I love you Grandpa.

I have so much to say but not enough time.  This past week has been a very trying week.  We've had a lot going on with day to day family stuff and little additional stressors here and there.  But last Tuesday my grandpa was put into hospice care.  My dad flew out to Nebraska and was able to spend his last days with him.  Grandpa left this earthly world on Monday December 5th.  I am so thankful that I will be able to see him again, but it is still hard.  I hadn't seen him in years and I had not made as much of an effort on my part to build our relationship.  I had never taken my kids to Nebraska to meet him either.  It sucks.  I've dealt with a lot of guilt over the past week.  I am happy that he isn't in pain anymore.

That helps.

I love you Grandpa.  Forever and always.

I love Fall

I love the crisp mornings of Fall.  I love the beautiful reds, oranges, yellows, and browns of Fall.  I love the crisp smell in the air.  I love waking early in the morning, sitting outside with my coffee and smelling fireplaces warming homes.  I love the kids playing in leaves.  I love sitting in our hot tub in the evenings and allowing the hot water to soothe my day's frustrations away.  I love the smell of apple cider, pumpkin muffins, chili, and corn bread on any given day.

I love snuggles with my babies after they have woken up or played outside and need to get warm.  I love having coffee (decaf) in the cool evenings with my 7 year old and listening to him share his heart.  I love seeing my mums in bloom in my flower beds.  I do not love seeing only half of my mums because the other half has been defeated by a runaway basketball.  I love watching football games---even if my Colts aren't doing too hot this season.  I love throwing a football around with my boys and watching my kids play games of basketball in the driveway.  I love watching the beautiful Egrets and the Blue Herons fly into the marsh and fish for their breakfast.  

I love seeing that this list could last forever, but I must end it so that I can get ready for school and teach the ones I LOVE the most!  Have a fantastic day!

The Love & Respect Experience

I was very excited to get Dr. Emerson Eggerichs book, The Love & Respect Experience in the mail this past week.  It is a 52 week devotional.  The front of the book says, "A Husband-Friendly Devotional that Wives Truly Love" and I couldn't say it any better myself.  My husband and I have been talking about finding a devotional for the two of us and this really seems to fit what we have needed.  

The design of the book is to not make the husband or wife uncomfortable at all.  Dr. Eggerichs suggests reading a chapter a week.  In that week you are to meditate on it and allow God to speak to your heart.  In some cases it may be difficult to talk about much more and that's alright.  As you feel comfortable, you should share with your spouse---as a woman, I know I'll probably do more sharing than my husband.  

Some may look at a title such as The Love & Respect Experience and be turned off due to the name, but there is so much to learn from this book!  The Bible tells us that men are to love their wives and in return wives are to respect their husbands.  That has been lost in our culture today.  If a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church then the wife *should* have no problem respecting her husband.


I know in our marriage, there are times when respecting my man is a little difficult, but in the end it's worth it.  There are so many great insights in this book and for couples that want to grow closer to the Lord and closer to one another then pick up this book!!!  And while you are at it, buy one for another couple.

This book was sent to me free of charge from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

My babes

I've decided that as much as I love the banner picture of my babes, it's time to update it with a new one....Considering this pic is about 3 years old.  I can't believe that they are all so big now.  Where does the time go?  It seems like just yesterday they were running around my feet and we were starting our family.

When Brad and I got married, Haeley was 4, Jasmine was 3, and Gabe was 2!!!  Justin and Benjamin weren't even on the horizon.  And now, Haeley is 13, Jasmine is 12, Gabe is 11, Justin is 7, and Benjamin is 6!  As crazy as it may sound, I miss the days of diapers, bottles, middle of the night feedings, and cranky teething babes.  I miss the sweet feel of a babe sleeping on my chest.  I miss the times of simply staring into my baby's face and declaring my love for them.  Now, when I stare at their face they think I'm crazy and they leave before I'm able to profess my deep undying love for them.  :)  

But I love the conversations I get to have with my babes now.  I love Haeley and I talking and growing closer as Mom and daughter.  I love seeing their personalities blossom.  I love seeing them victorious over previous struggles.  I love their creativity and seeing them love on one another.  I love listening to them pray and seeing them learn more about the Lord.  I love seeing them not only learn about the Lord, but putting their faith in Him too.

