Baby Update

Yea Yea I know I know, in my last post I said I would update more frequently! I have got to get on the ball here. However our life has kinda hit a few obstacles and we are getting through the course, all the while having the Lord hold us up!

At the present time I am 31 6/7 weeks pregnant, yes tomorrow I will be 32 weeks!! We have found out that our little girl has a heart defect which will require surgery soon after birth. Having all this news and information loaded on us sure has been trying, but we are getting through and only focusing on the positives each day! We have been blessed with a great team of doctors, nurses and case workers and of course most of all with the love and support of family and friends!! We will have the blog up and running quite frequently to update and have photos of our little Princess when she is born and during the time she is in hospital.

There is so much to do and to get prepared before we are gone to wait and yesterday I was informed that I may be sent out earlier than we thought. I will fly out with 2 of the boys and Brian and the other 3 will come a few weeks later. We will move from the comforts of our home to a hotel suite for a period of about 2 months! We will try our best to create a home atmosphere for our boys and us, but I am sure we will have our challenges.

School is back in full swing for the 3 oldest boys and we are doing some preschool things with Noah, but it is just not going as I planned with all the preparing that is going on here. Who would have thought that the boys would be growing and I would need to sort through clothes to pull out bigger clothes and put away smaller ones! And the fact that winter (yes i said the "W" word) is peeking around the corner, which means we need to get the summer stuff put away and the winter gear out! Well I have almost accomplished those two items on my list, I am so very close!! However I did hear my husband ask me what in the world I was doing when he walked into the garage...LOL

Now the weekend is here, Dad is gone and I am here with the 5 boys!! I was feeling a bit anxious earlier about what kind of stress I may be under with fighting, screaming and the phone that rings 100 times from after school until bedtime, and usually not even once is it for an adult in our home! However I must re look at my outlook on this time with them and enjoy it, for in a few short weeks everything will be in a complete upheaval with our time being mostly spent in the hospital! I love my boys so much. I was sitting here earlier trying to figure out what we can do tonight to keep things at a minimal, so I think I have chosen pizza and movies! The boys can bring out their sleeping bags, stretch out on the floor and we will all watch some great family movies together.

Tomorrow we may have company, which will be nice. I think I will finish up with getting the summer clothes put away, and with the help of my boys, bring some organization to the garage that has somehow EXPLODED!! That will give me two more things checked off my list and only 16 more to go.....awwww time must slow down.

I am often comforted by the thought of the Lord Holding our precious little girl and comforting her in this time. A friend of ours told us of a vision she had where she seen the Lord's heart beating in time with hers......He loves her so very much and we are confident that He will continue to strengthen her each day. It makes me remember that He is so much a part of us, the life in us!

Well until next time, Blessings to you all

A Ladue Summer

Well well well.......yea I know you have probably all given up on my blog. I have been a terrible blogger haven't I?

Well the summer has been great so far, not too much rain and a lot of beautiful weather. However there has been a great amount of smoke due to the forest fire which is quite near to us, so as soon as the smoke clears up we will spend more time outside.

The Fire

The boys have taken in golf lessons, summer camp, swimming lessons and swim team, archery, camping, and hand games. The last thing we need to do now is take a family holiday!!
Dropping the kids off to go to camp!
The kids won 2nd place at the Hand games tournament, 2 of the team members were missing at the time of the picture...way to go John 3:16
Dad, brothers, sister and Dad won 3rd in the adults division!!

Right now we are at 25 weeks in the pregnancy and have some great news!! We are having a GIRL!!! Everyone here is so ecstatic, as you can imagine. The closet is slowing beginning to have more and more pink!! We have chosen a name for her but will keep it a secret until she is born. So stay tuned.

Here she is at 19 wks in this pic our little "Princess"

Right now hubby and our oldest boy are gone on a work/hunting trip. Lord willing they will be successful in both and come back with a nice cheque and a nice bull moose and caribou!! And maybe sonny will get to get his first kill. So me and the other four boys are going at it this week at the house Hopefully we will get some baking and cleaning done along with some sorting of clothes and inventory of winter stuff, yes I said winter stuff. With the leaves beginning to turn yellow we all know that winter is not too far off!! Maybe my honey's idea of moving way south for the winter's is not such a bad idea, although we would then miss all the sliding and winter weenie roasts with the kids.

And wouldn't you know it, school starts in just 2 weeks. Some of the boys are wanting to homeschool and go to the public school to take part in a few of the courses they offer and the other one is still undecided. We have some talking to do here in the next couple weeks and make a desicion.

