Seasons

I have had some great women brought into my life over the past 5 years or so. Some have left sweet footprints and others continue to walk with me.
After the birth of my 2nd son, Elijah, I was so overwhelmed trying to get out of the house and do anything. I had great intentions of joining and volunteering at a local homeschool co op. Unfortunately, it was way beyond what God was calling me to do at that time. I felt disappointment that I couldn't manage what other women seemed to manage so easily. God sent an angel in the form of a fellow homeschooling mama who sent me the most encouraging email regarding the seasons that we experience as mothers. She is a mother who has older children. She wrote about how important it is for us to embrace the season that God has put us in. For one day, the current season will come to an end. Hopefully, we will have been wise and still enough to enjoy this season before it is too late. Looking back almost 6 years, I cannot believe how quickly time passes. My current season is still filled with the most beautiful little people I have ever laid my eyes on. I must answer God's HIGH calling and take the time to be with them while they are here with me.
My blogging season is over. It is time that I make room in my day for what truly matters. Not to mention how hard it is to type with one hand. I may update now and again, but only when time permits.
I guess if you need an update you will have to stop by for tea and browse our family photo albums and baby books. :O)

My thoughts exactly

Isn't it great when you find another that is able to write your thoughts in a way that you might never be able to write? The following is beautifully written by June Fuentes of A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Blog.

"Look at her, she is such a monster."

I heard this not too long ago and felt such sadness---this was actually a mother describing her daughter in a very bitter, sarcastic and resentful way. I think that what we describe our children as reflects not the children but what is going on in our own hearts--"for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Luke 6:44-5)

If we truly believe that children are a blessing from God we should refrain from using language that demeans them as inferior. The use of 'monster', 'rugrats', and the like might be used affectionately or jokingly but can eventually lead to viewing children in a wrong and sinful light. With our tongues we are to encourage one another and build one another up (I Thessalonians 5:11) and this verse includes our children.

What It Teaches Our Children

How does a child evaluate themselves as they hear mom and dad referring to them with such words? Will they not have a low self esteem? Will they not try to live up to what they have been 'branded' as, even in jest? If they have been created in God's image then they are not what these words define them as. Remember that 'the tongue has the power of life and death' and we need to be wise in how we use that power. Are they truly gifts or burdens as how the world would like us to believe? If God's word is true we need to believe it ourselves and act as such. They will have a hard time believing they are a child of God is somebody if calling them names. And as we think about that--name calling comes from pride-not from humility, we have to remember that it is not Christ-like and could have lasting repercussions on a child.

What It Teaches The World

We are to be teachers of the Word and not of the world. We are to be an example to the unsaved and bring light to the darkness--but how can we do that if we do not have a biblical worldview of children ourselves? Does the world see a difference in how we view children or just go away shrugging their shoulders not touched by Christ's powerful hand in our lives? We are essentially teaching the world and our fellow Christians to hate and disdain children which is the spirit of Satan who is anti-God. We have become teachers of Satan. Instead, we should be teachers of God's Word teaching what is right and not what is opposite to His Word.

So the next time you see a mom with a lot of children I want you to think about how God gave His life for these children to be saved. How they are His gift from up above--some of those children could very well be your brothers and sisters in Christ. Be sure to speak blessings into their mom's life-----encourage her and support her. Let her learn from your example to love her children. This is what she needs---not the witty remark of 'doesn't she know how to stop having all these children." Shame on those who have thought this or stood by quietly without coming to her defense. I am shocked when I hear a statement like this in church, the one place a mother should feel the most welcomed!

Children are a blessing and gift from the Lord, let us all have a biblical worldview when it comes to children and reject the lies that they are anything less. Teach this to your children and your children's children so that there will be a generation that will hold fast to God's Word in this dark, evil world that despises and murders millions of innocent children because His Word has been forgotten.

Happy 4th!!

A picture of us at Fourth of July celebration at Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest. What a super day to be outside.

Nessie or Big Blue

Thought I would post a picture of our other new addition...Nessie or Big Blue as we like to call her. We were so extremely blessed AGAIN by finding a super deal on a super used 15 passenger van that we LOVE. It is a total beast and fits in with our family almost as if it has been with us from the start. We have removed the back 4 person seat and will be using the van as an 11 passenger with much much cargo space. We were able to keep the same car payment as we have had and this beauty will be paid in full in less than 3 years.

Sweet Kierra

After spending the last week and a half with our newest munchkin, Rich and I agreed that the name we had originally chosen for baby did not suit her soft, sweet personality. We would like to reintroduce our 6th little one as Kierra Elizabeth.

We welcome our 6th peanut

Baby girl #3 born peacefully at home on June 27, 2009 at 9:27 pm. Weighing in at 6lbs. 11oz., she is as beautiful as the rest.
Birth story to follow. We give all the glory to God for continuing to bless us beyond our wildest dreams.

