2013

January is almost over, and this year is promising to be full of new things.

#1- New Job  Chuck left last night for truck driving school.  As much as we hate to be apart, this seemed like our best option.  It seems sudden, but we've talked about this for a long, long time.  Which leads to...

#2- New Not-Job  Hopefully very soon I will be able to put in notice at work.  I already had to quit my part-time position with Mental Health because scheduling conflicts prevented me from getting enough hours to justify the drive.  The full-time job has been wrong for me from Day One, so I am excited to quit.  Even more, I am very excited to be "just a mom" again.  Everybody has done a really good job keeping things going since I've been working full time, but I have ideas for things I want to change and improve.  It just can't hurt to get more housework done.

#3- New Baby  This one we still have a while to wait for.  Our baby #8 is due mid-June; on Father's Day, actually.  I am 20 weeks today, so halfway done.  I'm feeling pretty good.  Hopefully there will be some ultrasound pictures to share after Tuesday.

That's not everything, but those are the main things.  It feels like we just gotta get through the next few weeks, and then hopefully things will be easier and better for all of us.

God bless!

Today's Dilemma

How do you clean up Vaseline off the toddler, the floor, a table, and a small toy phone?

Mary Mae is going to have the softest hands and arms ever.

Back to Blogging

I mean it... I'm seriously going to continue updating more regularly from now on! ;-)

First, some good news... Chuck has found a job working at the local car dealership/garage; he starts tomorrow. We are so relieved! I will continue working at the restaurant for now, depending on how well we can juggle schedules. Hopefully this will give us enough to squeak by. Thank you, Jesus, Amen!

All the children are doing well, staying healthy, working and playing lots, and growing like weeds! Robert celebrated his 14th birthday last week We are so proud of him, happy birthday, honey! Our next birthday will be in September when Mary Mae turns two. All my babies are growing up too quickly. :-)

We have enjoyed a very cool, comfortable summer so far. Actually, I can hardly bring myself to consider this summer! I don't think we've had a day above 90* so far, and many days we don't get out of the 70's. So far today our high is 68, and it is already after 3pm. We're enjoying it, but our garden not so much. We've got some plants that may yet do okay, but there's really no hope of getting peppers or cukes this year. Most of the other seed we planted didn't even germinate at all, not even the lettuces. :-( BUT we've got a few good-sized rows tilled that we can keep weeding, then mulch over really well this fall to use as potato beds next season. I figure that any time and effort we put into the garden is not ever wasted, because of the experience we gain. For example, I've decided that trying to grow veggies is pretty much pointless unless I can figure out a place to start the plants indoors ahead of time.

Today Chuck and I finished Day 51 of our 90-day exercise routine. I'm so proud of us! :-) Out of those 51 days we've only missed four... I'm just amazed that we're doing as well as that! For July we logged a total of 1,693 minutes. My YTD is 6,060. I'm more than two-thirds of the way to my goal already! :~D Chuck and I have both definitely noticed major improvements in the last eight weeks. When we did the Day 1 exercise we were both huffing and puffing before the end of the warm up. Neither of us are even close to being in "athletic" shape BUT we have both gained strength, endurance, and flexibility.

That's all the update I have time for right now. It's dinner time. God bless you all, please say a prayer for us, too.

I'm Still Here!

I think it is funny that my last blog update was on April Fools' Day. Ha!

We are all doing well, we've just been so busy. I'm only getting on the computer every couple of days, and when I do it's only for a minute. Quite a change from a year or so ago when I'd sit at the computer any time Mary Mae needed to nurse, several times a day!

As of yesterday, Chuck has been home for exactly three months. Every once in a while one or the other of us will have an attack of doubt and worry, but for the most part we encourage each other right out of it. Lord help us if we ever have an attack at the same time! ;-)

Well, since I last updated we went and got a pair of dairy goats. Cocoa is a 4-year-old Alpine and Lily is a 2-year-old Toggenburg. They are both sweet as can be, very well behaved as far as goats go, and they are giving us about 5 quarts a day of the sweetest, yummiest milk we've ever had! We've also increased our chicken flock to 40-some hens. Not all of them are laying yet (the younger ones) but we're getting around two dozen eggs a day. We've put up signs to start selling eggs... only sold one dozen so far, but gotta start somewhere. Now if we could just get the garden in it would feel like a "real" homestead around here.

All the kids are well, staying healthy and spending as much time as possible outside. They only come in these days to eat and sleep, and even then they come in reluctantly. ;-)

There really isn't that much to share as far as news goes. Our little lives in the North Woods just goes on, day by day, one way or another. God is so very, very good to us. I cannot begin to tell all the little ways in which He has blessed us these last few months.