In just 5 short days we will be celebrating David's 2nd birthday and then in a month our oldest son turns 13!! Wow how fast time flies. I must always remind myself that these years are such a short time and to take in each moment and treasure it dearly! Children grow so fast they go from being so needy to wanting to do everything for themselves, from wanting to learn everything to thinking they know everything. All these things help us to grow in everyway possible in our Christian walk. Above all we learn so much about LOVE. How to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and strength, and to trust him no matter what comes our way, and how to Love everyone else around us. To be able to show our children these qualities physically, emotionally and mentally is absolutely PRICELESS!! I thank God each and every day for our boys, now a little girl and our marriage and family.

Well my friends, I must get dressed at some point this day and make a trek to the store. I have an order for banana bread and cookies...lol

Love you all and blessings your way

A New Chapter

The Boys on the Big Dump Truck

Well hello all!! Yea yea I know it's been awhile since our last post. Well considering the sickness of being pregnant and our big move, I don't think I am doing too bad!

So where shall I begin.....well after , let me count, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 loads I believe...we are finally moved! It was a lot of work but we are here, in our new house somewhat settled and excited about what the Lord has in store for us now. And no there is not a thing I miss about our old house. Only people, good friends and the kid's friend Justin (yea we miss you big guy), Joe, Frankie, David, Carson, Leeland, Jr. and Jimmy oh yes and dare I not forget miss Reagan!!

So about our house..I will post pics later...It is a 5 bedroom house with two bathrooms, dining room, small kitchen (I will have to get used to that) living room and a family room which is now my honey's office. There is a nice size patch of grass in the front and the back yard...well let's just say it needs some work. The only things I don't like is the back yard and the unfinished deck which has some safety issues. But all in all it feels like a home and one of the best things about it......there are NO BUGS!!!! (Yea that's a story for another time)

I love this picture of Noah...read his shirt, and no it wasn't planned

So the town we live is is called Faro, it's not very big but it is absolutely beautiful. You can see mountains out the window and everything is green green green! The people here are very friendly and I have already met a few other moms at a local playgroup we have managed to attend a few times. There is a small grocery store here which has all the necessities to keep one going for awhile, but we will have to do most of our bulk shopping when we go into town. There is no gas station here as it burnt down last year I believe but the next town is only 30 minutes away. So I suppose most people keep a stock pile of gas around. There is an awesome golf course here which, ready for this, runs throughout the town...yes right in town, so always be alert and listening for "Fore". There are 2 ball diamonds, a skateboard park and many smaller little parks around the town. And that is a brief summary of where we are.

David on the swings at a park.

The first 3 1/2 months of this pregnancy were, well honestly, quite awful! I was very nauseated almost all the time, had very little energy, and very very tired! So packing cleaning and moving were all a blurr between the trips to the bathroom and dizziness! But I made it....and no pills to curb the nausea. My thoughts were if I can just get over this it will be okay, and in the end it will have been so worth it! For some of you reading you are probably like "Yea yea lady...nausea is a part of pregnancy", well not for me! I was not like this with any of the boys, only vehicle sickness, but nothing like this! So with all the said I am so hopeful for a girl! I am 16 weeks today! and I am feeling a lot better...Thank God! I have my days here and there of feeling nauseated but it is nothing like before...and I now need to decide if it would be better for me to travel on an empty stomach or what. I have more energy but am still feeling quite tired. Yesterday I could feel the baby really moving about, it was such an awesome feeling to feel this little life inside of me, this miracle growing within. Noah and I have been keeping track of how big the baby is every two weeks. He is amazed by it. I was actually thinking about doing a scrapbook type of project with him and keep track of the sizes and what he says about it. The other boys are excited and all hopeful for a girl too...Daddy doesn't say much but I think he is really hoping for "Daddy's little girl".

After we moved we decided to let the boys attend the local public school here to finish out the year. With the move and my being literally sick and tired...lol....we thought it would be the best decision for them. They are quite enjoying it and have met all the kids and made a lot of friends! We are happy with our decision so far and the kids seem to be right where they are supposed to be....except for Daniel and his reading but we were well aware that he was behind in that. So he is getting an extra boost he needs and we will continue with the Hooked on Phonics program we have over the summer. I do miss them, and teaching them but at the same time I am enjoying the free time to keep up with the house and the time with the younger boys. However regardless of our schooling choices for them in the fall.....we are going to have preschool for Noah and David.

Well that is us and what is up here. We look forward to the summer holidays and all the adventures to come! I will keep updating frequently now that I am settled.
God Bless

What a weekend, and an awesome beginning to the week!!

