mommy is in tonight.My heart just breaks for her.
We never know how long we will get to hold these little ones.I think I will hold them a little tighter and squeeze a little longer.
Well I have decided to declare war once again on clutter and so I started with the heart of our home, um the diningroom/kitchen/schoolroom/sewingroom///////. Well you get the idea. Here is a before or two.
Is this thing supposed to hold heirloom china or something????
And another
And now the After
I have history, geography, art/home ec, english, spelling, vocabulary, math and some bible study stuff here. And of course my diaper making stuff. I had to add another shelf because I got some more flannel. I have my actual sewing stuff here and then cut out diapers ready to be sewn and then flannels on the next three and the soaker material on the last.
And last but not least, we have had some warm temps here like in the lower 70's so we have been outdoors. So here are a few pics from our days spent outside.
As any of you that know me IRL know I am not an organized person at all....please if you ride by my house do not look in the garage lol, but one thing I do plan is meals. This saves me lots of time and money. I only shop every two weeks for groceries, although I will stop if I am out on another appointment and there is a good deal on the way believe me I am there. I am not up on coupons, but will use them for good deals where I end up getting the item free or almost free or if it is much cheaper than the offbrand. Anyway I plan two weeks worth of meals and I only plan for suppers/lunch. That is in the right order....our supper leftovers are for lunch the next day. Breakfast is always one of the following: muffins, pancakes, popeyes, fried eggs w/bacon or sausage, biscuits or homemade granola. Once in a while I will buy cereal, but most of my bunch prefers my homemade granola.
Here is our next two week menu:
Monday 2/4
Corn dogs
French fries
Tuesday 2/5
Sloppy joes
Curly Fries
Pickles
Wednesday 2/6
Chicken Salad
Croissants
Chips
Apple slices
Thursday 2/7
Tacos
Friday 2/8
This night we always eat at mama's and I usually make a cake, but this time I am off.....we are celebrating my birthday. Which one? I will be 36...just ask my dh....I had to the other day and he wouldn't tell me so I had to count from the year I was born. What FUN!
Saturday 2/9
Ham
Baked beans
Potato salad
Sunday 2/10
We wil have leftovers for lunch
Monday 2/11 MY BIRTHDAY!
Split pea soup
Bratwurst on rolls
Tuesday 2/12
Beef stew with carrots, potatoes and onions
Homemade rolls
Wednesday 2/13
BBQ Chicken
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Carrots
Thursday 2/14
Crockpot scalloped potatoes
Rolls
Friday 2/15
Pound cake to take to mama's
Saturday 2/16
We are eating at mil's for my and bil's birthdays.
Sunday 2/17
Chicken pie
Stewed potatoes
Green beans
I do not plan for most desserts, I just fix what I have a hankerin' for lol, but I make sure to have fixins.
Dh and I have prayed about growing a home business. A business that we as a family could be involved in together. So we now have started Blessed Bottoms. No web site yet...don't know how to build one. I am following an idea that Christina aka QuietCajun does and praying for the little one who will be wearing my diapers. She does this for the little ones that she makes her beautiful afghans for. See previous post for the one she made for our little Frogman.
I borrowed mama's digital camera and finally got a pic. This is such a beautiful afghan. Thank you so much. The children all like to curl up in front of the fire of the mornings with their blankets.
We are home and everything is fine. Mama is tired from a fitful night of sleep or lack there of, but my little one is doing well. I am thankful that I remembered to pack mom an extra shirt and pants just in case...and boy am I glad that I did. Just as we were walking out the door to come home....yep you guessed it bleck! Here is a pic of her at home with her new prize.
Well I have two prayer request. First there is a family who I have been following since the birth of little Tristan on December 5th. Tristan had Trisomy 18 and was doing so well. I was shocked this morning to learn that he has gone home to be with the Lord. Please pray for the Hostetter family. http://www.tristanasher.blogspot.com/
Second our own little monkey toes goes in for some dental work tomorrow. She will be asleep due to the nature of work being done and because she is so small. Please pray for her safety and for mom and dad. I have been on the phone with the docs all morning to make sure it is still safe even though she is just getting over the roseola rash if that is indeed what it was lol. Thanks for all of the prayers.
Well summer is coming to an end, but not without making a few lasting impressions with it. The drought here is awful and it has taken the foundation of our home with it on one end of our home. I am making some calls today to get some estimates. The ground is just powder it is so dry and I guess it just gave way. So far no interior damage just damage to the outer brick. There is a crack in the dirt underneath our home that my brother-in-law was able to put a stick into. It went down about a foot before breaking off.
Along with this we are dealing with summer colds. Aren't they the worst kind of cold?! UGH We are homeschooling through it all. I am just not able to get up much energy. Running errands all day yesterday about did me in. We left around 10 am and returned after 7:30 pm UGH Oh well I am hoping for a calmer day.