I'm posting this message with a bit of haste and a lot of love... God bless you all!

Have you ever found a Lego imbedded in an onion?

Neither have I.

Until today.

To-Do!

I am always amazed at the "power" of having a To-Do List. Some days I feel organized, productive, and in control. Other days I feel like I'm spinning my wheels- working frantically and getting nowhere. Most often the difference is in whether or not I have a clear plan for the day, and keeping that plan written in the form of a check-off list really helps me. When there is nothing on my to-do list, that is exactly what I accomplish.

This week I've printed off our To-Do List and kept it on a clipboard on my desk so that all the kids can follow it with me. Keeping the list on the computer makes it easier to update daily; since so many things are the same day after day I do not have to write out a completely new list every day. Not everything I do is on the list, but the major things are all there. Here's a peek at our list for today:

• Morning Prayer
• Morning Routine (dress, make bed, etc.)
• Animal chores, snow shoveling, fill wood box, outside chores
• Breakfast and Kitchen Chores
• Start sauna fire
• Lessons
• Mid-Day Prayer
• Exercise
• Animal chores
• Dinner and Kitchen Chores
• Free Time and sauna
• Evening Prayers
• Animal chores
• Clean living room and zones
• Supper and Kitchen chores
• Story Time
• Bedtime prayers
• Brush teeth, call Daddy, and go to bed!

Lately we've been getting started with our day around 9:00 in the morning, and the kids have been going to bed by about 10:00. I stay up until at least midnight lately, but staying up later and sleeping later seems to work best for all of us anyway.

Now we will have to see how this works when Chuck is home again. If all goes well (and please pray that it does!) he will be home tomorrow. Yes, things always change with his work schedule at the last minute, but it is a pleasant surprise this time! It can be quite a challenge to switch back and forth from "Daddy's gone" mode to "Daddy's home"... it is a challenge I really don't mind, though!

God bless!

Quite a Weekend

We had a good weekend, for the most part. And the parts that weren't good were, let's just say, memorable.

After Mass yesterday evening, while we were cooking and getting ready to head out for the All Saint's Day party, the back window to our "new-to-us" car got busted out. There's no reason to explain exactly what happened; those involved have apologized and been forgiven. But, because of the incident we missed the party on Saturday. That was a big disappointment for all of us. And I am, once again, without wheels until it is fixed.

Fact is, I was rather proud of that vehicle. It is so much nicer than the van we had been driving, by far the most "luxurious" car we've ever owned. God sure knows the fastest and surest way of putting me back in my place! Chuck and I had a good opportunity to talk about what happened and how we handled it. The damage to the car is fixable, and the lessons learned will hopefully benefit each of us personally for a long time to come. God is good!

Chuck had to leave for the early-morning flight today. The time he is home always goes too quickly. (Do I say something like that every time?) He will be in Texas, probably from now until they send him home for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! I can't believe but it is almost time to start planning for the holidays...

God bless!

School Days

Everyone was hard at work today....

...even our youngest pupil. (I swear I did not pose her like that!)

Mother's Daily Dose of Humility...

... in three easy steps.

#1- Suddenly notice a particularly large stain on the side of your skirt.

#2- Discover that the stain is, in fact, baby poop.

#3- Realize that the stain almost certainly had to have been placed on your skirt before you wore said skirt to church.

A 'brilliant' plan gone awry...

My stroke of genius for the day was to not allow Mary to nap today until we were on our way to Mass this evening. I figured she would conk out in the van and be too wiped out to even wake up when we got there, finally giving me a Mass of blessed peace and quiet.

Wrong!

She woke up when we were getting her out of the van, and would not go back to sleep despite me sneaking downstairs twice to try to nurse her to sleep. (Yes, *gasp* our little darling is still happy and doing well with her mother's milk.) Thanks to being overtired she was even more "vocal" than normal and resistant to my attempts at restraining her on my lap. So, not only did I not get peace and quiet during Mass, I cheated myself out of her usual nap time at home. There's a mistake I will not repeat next weekend!

Mary's First Year

Here she was at just a few hours old...

First smiles, at about 2 months old...
Where did her hair go!? About 5 months old...

Mary and her Little Lamb are now world-famous! about 9 months old...
And here she is, one year old. Happy birthday to you, baby girl. I thank God every day for the smiles and joy you bring to our family.