It's a good life and I don't want to take my babes for granted for one more day.  I want to cherish each moment that I have with them.  The good moments and the ugly ones too.  

The Roller Coaster Begins Again

I think I've mentioned that Brad's job situation has not been great and he's been pursuing other options.  A couple of weeks ago we received a job offer.  Brad and I had discussed this job in length and he accepted the job.  Golly it was a hard decision.  But I know it was the right one and so much has been revealed to me in the past couple days that has further confirmed that it was definitely the right decision.

We closed on our house here January 29th of this past year.  It was quite the adventure us moving from IN to VA.  Brad was in VA and the kids and I were in IN until our house was ready to be put on the market.  The kids and I have been back in VA for about a year now.  We all moved in with Mom and Dad for about 3ish months until we closed on our house and were ready to move in.  We gutted the living room and kitchen and made it beautiful.  We took the carport and turned it into a great garage.  We replaced the wood around our hot tub and were able to get it up and running.

And now all of that will be for another family.  

Brad's new job is in Richmond.  He will be commuting for awhile and spending some of the time at my aunt's house.  I'm very thankful for Aunt E opening up her home and taking him in for this period of time.  In the meantime, we get to put a new roof on our house, put some new windows on and make the big decision---Do we rent or sell?

We love our house and selling would absolutely break our hearts, but we need to be together as a family.  And we need a down payment for another house.  So...here we go again.  Decisions that are hard, separations that are harder and circumstances that sometimes seem so insurmountable that it makes my head spin.  And yet through all of this, it doesn't take too much to cheer me up.  One of the very best cheer ups.......This:

Without a doubt this face, those little eyes, those arms that wrap so tightly around my neck, and that sweet little boy can cheer me up in an instant.  My babies will help me get through this time.  We will hold tightly to each other once more.  We will grow closer as a family and we will start over in a new place again.  

School minus my school room

This year has not been my traditional schooling year.  With having my nieces here I have to be a bit more scheduled and disciplined in my school day.  We stay in our schoolroom and every one is at there designated spot.  It is very much like your classroom setting.  This week I've had some sickies in my house and due to that we have not had school at my house.  I got my SIL set up with everything she needed and let her do all but Monday on her own.

As much as like having them over I really enjoyed just schooling my kids.  We did school in the living room---not our school room!!!  We stayed in our jammies.  We did school on the couch.  We didn't start until 10 some mornings--11 on others.  And Thursday we didn't do school at all!  I had a bunch of errands I had to get done and by the time I got home at 3:30 I was POOPED!  Today was so much fun.  Typically my girls are in a completely different room than we are and I have to run back and forth between everyone.  But today, we were all in the living room and dining room and I could see everyone without needing to go upstairs and through 2 other rooms to get to them.  

We sat on the couches and lounged around a bit, but we got our work done.  I loved our day.  I loved getting to sit around and not be confined to our schoolroom.  Next week we will go back to the day to day routine.  I pray that we are able to easily go back to the routine and that I am able to enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed my past week (minus the sickies).

A Funny for you

'Nuff Said.

But....I tried this on my children.  The older three responded and ran outside laughing.  Justin stood there staring at me like I was crazy.  He had on only underwear and didn't understand what a "Fire Drill" was all about.  I tried being serious and I said, "JUSTIN!  It's a FIRE DRILL!!!  You have to go outside RIGHT NOW!"  He looked down and said, "But I only have on underwear..?"  I said, "That's why you should always have on clothes, you never know when we will have to have a fire drill."  Then he realized I was just being silly and tried to actually run outside in his underwear.  