Well our trip to the city was fun, trying and an adventure, to sum it all up. Not only did we have our 5 boys, we also had our "adopted" son with us.
The boys took part in a Hockey Tournament, which as you can imagine was a lot of going here going there, waking up early, going to bed late and some sick kids at the end of it all. However the kids did great and came in fourth place of the 9 teams in their category. They played 5 games, won 3 and lost 2.
The highlight of their weekend.....they got to see, and touch the legendary Stanley Cup!!!
I never seen kids so excited as they were when they found it it was going to be in the arena!! What a treat for them.
Yep there's my 5 wonderful boys, awestruck over the cup!! Another treat for them was to see their Nana and Uncle Joey. They flew up for the tournament and Uncle Joey played hockey as well. We always enjoy a visit with them even if it is just for a few days. Too bad Grandpa didn't come but next time!

Since we have been home we have been dealing with runny noses, ear infection, fever and a cranky baby! The joys of being in the midst of all those people and germs, but all in all the kids had a great time and got to play their most favorite sport.....Hockey!

Well we have had a great start to the week. Monday and Tuesday everyone was laying pretty low, due to the colds and fevers. We did however accomplish reading and English. Yesterday morning we found out that we are 7 weeks pregnant!! Yay. It is a few months earlier than planned, but God's timing is perfect! So we will have our last little bundle of joy in November! Just in time for her momma's birthday. We are all very excited. All the boys are very sure it is a girl, a couple of them say twin girls and we are being full of faith that we will have our darling daughter that we have been praying for.

Today we did get a lot accomplished considering I have been feeling ill today too. We did more algebra, fractions, Antarctica and finally started our Volcano unit. The boys read through a neat book we bought, about volcanoes and they did a project with lego and made a volcano with it. It was pretty cool, I will have to take pictures of it and put it on an upcoming post. My printer has run out of ink again so my plans for starting a study on Jesus as a boy and then His ministry, will be slower than planned. But maybe this is a good thing for us.

I was quite happy with myself today for getting more things sorted and packed...despite how I was feeling. My poor baby boy had a fever all day and followed me around the house when he had enough energy to get off the couch. I am looking at him now and it seems as though his fever may have finally broke. Thank God!
Well that is all I have to say for now, I am tired and I have some achey bones. Time for a hot hot shower and bed!! Good night all and God Bless you all

Here we go again!!

Here we go again. Another day another week! Well I am happy to report that although the dinosaur lapbooks and notebooks have been put on the back burner for a bit, they have come out again and are 1 day away from being complete. Believe me we are ALL happy, it just seems to have taken so very long.

On the past Thursday I gave Josh and Mick their new lapbooks to start....yea start but they finished by Friday after lunch! I didn't realize how excited they were about these ones, they were rattling off information to me all day long for 2 days. Josh did his guitar lapbook and Mick did a technology one. I will post them tomorrow. Our niece Kassandra also finished her Dolphin lapbook and is pretty excited about giving it to Grandma and Grandpa.
Over the weekend we got a lot accomplished around here. Well I think we did...ha ha. I do know that the kitchen is looking pretty bare and the computer from the schoolroom has been moved to the living room. It took the place of our tree....looks like that will be the last time we see it again until November!

It was awesomely warm this weekend and the kids enjoyed a lot of time outside. On Sunday night something overcame Josh and he was a cleaning machine!! He did a great job and everything looked so nice, I love it when they get into that mood, you know to be helpful and to do it without the complaining! It's great.Highlight of the week David can talk!!! Silly me, I was starting to wonder why he wasn't trying to talk, but really why should he talk when he has 4 older brothers, a mom and a dad who all seem to know exactly what he wants or needs! But he said "hewhoa" (hello), eyes, "ose" (nose) , "aww" (hair), "airs" (ears). It was so cute, and yes mommy over-reacted...lol. Oh those milestones.

This week has started with a bulk making of waffles!! I am not sure what i was thinking by quadrupling the batch but the good thing is, now we have a whole bunch in the freezer ready to be popped in the toaster. Great snacks and fast too!
Daniel had his first lesson on what a noun is today. He thought this was pretty interesting, and boy am I glad he did since this is just the beginning of many years of learning about that stuff! Danny also finished up the last of his dinosaur things for his lapbook and we discussed how he would like the layout for it, so tomorrow we will put it altogether the way he wants, you'll have to stay tuned to see it.
Josh and Mick did a study on Saskatchewan today and Josh got Kassandra to help as she is moving there in the fall. She was really interested in learning about her soon to be new "home." They also finished up the rest of their unfinished dinosaur items.
After all our work was completed today Daniel and I went on a few errands downtown...it was his turn this time and he was so excited. Every time I take one of them downtown they get to have a treat at the store and Danny's treat is always a Kinder Surprise egg!
When we got home I started a batch of 100% wholewheat bread and buns. once they were rising I put on a pot of some yummy homemade turkey rice soup..mmm...mmm..mmm!
The bread turned out great and of course the kids wanted some cinnamon buns! Okay okay I am trying to lose weight here and I have to resist the temptation and reach for some fruit instead, it's hard but I know I can do it. Daniel had to be in the picture, he was so excited about those ones with the icing!!



