Great Life

Can you believe she is 10 weeks old!! My how time flies by so fast. She is the sweetest little angel God could have given me. She smiles, eats great, sleeps great and is such a pleasure. Thank the Lord she grew out of her little colic stage, not quite sure I could have handled anymore!

Here is Mady swinging, she spends many, many hours swinging!
Our 2 year old and now 7 year old...they are too fun together!

Being silly and having fun, it is what makes the day go by.

Smiling for the camera. Our 5 year old. Time is passing quickly.

""Me mommy, me!" She always wants to see herself on the camera.

Drinking like a big girl.

It how dinner and housekeeping gets done. Wear a baby, free your arms...

You know I was wondering if we should have more children. Mady threw me for a loop. But I have to say I am ready for more. Now that the phase is over, I am right where God wants me. He has taught me a lot these past few weeks and revealed much about myself and where He wants me to go. It has been a journey and I am so glad for it.

Have a blessed day. Don't forget to pray.

Crazy School Daze!!

I am literally in a daze right now. I don't think I have every been so busy before in my life. We start school around 9am and don't get done till about 3pm or even 4pm because of how long some of the work takes to get done.

Whew! I am thankful to iron out a few bumps in the school work and our schedule. And just be able to be home and a mama. I love it. Even when I compalin I still love it! Though this school year has been extremely busy. A kindergardner, second grader, and a fourth grader, along with that a tenacious 2 year old and a beautiful 10 week old. Life is good, full of smiles and laughs, for the most part.

So if I seem a little dispondent you will know why!

Our Little "Other" Place

This weekend we spent our time at our "other" little place in the mountains cleaning it up and decorating. You will see before and after pics.

Here is the kitchen. Before

Kids/Guest Bathroom
Kids Bedroom

Living Room

Master Bath

Here are the afters:

Master Bath

Living Room

Kitchen

One of the kids rooms.

The Girls Room

This was a great time and busy time. The White Mountains are so beautiful and we look forward to making many memories here. We are also really excited to learn new home improvement projects as we try them out here...like I learned to hang blinds...that was fun and easy. So hopefully some new linoleum or wood floors, paint, some new faucets/mirrors, and yard, we should be ready to go like new!! We are so blessed. We have room if you want to come.:)

Learning Lesson

It is no secret that I have suffered through some form of depression with Mady being born. I wasn't sad that she was here, but extremely overwhelmed by her needs. And the fact that I had 4 older children that needed my attention as well, I didn't know how to handle all the different needs that each person had. I didn't know how to be joyful, happy, and content.

Instead, I focused on myself. All the things I was missing. Tattoos and drinks on the beach. (Don't worry I didn't get a tattoo). I was so selfish in my thoughts and my actions. I just wanted to be alone and not have anyone bother me, share my food with and just be.

I would read my Bible and it would go in one ear and out the other, it wouldn't stick and I couldn't remember a single thing. I would lay my head down to pray only to fall asleep and feel guilty for not even being able to pray.

But it is with the Lord's help that I have beena ble to overcome. My eyes are clean, my heart is focused on him. After 9 weeks I can almost say I feel normal. Am I ready to get pregnant again right now...well, that is not in my hands. We have so much selfishness built up in our hearts. But God didn't create us to be happy focusing on ourselves, but He did create us to be happy by pouring our lives into others. I forgot that. My focus was so centered on me that I forgot about what true joy and happiness is. It isn't me at all, but all the others that the Lord has placed in my life.

So with this lesson learned and probably still being learned, I am truly moving forward joyfully, happily and with much content. I hope that my story helps you in your journey wherever you may be in it.

God bless.

What we,ve been up to...

Life has been pretty normal. We went and spent the day in Pinetop-Lakeside. That was so beautiful, I could move there!!

Lauren and D walking together around the lake.

My mom, Emma and me with Mady in my Ergo...those are the best baby carriers, and I have had a lot!

My handsome husband carrying D. Isn't he cute. I love a man that wears glasses.:)


Me with Mady, I was trying to wave...

Okay, once you hit 7 you start loosing things and it isn't just your mind, it is teeth! Lauren has lost 3 top teeth in 2 weeks! I can't believe it.

School starts soon, so here we are getting ready!

Here is our school schedule to help us stay on track... not perfectly all the time, but a goal.

Three of my girls...Emma, D, and Mady.

D and Mady...

Aren' they cute!!!!