Back to School

I put it off as long as I responsibly could; the children and I went back to our "school" routine today. It went well, but even on the best of days I am still outnumbered six-to-one, each of those six often requesting my undivided attention. Just when I settle on the couch to snuggle and read with Joseph, that's when two or three other children need help or redirection RIGHT NOW.

Homeschooling is not always easy, and there are certainly days when I wonder if I can do it another year- even another minute. But then I think of the school bus that whizzes by at 7:30 in the morning and doesn't show back up until 4:30 in the afternoon. I can't imagine how stressful it would be on the kids to "work" a nine-hour day, five days a week, 36 weeks a year. So one answer to the "why do you homeschool" question is that I value those 1,620 hours a year too much. Their childhood is so precious and fleeting, and I don't want to miss out on so much of it.

This evening when it was almost time to call the children in for evening chores, our neighbor came by with the exciting news that he had got his bear. He's been baiting for a month, waiting all week, and today the hunt was successful. He wanted to know if Robert and Daniel could come out with him to see it and help bring it in. What a pity if I would have had to say "no" because of homework or an early "school night" curfew! Why do we homeschool? Because it gives us the freedom to take advantage of every possible opportunity for real life learning. Any child can see a bear in a zoo, but not many get to see a bear that close and watch it be field dressed! (This is where living in the country and homesteading is an added benefit- science gets up close and personal!)

A significant part of the older children's schedule involves service for one another in the form of chores or spending time with their younger siblings. It is thrilling to me, as a parent, to see the genuine joy and excitement on their faces as they help Mary take her first wobbling steps. I love to hear them playing with each other, saying such things as "please" and "thank you" and "you can go first" and "I'll help you". Sure, there are not-so-nice moments, too. But even these present valuable opportunities to practice repentance and forgiveness- two essential building blocks of any relationship. This is a third reason why we homeschool; there is no question as to whether or not family comes first for them.

I am so grateful to God for blessing us with the ability to homeschool. It is truly a gift! (Somebody remind me of this post in March when burn-out sets in! *grin*)

Mary's Milestone

Not even quite a year old yet, but Mary is officially a toddler!

A Strange Question

Dad, doing a double-take in the direction of the living room: "Where did the couch go?"

Labor Day

We observed Labor Day and celebrated the end of summer with a lot of work, good food, and fun. We cleaned out the garage this morning, and Chuck and the kids split a bunch of wood this afternoon. We had a "summer feast"- hamburgers, homemade french fries, salad, watermelon, and homemade ice cream that ended up being slush but we ate... er, drank it anyway. It still tasted good!

I absolutely love these days where everyone works together so nicely; even the little boys did their kitchen chores without complaint and helped with stacking the fire wood. The garage is cleaner than it has been in a long time. I think we've learned to avoid ever storing hay in the garage; the stuff gets everywhere especially when you have kids in charge of feeding the sheep! But it really is one of those days I need to hold on to. God is good!

I simply cannot believe it is September already! We will be celebrating Mary Mae's first birthday in a little less than three weeks. Where has the last year gone?

God bless!

Happy Anniversary

Thirteen years ago we said "I do". Eight years ago we said "I do" again. May God grant us many more years together. I love you very much, and I thank God for our family every day.

convalidation ceremony, July 15, 2000
St. Thomas the Apostle Church, North Charleston, SC

She'll Always be Our Baby

Our daughter, Hope, was born sleeping on July 8, 2006.

I've sat here for almost 30 minutes now- typing and backspacing, but there are no words. If you have lost a baby, you already know. And if you haven't, I pray that you never find out.

Happy Angel Day, Hope. We all miss you very much...

Finally Summer!

The first day of summer for most of the United States is tomorrow, June 20. But we had our first "unofficial" summer day today.

We borrowed our neighbor's canoe and went to Courtney Lake. While out on the lake, Chuck and the younger boys saw a bald eagle swoop right past them to pluck a fish out of the water. We fed some bread to some sea gulls and a chipmunk. There were swarms of mosquitoes, but not too many biting flies, thankfully. Robert, Raechel, and Daniel caught a few fish while there, but none large enough to keep.

I'm sure Chuck will be putting some pictures up this evening. He's outside playing with the kids: they are playing baseball. What else?

God bless!

Laundry, Laundry, and More Laundry

At least I don't have to beat them against a rock....

Daniel's First Communion

It was an absolutely beautiful weekend. The Mass for Daniel's 1st Communion went so well! Chuck put up some pictures over at his blog. click here At bedtime that evening Daniel told me he couldn't wait until next weekend, so he could receive his second communion. What precious faith!