Bubbles!

I have a schedule of upcoming blog posts (and I am behind) but I really wanted to share a couple of cute pics from today. Then I will return to the normal blogging schedule.

The three oldest girls were at a father/daughter retreat for the day so we decided to goof off and enjoy some bubbles.

Not everyone was impressed with the bubbles. We are working through some issues he is having with the great outdoors. Bubbles did not aid in this endeavor.

Sarah loved the bubbles. And the camera. Ready for the many faces of Sarah?

She cracks me up.

I think that was suppose to be a mad face? Giggle.

Adorable.

And Caleb, such a good big brother, pushed Sam around to keep him content.

And he blew bubbles so the girls could chase them.

Simple pleasures!

Sam..on a mission to the swings

Finally, I gave in and went the way of digital photography. And I love it. I admit it. It was a good change. I love being able to take 100 pictures and not worry about running out of film. I love being able to hand the camera to my children and letting them take a shot or two. No worries! We can delete any bad shots and keep taking pictures!

Caleb being a big brother and keeping a tired Sam occupied

There is a problem. Editing software. We can blur, smudge, brighten, crop our way to perfection. Guess what? Life isn’t perfect. And my pictures aren’t either. Once I cropped out the pile of laundry on the couch or the messy counter in the kitchen. But, who cares? That’s my life! Constant laundry. Constant cooking in the kitchen.

Goofy kids!

I want my children to look back at the photos and share some laughs. Laugh at the little sister that always popped up in a picture. Chuckle at spying a Dr. Pepper bottle at the edge of a picture. Or smile at the kiddo whose hair never seemed to be combed. Some of the most treasured moments could be edited out because they aren’t perfect. But they are real. And special.

Yep. They are mine.

So on Sunday, I caught a few special moments, some silliness and fun but most of all I captured beautiful memories. Imperfect, real memories.

Sarah and Me

Since this is my blog and I have freedom of expression, here are a few more…

Enjoying the coolness of a rainy afternoon.

As warm as it has felt some days, I really don’t want to have the a/c running yet.  It can get really toasty in our house.  9 of us home all day, baking, working, cleaning, etc. The temperature can rise quickly!

Thread that machine, babycakes!

In an effort to keep cool while not running up an insane electric bill, I assigned my girls to sewing. Rice bags. You can heat them up but you can also keep them in the freezer. We use them when needed for headaches or injuries. Now they are our personal cooling systems. PCS.

Snip, snip

Get a little warm while working on math? PCS!  Hot after playing outside? PCS! Breaking a sweat in the kitchen? PCS!

What? You don't have a PCS?!?!

The kiddos really enjoy having them at night when they head to bed. Thankfully we have enough so everyone can have a PCS with reserves in the freezer.

Martha chillin' with her PCS

How do you keep cool?

Happy kiddo thanks to a PCS

Note: Rice bags are easy to sew so they can be a great project for beginning sewers. My girls made some a few years ago as gifts. Rice bags make wonderful, inexpensive gifts!

(I forgot to take pics of the bags. Ooops! )

Girls..sunshine...paper dolls

I sit here thinking over the day. Thinking of a thing or two that I really need to work on with the kiddos. Thinking of what needs to be done tomorrow. Thinking of how I can improve the running of our day. Realizing that going to bed a bit earlier might help me rise a bit earlier. Giggle. I am a night owl. I gave birth to morning birds. Funny, huh?

Little Miss sporting a new look thanks to Big Sis.

My thoughts are rambling; jumping from one thing to the next. I truly enjoy my days. Even the rough ones. I am blessed to have a husband who works hard and enables me to be at home with our children. I find it hilarious that I am finally understanding Algebra. Homeschooling is so amazing that way. I love that as I was doing math corrections with the 7th grader and jokingly said, “What is 3 +2?”, that my 4 year old said, “3+2 is 5″. She was so proud of herself.

Big Brother ...he was so happy to have Little Miss sit with him.