Life sometimes is a whirlwind. Between kids, geting ready for school, and ordering last items for the business. The days roll together into weeks. But once order is re-established with school, life will be pretty normal, I am excited.

This summer was hairy, the birth of Mady threw our whole world into chaos. There was excitement, no sleep, lots of disorder and a mom with no patience for any of it! The summer is almost over and I can almost smell the crisp fall air!

God Bless!

A New Business

Well we have started a small online business. It is a baby boutique called The Green Pampered Baby. You can visit us at www.thegreenpamperedbaby.com. Come and check it out!

Refreshing

I just had to post about my amazing morning! I have been walking/running each morning and during that time, praying. It has been just what I needed to snap out of my downward spiral. I am a very emotional feeling person and I need that. It is the way the Lord created me. So when I feel distant from the Lord it is very hard on my heart and most times I feel like I am just going through the motions. But as I was running and confessing my sins, I just told the Lord what was on my heart. Toward the walking portion of my walk it began to rain, oh it was so beautiful and I felt as though the Lord was washing me, cleansing me of my sin and guilt. Making me new in His sight. It was incredible. I pray that everyone will have a cleansing experience with the Lord and be made new again!

God bless.

School Daze

Many mom's are so excited as the school year is fastly approaching. Many mom's are out school supply shopping, clothes and shoe shopping, and making sure that all is in order before the big yellow bus greets their little one on the corner.

Well, for us homeschool mom's it is a little different. Most of our time is spent planning and preparing, then getting organized and finally the first day arrives, but not with an empty house, but with a full house, of children excited at their new books and supplies.

We haven't been homeschooling long (for about 4 years) but it has been chocked full of lessons and things that make my life easier. So in this post I will share what works for us.

Lesson Plan Notebook:
Each year when the new school year starts I type out what I would like each child to accomplish each day. I never date it because if we don't have school on that day, it throws us off, so I just say Day 1, Day 2, etc. We have a 4 day school schedule, leaving Friday to catch up, P.E. or just to clean up and hang out. This notebook is organized by child's subject and I just cross off each day that is done. Moving on to the next. It makes life very easy for me.

Early First Day of School:
I now have the first day of school a week early! We discuss what is planned, go through the lessons, and what is excpected. That way when the real first day of school begins, they already know what to expect. I will also take pictures and have a special breakfast (usually donuts and hot chocolate.)

Spiral:
Any books that are soft bound but aren't 3 hole punched or spiral bound I head to Kinko's and have them spiral bind them. It makes turning pages easier and allows for pages not to be ripped out of books as easily.

All Year School:
Sounds crazy, but with my summer being crazier, this will be the last year we don't have some school during the summer. It is hot in Arizona anyway, so when they are done with one book we will just move on to the other books with a 2 week break in between. That way I am sane and there is a little more organization in my life. (And I like that.)

Our Curriculum:
Christian Liberty Press
Rod and Staff
Easy Grammar
Math U See
Apologia Science
Christ Centered Curriculum


Hope this helps anyone else who is interested, I know I really love reading about how others get school together.

God bless....

How many???

After having Mady life changed...a lot! I am still adjusting to life and God has revealed to me a lot of my own selfishness. Now don't get me wrong, I think that a woman, wife, and mother should and must have time for herself to be able to recoup and just rediscover herself. It is so easy to get lost in the daily grind and miss out on who God created you to be.

Many people I know feel that children are a blessing, and indeed they are, however, I am wondering where in the Bible it is commanded that you have children till you can't anymore? To be honest in my quest I found nothing that states that at all.

So, here I am wondering if I am done, should I be done and scared to death at the moment of another pregnancy. I want to enjoy so much the blessing the Lord has given me, I want to smile and laugh, be joyful and funny. Right now I don't have that. If we add another one I don't know what kind of mother I will be. I don't want to be harried or frumpy, I don't want to be grumpy and too busy to build and nuture relationships. When you wake up in the morning not joyful, then you have to re-evaluate your situation and come up with a solution.

I feel that for me, God didn't give me the multitasking ability when it comes to juggling a large family. I personally, physically and emotionally can only handle so much. What is important to me is to be a good steward with what the Lord has given to me.

Many people have thier convictions and it becomes a problem when you take on other's convictions and they are not your own. I want the Lord to direct me and I want to honor Him and His Word.

I hope this helps anyone else in this situation or even thinking about it. I don have some wonderful scripture and study notes that I can pass on from my wonderful Pastor if anyone is interested just let me know.

God Bless