My! Oh My!

The Big Van Search

I am starting to feel like this might be a dysfunctional episode of Blue's Clues--"The Search for the Big Van." Clue #1--make sure that the van you are driving almost 200 miles to go test drive with 5 kids at least has a valid Virginia inspection or at least is registered in the state of VA. Another tip--ask seller what his idea of EXCELLENT condition is. :O)

We had a super road trip with many children. This was the first time we attempted any sort of distance driving with the kids, so I was definitely hesitant. God provided a warm, but beautiful day that allowed us to pull over twice and picnic outside of the van. Alice, the lovely wife of the man who was selling the van was a grandma to 11 little ones, so had a swing set, lemonade, and SPONGE BOB cartoons! YIKES! The best part was that she didn't mind my children burning 4 hours of pent up van energy in her tiny single wide trailer. We managed to spend less than $30 on food and entertainment and there were no major incidences of any kind. That is unusual for us when it comes to traveling.

We covet van prayers. We know that God's provision is sufficient and we trust that he has the perfect van for our growing family. We are looking to spend no more than $6,000 on nothing smaller than a 12 passenger, no more than 85,000 and at least a 2000/2001.
I will post pictures once I find my camera amongst all of the trip residue that was once my kitchen.
Love,
Amy

Bathroom completed !!!!

We have a little list of things that we need to do to our home in order to rent it out within the next year and find a bigger home for our bigger family. Near the top of the list was replacing the bathroom floor. Small job, big difference. We were able to install some great sturdy vinyl tiles in one day for less than $30. Yay, for completing step one before baby's arrival.
The girls were more than happy to pose for the completed photo.

From the dumpster to my kitchen?

Saturday afternoon, Rich was driving past the local Long John Silver and saw that they were throwing away all of their old tables and benches. He managed to scrape together some odds and ends to piece together into a bench for our kitchen. Him and I reupholstered it Sunday afternoon and by Monday morning, the kiddos were eating breakfast on our new to us bench. There are still a few minor things that we need to do (including buying a new circle saw that was damaged during construction) in order to make it work, but for now, it has added a much needed extra seat at our kitchen table.
Thank you, Mr. Visionary.
Wife to a sweetie with big dreams.

Sweetest little girl

A whole year? Really? Is this fair? I look into her beautiful brown eyes and my heart aches at how fast time is passing. Truly, it has been a challenging year with the addition of baby Cheyanne. She has won the award for biggest handful of a baby. I look back and wish I could have found a way to enjoy it more. I adore this sweet girl and am thankful for the refining of my character that has occured because of her presence in my life. She is a true joy with her one lone dimple and toothy happy grin. Cheyanne Ever, you are cherished. Happy 1st Birthday, my little pixie.
Mama.

Simple

With a few flowers in my yard, half a dozen children, an amazing husband, a Sovereign Lord, and a good book, I live without envy.

Fabulous Finds

The kids and I were so excited to see a Friday yard sale advertised on our way home from grocery shopping. Usually the yard sales are on Saturday, so this was quite an early treat. We were blessed to find a clean and well organized sale. I was able to get quite a few pj outfits for the girls and a few V-tech educational toys. I do not buy toys often, but it is hard for me to pass up well made educational toys that promote passive learning. I bought all that you see for $14.00. Dante and I were adding up retail cost at lunch and figured it all to be about $175.00 worth of merchandise. It shocked me to find that they are charging no less than $14.99 for a pair of little girl's pajamas, so I was pleased to get these pairs for $1 a set. Living on a budget *can* be fun.

Precious People

It's not about breakfast in bed, although the omelet was AMAZING or the fresh flowers picked from the neighbor's yard :O), the ever so fluffy bathrobe, or the unique handmade cards, but it is about these precious people. These people that look like me and the man of my dreams. These precious people whose smiles can turn my day from gloom to sunshine are the reason my heart is happy today. I am truly unworthy to be so blessed with these heavenly gifts. I am humbled this Mother's Day to be in such a position, a position where I have the honor to spend each day with 5 of the most precious people I have ever met.
How I would like to honor my precious people..

Show the gift of love to my children through my actions. Disciple them, shepherd them and teach them the Word of God so they will teach about Him to the next generation. Do not treat them as a burden that gets in my way because they are our true gifts from God that truly make our lives rich. In a spirit of kindness, meekness, patience and joy, spend time with them for this is really what they want--not that toy I fretted over purchasing that will sit in the corner untouched for much of the year. Imprint on their hearts righteousness as I will be helping to save their souls from wicked ways. Teach them not to be drunk on entertainment and pleasure as the world is, but teach them to serve the Lord with their lives---be committed to giving my whole life to lovingly raise them. All these will be gifts that will last a lifetime and be passed onto my grandchildren and great grandchildren whom I might never see.