Our garden has just about quit producing. We are still getting a few late green beans, butter beans and tomatoes, but that is all. Just enough for a mess as we say here in the south. It means you have just enough to make a meal off of and that is it. We went shopping yesterday and I made up menus for the next two weeks.
Monday
Chicken sandwich
Leftover chicken n dumplins
and Taco stuff at mama's
Tuesday
Cereal
Meatloaf
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Wednesday
Cinnamon Rolls
Chicken pie
Stewed potatoes
Biscuits
Broccoli & cheese
Thursday
Muffins
Tenderloin w/gravy
Biscuits
Mashed potatoes or rice
Corn on the cob
Friday
Yogurt and granola both homemade
For supper we always go to mama's and I bring a dessert....probably green stuff
Saturday
Pancakes
Stupid Chicken out of the MOMYS cookbook
Sunday
Coffee cake/muffins/cereal
Tater tot casserole
Green beans
Corn
Now the reason I do not list lunches is for lunch we have sandwiches and leftovers. I make enough that I have leftovers so lunch is ready. If there is not enough we have sandwich makings of some kind or another and I can always make a soup or salad. Now I do not follow this completely all the time, but I do have those makings, but sometimes need to make adjustments for days when it is just busy I may pull the fast meal from another day or if I am going to be gone will make a crockpot meal etc. This mainly just helps me to know what I have on hand. I always have the stuff to make bread. I have found that I have not been making as much lately. Cooler weather is moving in this week though so I am sure that will change. Just something about the air getting crispy makes me want to bake.
Well that is about it except for a special prayer request. Please visit Tina at http://www.awomansjourneyhome.blogspot.com/ and let her know you are lifting her up in prayer. She is experiencing her seventh loss of a little one. This is such a precious lady to me. Always has an encouraging word and just blesses my heart. Also a fellow Momys named Beverly. Please remember her, she has inoperable cancer of the liver and pancreas. Doctors have given up, but we know the great physician is always there and with him there is always that blessed hope and assurance. Again this is a special lady. I have met her at the conference and she is just as sweet in person as online. She just radiates the love of the Lord. The has a xanga blog called Watching His Word or Watching For His Word. Just precious and uplifting. She is in a battle right now and just needs uplifting. There is a blockage between her stomach and small intestine. She needs a miracle and that is what we are believing for. Like David we will pray and pray...she is ready should God call, but I am not ready to give up this special friend. Beverly we love you and are lifting you up. Thank you for all of your prayers.
Well I thought this would be a good time to write. I am "blocked" in at the computer. Actually I mopped myself into a corner lol. I originally thought that Fridays would be a good day to do a home cleaning, but have switched to Mondays. It seems everything falls apart on the weekends. Everyone going here and there canning etc. The weekend was no exception. Friday was a busy day itself. Saturday was gardening, making a cake for a shower, cooking for and then attending our Homeschool Kickoff. Sunday we had church and then home for a quick bite and then off to the baby shower and then to dh mama's and finally home at 9 pm and I think I finally went to bed around 12 am just because I was doing some odds and ends....odd time to want to clean out the hall closet to find room for the diapers to be purchased today.
Speaking of canning we have officially canned 96 quarts of green beans with two more cannings in the fridge to be done. What a blessing the garden has been. It has made for a super busy summer. In fact I don't feel like we have taken a break at all, but that is the way it goes. There was no way to keep up with the garden and school.
August has been a super busy month and will continue to be. We have of course started back to school. We have had a baby shower, wedding shower, homeschool things, a wedding to attend and my two oldest are going to the beach with family and then we have a Sunday School Teacher banquet.
Wow then this morning we have gotten a late start on cleaning. Everyone slept in late except for baby. He has been having nights that are not too good. He is teething so I am sure it is coming from that. So mom has not been at the top of her game for two weeks UGH. Where is flylady when I need her???? lol Of course during this time I have begun to feel discouraged and things have gone from organized chaos to sheer chaos. I started a bible study called the Excellent Wife last week. It has been so encouraging. I have also started taking some vitamins and making sure I am drinking enough water. I don't know if it is age or that it was my second c-section, but it has definitely taken longer to bounce back from this baby. I just seem to be more tired(iron maybe??) The teenagers that could be helping are not for whatever reason. Some of it is just plain disobedience and laziness which is my fault for not nipping it in the bud immediately and now I am dealing with a tired mom and rebellious teens and clinging little ones. UGH! Don't get me wrong I would not trade where I am for anything in this world and yes if the Lord sends me more little ones I will take them. After all during these times it is when I fall at his feet and ask him to show me what needs to be done. I just crawl up in his lap and know that he has it all in control and worrying will do nothing. So I let him handle it and pray that he will change me where changes need to come and move on.