Kitty Kitty

This here is "Kitty Kitty".  She has adopted our house.  I think a can of tuna and a piece of bacon may have helped her come to the conclusion that she likes it here though.  :)  She is a sweet little thing.  The kids are in love and if I'm honest I like her quite a bit too.  She's been here since Friday and has shown no desire to leave.  She staked her claim Friday night when another cat came in the yard and she chased that cat away.  Last night Brad and I went to the store and she was perched on the roof of the garage.  From what I can tell, she's not going anywhere.  Every morning she is at the back door or in one of the windows crying.  

This morning she was crying at the door in the rain.  It was pitiful.  Brad told me to call the Humane Society and see what they charge to have her spayed.  ;-)  Tomorrow she has an appointment at the vet at Petsmart so that we can have her checked out before investing a ton of money in her.  She really is the sweetest thing.  AND, where I initially thought Gabe was allergic to her, that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess that's a good thing, right??  So...I need some help.  "Kitty Kitty" needs a better name.  Everyone throw me some names so we can make a decision!!  :)

Stop and smell the Roses

The past couple weeks have been CRAZY!  It's been a good crazy, but crazy nonetheless.  :)  Monday I had my 5 kiddos and my 2 nieces to homeschool by my lonesome.  Usually my SIL is here and she is a lifesaver because she's pretty much taken over the 2nd grade.  But Monday she was in Roanoke with our MIL.  And if you know anything about it me you know that I don't let seemingly impossible tasks keep me down.  That's how I found myself going ahead and starting school at 8:30 Monday morning.

By about 10ish I was ready to pull my hair out.  It was all me and everyone needed me at the same time.  I gave everyone something to do and decided to take a little breather.  As I was walking around my house I saw one single solitary rose on our rose bush.  I went over and inhaled the most beautiful scent I think I ever have in my life.  I was instantly calmed downed and refreshed.

I look at how many times I run, run, run and do not take the time to stop and "smell the roses".  How often I ignore the beauty that God has placed right before me.  He knows the little things that help me get through the tough times and He lovingly places them before me and waits to see if I'm paying enough attention to Him.  I know I have a terrible habit of trying to do it all on my own without going to Him to help me through it.

E-Women Lynchburg

This past weekend, Melissa and I had our much awaited Women's Conference.  We drove to Roanoke to visit with our MIL a little before we headed back out to the conference.  I've been to Beth Moore Conferences before and the Indiana SBCV has put on several conferences and I was expecting something like one of those.  That was *not* what I experienced at this conference.

The theme this year is Everlasting Hope and this year's verses were taken from Isaiah 40:28-31.  "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble fall; but those who HOPE IN THE LORD WILL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH.  THEY WILL SOAR ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES; THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY, THEY WILL WALK AND NOT BE FAINT."  (Pardon the caps, but those parts really spoke to me.)

We had speakers and music that put this tender heart through the wringer.  :)  We had stories of complete tragedy and then the hope in the Lord that brought healing.  Julie Clinton was the conference host.  Our speakers were: Carol Kent, Lysa TerKeurst, Donna VanLiere, Jennifer Rothschild, and Sarah Palin.  Each of this women has had something/s tragic happen in their life that has made them sit back and evaluate where their Faith lies.  Carol Kent talked to us about James 1:2 (which is one of my all time favorite verses) and gave me quite a bit to think about.  Gosh, I wish I could get into what all of these speakers said, but it would take forever.  :)

I'll try over the next couple weeks to share what each of them shared that made me think.  :) :)  I think the biggest thing that I left the conference with was knowing that I have not been putting the Lord first in my life.  I've gotten upset and irritated with the way things are going in my life and I have allowed myself to distance myself from my personal walk.  I still go to church, and sing songs of worship...but I've not wanted to really talk with Him because I'm mad.  Mad might be too strong of a word.  I think the better word is heartbroken.  I'm heartbroken because of where it looks like our lives are headed.  (More on that later.)

Please join us in prayer that in this season of our life that we would allow the Lord to be glorified.  And please pray that I would desire to seek the Lord daily.  Thanks.