Well the rest of the week is looking pretty busy. Dad, Josh and Kassandra are leaving tomorrow to drop Kassie off with her momma and Dad has some work to do. On Thursday morning the rest of us will leave to the city for a weekend full of hockey!! The boys are so excited. Dad and Josh will meet us there onThursday evening. Before we leave I will finish up a project I am secretly working on for Kassandra's birthday present and hopefully get some packing done....I am almost thinking this could possibly somewhat of a break week for the boys, with a lot of reading going on. We are also going to be starting a Spring Reading Challenge in our home.....one they reach 75 points they will get to go to the store and get a treat of their choice! They can earn points by reading books, reviewing lapbooks, reading to the younger boys, and playing educational games we have made. So it will be fun too.
Well It's bedtime and they need to go to bed! Check back soon to see the 4 new lapbooks we are adding to our blog
Blessings to you all!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well today was St. Patrick's Day, I wish I would have had more time to prepare, but things have been crazy around here trying to pack, school and parent!! But all in all we had a pretty good day!! Actually in the last 2 days we have had our fair share of learning about Saint Patrick, Shamrocks, Rainbows and brainstorming our own meaning behind the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Well do you want to know what we came up with? Sure I'll tell you at the end of this post...ha ha ha.
Okay okay I know you are noticing the girl in the picture....I only have boys, but this week we have the wonderful privilege of having our Niece Kassandra staying with us. She has been a great joy to have around...believe me it's definitely nice to have another female figure in our home!

Well to start off our week I will fill you in on what is happening with our schoolwork. Monday we began working on our St. Patrick's Day lapbook, which by the way was a lot of fun. The kids did a great job. I am learning though, that I really need to give them more time to complete these holiday lapbooks! It is a lot to fit into 2 days, well actually 1 1/2 days! Here is a video I did of their Lapbook so check it out: (sorry it's sideways)


Hope you liked it!!

Well other activities we did of the last 2 days included making Irish hats, and the kids wanted to decorate our tree for this day. Yea yea I know!! lol They made a paper chain with green paper strips, green and blue crosses and then Mick thought an Irish hat would be great for the tree topper!
Oh yea let me tell you about the craziest thing that happened today! This morning the phone rang and Danny answered it. He brought the phone over to me and said "Mom it's a little Irish man!" I gave him that look...you know the one I mean...as the person on the phone could clearly hear him. I took the phone and to my surprise the man on the other end had an Irish accent!!!!!! I had a hard time not to laugh (and no I do not laugh at people for their differences) but the whole thing was so fitting being it is St. Patrick's Day and all. When I hung up Danny said "See mom I wasn't lying was I?" I couldn't help but laugh!

Well tomorrow is the start of some new units, which meant a library visit for us today. Okay I had 6 kids a the library and then added one to the crew while there, so it wasn't as quiet as a library should be. The good thing is we did successfully get the books we needed!! Hooray. I just know these situations are good for the ongoing work with in me....believe me these times can make a mother boil! but I am learning to let them be kids, where you can hear kids laughing means there is happiness and life! Anyway back to our new units. Tomorrow we will begin a study on Volcanoes and we are all doing this one together, on top of this we have for Social; Knights, Castles and the Middle Ages. Noah is going to start his CARS Totbook which once again we got from this site. Of course we will be continuing on with our continental hopping for Daniel and our Canada study for Josh and Mick.
Since our niece is staying with us I told her that she had to participate in schooling, surprisingly she was all for it. She chose a dolphin lapbook from Homeschool Share. She also got a book at the library from the Dolphin Diaries series.
Oh yea did I mention that we have started the Prince Caspian unit study for our reading as well. Phew, we have a lot on the go but most of what we are doing they will be able to do on their own, which will help me so I can focus a bit more on packing.
Well that is a view of what our week has been so far and will look like for the days ahead. Check back with us later in the week to see any new post we have. I do plan to do a couple videos on the kids' notebooking so far and our Dinosaur books...I still need to help Danny assemble his.
Blessings to you all

p.s. I know you thought I forgot didn't you....Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow: The rainbow represents God's promise and LOVE for us all, the pot of gold represents the treasure waiting for us for believing and having FAITH in Him!!!