My sweet aunt stopped by. She is making beautiful hair bows for little girls. Of course she came before we had done our home blessing as flylady says so she got to see what the equivalent of an explosion looks like lol. Anyway back to the bows. She is making some beautiful bows for girls of all sizes..I even like some of them for myself lol. Anyway she is starting her own web site. It is not quite ready for orders, but as soon as it is I will let you know. I can't wait for you to see them. They are so reasonably priced that if you are like me and have several girls you will be able to purchase them and not break the bank. They are absolutely beautiful.
We have started our new school year with math and then this week or maybe next we will add our language/reading for those who aren't yet and add a new subject every week until they are all done. I have also been making some fitted diapers, but more on that later. My floor is dry and it is time to move on to the kitchen.
Well I think I have almost all of our school books for next year purchased. I have to find the Copywork for Boys, Girls and Little Girls from Queens Homeschool and purchase an Algebra II set and I am officially done. I may buy some reading books throughout the year, but for the most part I am done. I enjoy buying books, but it can be stressful. I pray about our purchases and that I will be a good steward of the money that is spent. In general I feel that I got several good deals.
I also purchased a few things for mom and won one lol. First, at our used homeschool book sale I won the 101 Devotions for Homeschool Moms. I find it is an excellent bathroom read. Bathroom meaning it is quick enough no one comes looking for you....what are you doing in there mom kind of book. I have also purchased An Excellent Wife by Martha Peace and the study that goes along with it. I had a coupon for $10 off at a new christian book store so I got the book there. I got the study off of ebay. From the same book store I got a coupon for 50% off a purchase so I went back yesterday and got Lies Women Believe. I am looking forward to both studies. Now just to decide which one to do first.
I have found myself having a bit of a stinky attitude lately and I don't like it. Could be hormones going back to normal or lack of sleep???? Either way I know what the root cause is...I have not been having my time in the word like I should. I know that it is the most important thing to my day, but just have not taken the time to do it...therefore starving my spiritual self. I know that when I get physically hungry I get grouchy, so I am positive that is the biggest problem. Why is it so easy to fall out of a habit and so hard to start a good one. Bad ones are easy to start too.
Yesterday I went shopping for kids clothes. I actually went in for dd#4 some shirts. I usually shop at consignment stores, thrift stores, Goodwill, garage sales etc. If I don't find anything and really really need it that is when I will hit a retail store and only the sales racks then. Well I ended up buying more at my favorite consignment store...they had a $1 sale. Some fall/winter and summer. I got several name brand things for $1. Peaches and Cream, Kelly's Kids, Gymboree, Children's Place, Gap etc for $1. Now I am not one for name brands, but you just could not beat $1 for each item. I got dd's #2, 3, and 4 several dresses, dd#2 shirts, ds#2 some cute 3/6 month outfits and socks and some clothes to put up for later. Most of the time I buy jumpers for the girls just because in summer I can put a short sleeve shirt under them and come fall and long sleeve shirt will carry them through.
I have finally gotten around to sewing again. The week before Mother's Day I made a couple of skirts for me. In fact the one below that I am wearing I made and the underskirt that goes under it. I have fabric to make three more. I have gotten ds#2 a diaper made this week and am planning to sew some more tomorrow. Today though is canning AGAIN and cleaning up for the weekend. I like to do a thorough clean on Friday so that leaves the rest of the weekend to spend with dh. It does not always work that way though.
I am a country girl through and through. I lived in the city for five years and that was enough. I love tomato sandwiches, homemade biscuits, cornbread and pinto beans, weanie roasts etc. I used to love to go barefoot all the time until I developed plantar faciitis and now I have to wear birkenstocks. I have tried the cheap version of those and there is just no comparison. The arch is not built up enough in the cheaper ones. Mama usually buys them for me for my birthday and they last a long time. In fact she just bought me a pair of pretty ones that I wear to church with my dresses.
I am looking forward to fall too. When the final harvest is done. We hardly ever get snow here in NC. It is always a big deal when we do. The grocery stores are packed. Shoppers purchase bread and milk mostly. Well we make our own bread now and get our milk from the dairy. If the dairy runs out of milk...we might be in trouble lol.
Okay well I am done now I think. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Me feeding cousins baby cake, dd, two of my sisters in law and cousin in background...the food was delicious. Sister in law in black made the diaper cake. She did an excellent job and it was her first one too.
Youngest dd and sunglasses
Girls having a good time
Me, Sister in law, friend, sister in law, my mom and dd #2
My grandmother, isn't she gorgeous. She handquilted the baby a blanket.
and yes that is snow in the background and no they were not happy that they had to do school on a "snow" day
. Their aunts and uncles did wear them out later that day though because we went to mom's to wash clothes(washer is out) and they had a ball sledding. There are birdfeeders right outside the window that they were watching so they could do their bird notebooks. Our cats remind me of the old Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, they like to sit in the window and look like they are pretending to be bird"feeders", boy would they like to feed on one lol.
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and just not wanting to do her work. Bless her heart she could not see. She could concentrate and get it, but it was such work so now she has glasses and is doing much better. 