~June Fuentes, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

One of 6 reasons I LOVE being a mama

Bye Bye bathroom window

There has been this particular odor coming from the bathroom. I know. I know. Whose bathroom doesn't have particular smells? This was a moldy, dry rotty smell that was driving my heighten senses CRAZY. After sweetly asking my hubby to replace the window 1,000 times, he finally caved (the day before Mother's Day, mind you) and replaced his first ever window. He did a beautiful job and it is so refreshing to get that nasty 50 year old rotten window out of the house. We are hoping to work at replacing all of the windows during the next few months. Can you believe Lowe's charges an installation fee of $230 A WINDOW?? That is double the cost of the window. I guess sometimes when living within a budget, we are called to be brave in the area of home improving. We definitely have a lot to learn, but I look forward to the adventure...seriously.

Rainy Days

We have had more rain during the past month than I can remember ever having in the 6 years we have lived in VA. It is always challenging to make it through a day with 5 kiddos that are unable to burn energy outside. We ran across a nice card table that our neighbors were throwing away, so we decided to have fun with that this week and set up a tent in the living room. Nothing like free rainy day entertainment.

Amazing changes

Thought I would post a quick snap shot of our newest Miss Personality. Cheyanne has made enormous changes during the past month and it is hard to believe that she is almost a year old. She is mobile and loving life (as long as I am close).

Dante's 11th birthday

Dante decided he wanted to make his own cake. I was a bit hesitant to let him have at it, but was so glad that I resisted taking over. He DID a fabulous job designing and decorating his own horse cake.
We had a super day celebrating his life. We all went to church and Dante decided he wanted to have brunch at Cracker Barrel. He received quite a bit of money from friends and family and just had an all around great day.

Pulling Up

I feel like I should start Cheyanne her own blog. She has just amazed me over the past couple of weeks with her growth. She started crawling and sitting and yesterday began pulling up to a full standing position on anything she can reach. A bit nerve racking, but she is just totally content toddling around pulling up. The other children think it is fabulous. She is complete entertainment for them. "Look at Chey!"

Snaps of smiles

I wish I had NOTHING better to do all day than take snap shots of my babies. They are just the funniest little people. Rich wanted to do something alone with the littles and decided to take a walk to the local market to grab lunchmeat and cheese for school on Monday. I walk out into the carport and they are all wearing there little hats so that their heads do not burn. As you can see, Isabella was picking a snack for the road. (sorry, had to say it.) I have had a super long 2 days and these pictures have me belly laughing at the computer. Thought you all might get a kick out of them, too. I also included 2 of baby Chey growing still into a big girl. She is sitting on her own and she LOVES pat-o-cake. She will laugh a thousand times over.

Giggles

Elijah is just tickled that Cheyanne has gotten big enough that he can hold her. They were having a super time playing together on the kitchen floor while I was getting dinner ready the other night. It makes him feel so important to be able to "tend to Chey." Doesn't look like she minded either.

Resurrection Sunday Celebrations

I wanted to share a few of the traditions that our family enjoyed on the beautiful Resurrection Sunday. Just a few pics of our annual egg hunt that the kids look forward to. We had such a super time talking about all of the significant and heavy things that happened in this world so long ago. It is always nice to talk about the "sweetness" of what Jesus did for us and opportunity he has given us. The kids think it is great to "celebrate the sweetness" with candy.

We were given a recipe for Resurrection Cookies and it truly was such a fabulous way to make real the story of what we are celebrating on Resurrection Sunday. Dante read each corresponding Bible verse while helping to prepare the cookies.
All of the children beat a baggie of pecans that was symbolizing the Roman soldiers flogging Jesus. They tasted the salt representing the salty tears that Jesus shed, They smelled vinegar that was given to Jesus to drink and watched intently as Rich beat the eggs for 15 minutes to turn them white as snow. I could never cover all of the aspects of these cookies, but if you ever have the opportunity to do this, believe me that it is well worth it.
After mixing the batter and dropping mounds onto waxed paper, the children put the cookies into a warm oven and put pieces of tape over the oven door to show how Jesus' tomb was sealed. I told them that it was time to go to bed and you should have seen their faces. They were so sad that they were not going to get to try their cookies. I explained that this is how the Jesus' followers felt when his body was sealed in a tomb. They were so sad that they were never going to see him again, or so they thought.
The next morning, the kids removed the tape and were filled with joy at the idea of being able to eat cookies for breakfast. As they bit into the hollow cookies it was a great time to explain, once again, that people were very confused about finding Jesus' tomb empty. Although rejoicing was soon to come, it was still a challenging time.