There really is no purpose for this post. Except  to get these rambling thoughts out of my head before I go to bed. To reflect a bit over the day. Think a bit about what will come tomorrow. Hopefully not forgetting anything important. You know, things like turning the crock pot on the correct temperature for the yogurt. Yeah. That would be helpful. In the encouraging words of one of my children, “maybe you will do it right this time.” (Please know it wasn’t said disrespectfully at all; I don’t think the child even realized how that comment could come across, giggle).

Double Cuteness!

And so I will close…head to bed….enjoy an early morning cuddle with Little Miss as my man heads to work….and the day will begin.

What rambling thoughts do you have at the end of the day? Am I the only one who rambles to herself?

Don't you have frogs in your fridge?

Snoozing Sam

I love quiet time. I love to see those heavy eyelids finally give in to how tired his body really is. I love to hear the quiet whispering of the child who is reading on her own but still hasn’t mastered silent reading. I love the quiet giggles of the “old girls” as they enjoy a break from their work.

Horse-opoly, anyone?

Quiet time is the perfect opportunity to read aloud. Everyone can find his/her own spot and settled with paper and pencil and drift away to the exciting adventure awaiting them. I am blessed that even my older children still love a good read aloud.

My precious girls!

Quiet time happens after lunch. We eat, clean up and quiet time begins. The generally procedure is: find your spot and then you may read, write or draw. Alone. Quietly. However, sometimes I let them do a group activity but they have to stay quiet or they lose it. On this day, everyone wanted markers. It was also a day I couldn’t read aloud as I had some admin stuff to do for my reviews.

Creative and Quiet. A lovely combination!

So how did I get those little chatty girls to be quiet? Librivox. It is a great resource for when I can’t read aloud. I can find a book that isn’t readily available at the library and let them listen to it. On this day, they were listening to Buster Bear by Thorton Burgess. Sadly, our library doesn’t have Burgesses’ books so this works out great. They loved the story of Buster Bear! My older girls utilized Librivox on this day as well. A cell phone we no longer have coverage for is still used for a variety of things. On this day, the girls used it to listen to Pride and Prejudice on Librivox while they play their game.

Sarah Bear

And if you are a mom with children in a wide range of ages…everyone was either quiet or asleep. Yes! The baby napped during quiet time. It was so quiet in the house that if felt a bit odd. Giggle. Quiet time is about hour and a half. Perfect amount of time to take a break and get ready for the afternoon!

Little Miss so happy after her nap!

And just a note….Caleb wasn’t pictured because when he is able, he works with his dad. So on this particular day he was working. However, he spends quiet time either reading or building with Legos.

Do you have a quiet time? What does it look like at your house?

When I was a younger mom, the pregnancy weight just seemed to melt away as I slept. While I never quite got back down to my original weight, I was close. Close enough, I told myself.

Then I had a few more kiddos and I was, amazingly, a few years older. I also had become a bit lazy. Now, before you shake your head at me, it was all for the greater good. Yes. I had little people who wanted to help. They needed purpose. They needed to keep their hands busy. They had energy to burn! As a good mother desiring to train her children, I allowed them to run and get me this. Run and get me that. It was a beautiful thing. Except. I got a bit lazy.

Then I realized that, hmm, I wasn’t as in shape as I use to be. I gave out of breath a bit quicker. Skirts were needed in a new size. A larger size. I had failed to take care of myself. I assumed that I would continue to sleep and have the pounds just melt away. The muscle would just tone up all by itself. Yes. I was living in a dream world. I was lying to myself. And I was not taking care of this body the Lord has given to me.

It wasn’t just about the extra pounds or the larger skirt. It was more about what I’m choosing to put into my body. Things that I know are harmful, that increase my risk of certain health issues. There is nothing wrong with having a treat now and then. Sadly, self control is not my strongest character trait. It is about being able to keep up with my children. It is about setting an example for them of a healthy lifestyle.