Children...what a gift, what a blessing

Well this past week has been quite interesting and the Lord has brought many things to mind this week.
Let's talk about babies!! I have tried my best to be in the most positive, loving and stress free environments, that I could possibly be in while pregnant (Believe me with all these boys it does not come easy!) The reason for this is so that the baby, who by the way is already developing the very important feeling of trust, would know and feel safe coming into this world. The baby would know that he/she (in my case 5 hes) will come into the world and feel safe and trust those loving parents who will cuddle, hold, feed and protect over the next 18-20 years! Wow what an important feeling to nurture and all that even before birth. Wow we mothers and fathers, our jobs start as soon as conception begins! Now for me personally I made a choice to be as nurturing and loving as I could be, long before I even had children. It was just a thing I had always thought about. Obviously the Lord had put this in me a long long time ago. I am by far a perfect mother and have my flaws, but we iron out the wrinkles and keep on going.
As infants I decided to breastfeed my boys, well my oldest boy I didn't I wish I had but that was a decision I made before I knew better. My second oldest I breastfed for 2 1/2 months, now he could eat 24/7, and no I am not exaggerating at all! Dan, he lasted 8 mos, Noah 18mos, and My baby boy well he is still feeding....he will be 19 mos this month and he is still going. Well I have been having these feelings, which I decided this week were selfish, that I want myself back, if you get what I mean...lol Well My husband said to me "Dear you are the ONLY one who can give him what he needs and wants, cherish this time with him." That really opened my eyes. I have been pondering those words my husband spoke to me over the last few weeks. It is true, I am the only person who can give him this, and this time with him is our time, just me and him, and yes I must cherish this time with him because this time will soon be over and we will move into something new. So I have taken hold of him and just sit with him while nursing, running my fingers through his hair and telling him how much I love him. Mothers and Fathers think of yourselves as guardian angels who have been blessed with these wonderful children to watch over.
Another decision my husband and I have made for our children is to allow them to sleep with us. It makes them feel secure and know that we are there for them close and never very far away. I have had many "BOOK" Parents tell me how horrible it is to sleep with your children, well I must tell you truthfully, IT HAS BEEN GREAT. They tell me oh your children will have some sort of anxieties, or problems sleeping later as they grow up, and the list goes on and on. Well you know we have slept with the 3 youngest and we have had almost the same experience with all of them. Sooner or later each one of them has moved out into their own beds when they were ready and it wasn't very long for any of them to all do this. We feel it is an important part of our nurturing and making them feel safe, secure, loved and trusting. These times are to be cherished and held dearly in your hearts. They need us.
My thoughts lately have been on my family.....and I have come to realize that this part of our life won't last for very long and we must hold this time close to our hearts. We must stop being so busy and so tuned into the world and having all the things of the world and just love and take in each precious moment, we are blessed to have these times with our children. I think about the fact that our oldest is turning 13 this year!! Seriously, where have the last 13 years gone? It seems like yesterday when we were sitting down holding him and marveling at his sweet little smile and his big chubby cheeks. Now he is coming into becoming a young man and in just a few short years he will be ready to be on his own!!! The time of our children seems so short yet we somehow think it is so long. The world has come to see this time as dreadful! I see a pattern that has developed in the ways the world looks upon different stages in a child's life and it makes me feel sad. At the age of Two the are "Terrible" then we have the "Trying" years from 5-9, then the "Pre-teen" or Tween years from 10-12 and then OH MY GOODNESS THE DREADFUL TEENAGE YEARS!!!! Now come on, I have to say I have had my moments with my children but none have been so awful that I would call them terrible or awful or look forward thinking it will be dreadful. Each moment and stage is so amazing and the LORD has given us the duty of carrying them through times of turmoil and walk with them through times of happiness. You know the "Footsteps" Poem (My favorite) think about that and how the Lord is always loving us no matter what!! That is how he wants us to be to our children, after all we are all HIS children.
Well I don't know if I have gone all over the place with this post but I truly love and have a great passion for my children and my husband and of course our families. I feel that the Lord has planted these important thoughts in my mind to help guide me through mother hood and us through parenthood. I am so thankful for these insights!!
Well I need to go to bed, I will be posting some of our weekend adventures, with pictures, tomorrow.
God Bless