I think and talk often about making changes. This morning the Lord would not let me get it off my mind or push it away until later. So I grabbed my shoes, looked up the timing for c25K and headed for the track. This is where the crazy part comes in. It isn’t crazy to drink more water, have a salad instead of fries or even head to the track. The crazy part is me running. I once loved to run. I was once under 100lbs, lol. I was once young. But I’m doing it. Yep. Call me crazy but I’m doing it. Getting healthy. Getting in shape. Getting energy to race my children around the track.

Praying my joy of running comes back quickly. Hoping I’m setting a good example to my girls to take care of themselves even while they are young. No need for them to have this struggle, right?

And along with my thoughts of my craziness, my friend, Chautona has a wonderful post for young moms. Check it out.

13, 11(almost 12), 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and almost 3 months!

Personally, I prefer to be behind the camera. However, I know it is important to my family to have snapshots of me as well. I am learning to get over my vanity and say “cheese”.

My two right hands.....

The ones that still look up to me.....hee hee

If you are a mom, is very likely that you spend most of your time taking the pictures. Most days if we are spending the day at home, I might just have a ponytail, some baby drool on the shirt and chocolate on my skirt. Or I could be surrounded by answer keys, laundry and Little People toys. Not exactly a photo moment, eh? Or is it? What a treasure to be able to look back at snapshots of the everyday moments and remember the joy of those busy, chaotic days!

My little people

Grab the camera, pass it a kiddo and say “cheese”. Even if there is a chair in the background that your son used to help him reach a branch and didn’t put it back where it belonged. Even then…

And a bonus shot….we needed a quick family photo so we set the timer on the camera and…

The Tribe

(Just a note..the deck has two levels. Eddie and I were on the lower level. No weird growth patterns going on in the family.)

I smile. Broken crayons, stray Legos, and missing pencils.

Sisters, math lessons and runny noses.

In the quiet, at the end of the day….I love my life. Thank you, Lord for making me rich beyond measure.

No, really it has been wonderful!

Listening to girls play paperdolls, I overhear:

“Oh, what a glorious day!” Please insert a British accent with a touch of southern twang.

***

A son doing a picture study and writing a description. He duly noted what he felt was inappropriate dress in his writing. Good work, young man.

***

I walk into the living room and find that two loads of clothes have been put away by my sweet Mary. I recommend everyone have a Mary.

***

And Bekah turned 13 on Tuesday the 31st. (More to come on that!) A friend blessed her with a huge chocolate bar yesterday. (Now that is one sweet friend!) Bekah brought the last piece to me. Just because I’m her mom. I didn’t even know she had the chocolate bar so I had not begged or anything. Giggle.  And she is all mine. A girl who shares chocolate is a life long resident in my home. The end.

We are just hitting lunch time. I can’t wait to see how amazing the rest of my day is!!

As I was requesting books for our history readings, I remembered a book that I enjoyed as a young child. I recalled memories of reading it to my two oldest children. Had I ever shared this literary treasure with my current little ones? I didn’t think so. This situation had to be remedied!

The Monster at the End of This Book…ok, so it isn’t exactly a literary masterpiece and some would consider it pure twaddle. However, I can’t read it without smiling and laughing. It must be read with much emotion and drama. I love this book!

And guess what? By page 2, everyone around the dinner table was loving this book. It is just a cute, fun read that makes you smile. I loved after dinner listening to my 6 year old read it with great dramatic flair.

Variety is a good thing so from twaddle to reality we go…

What had everyone gather around (and on) the table?

What the World Eats takes you on a tour of what different families around the world eat. From California to Africa to Asia….from middle class families to refugee camps…pictures, graphs and more about what people eat and how it compares in cost in American dollars.

(I almost caught her!)

The children learned so much about how blessed with are with the food we have available to us. To see the family at the refugee camp with so little….we truly are so blessed! They also decided that they didn’t really want to visit the area that had cow stomachs or roasted guinea pigs.

I was pleased to see them searching for the areas that had lots of fruits and vegetables. I will admit that we would get a bit excited to recognize a Snickers bar in a foreign language! We were also shocked at how much packaged food one country had. From the 2 year old and up, someone is constantly flipping through this book. I didn’t think it would be that big of a hit!