Date Night

because we have lots of kids

we want to make sure that they have some

special time

individually with just "us"

they get to have a "Date Night with Mom and Dad"

it is a special night for us all

they look forward to it

they get excited for each other when it is their turn

we rotate among school aged children in our family

we go out once a month

we go out to eat and then mom and dad pick an activity to do

all a surprise to them until we get there

the kids at home cannot wait until we get back and they get to hear about what "we did"

it is an extra expense

we squeeze it into our budget

because we know it is important for our family

Mackenzie at the Go-Kart Track on her Date Night.

Rock Wall Climbing on Taylor's Date Night.

Caleb's Date Night at the Arcade.

Date Night at the pottery store with Shaye.

WHO?

who do you want to be when you grow up

we are asked at a young age

how is a child suppose to know

who you want to be

until you live in the world

and you are responsible for you

you are an adult now and still searching for you

you are something

you carry the most profound title there is

you are a mother

no other profession can attest to the ability of growing a human

inside of them

feeding, nurturing, loving

you are a temple

a dwelling place

you have partaken in life's most precious miracle

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up,

but I know that I am already something

woman, you are a mother

Thumb Sucking

we have only had one thumb sucker,
and I have to say it was the sweetest thing ever,
the ability for child to passify self,
was a welcome advantage as well,

she spoke with a slurr,
because of the thumb sucking and such,
when we asked, "what are you doing?"
she would innocently reply, "I'm 'f'ucking my 'p'humb"

(please excuse the language)

Why is it?

Why is it that the people we love the most,

get to experience the ugliest sides of us?

Maybe because they love us so much,

they won't turn their back on us,

they will see us through thick and thin,

they see us at our worst, and at our best...

and they love us anyway!

Party Mix, Chex Mix, or Whadda ya call it?

My daughter was 3 at the time. We were gathered for a family celebration. She was enjoying her self standing over the bowl of chex mix and munching away. Along came my older cousin who was single and had no children. He saw how much fun she was having chomping away. He tried to engage in conversation with her, a little hesitant, not sure how to invite himself over to have some chex mix. So he asks, "What is your favorite part?" She replies without even looking up, "The penises (meaning peanuts)". My cousin turned beat red and didn't know if he should walk away, crawl under the table, or respond. She thought nothing of it, and continued munching away.

Moral of the story, don't add peanuts to your chex mix!

Avoidance

Avoiding things that need to get done...
Avoiding those that are close to me...
Avoiding those that anger me...
Avoiding reality...
Avoiding the one's I love...
Avoiding God...
Avoiding myself...

Where has avoidance gotten me?
To a pretty lonely place. It hasn't changed anything.

Only I can change this.

God, give me the strength to direct my time, strength, and attention to these areas in my life.

Black Shoes

Shoes...we have a lot of shoes. Some new, some old, some used, some "hand me downed". We more than likely have a shoe in every size by now! This can be our greatest blessing or our biggest curse.

As we were getting ready to go to the Christmas program a few years back, in a hurried rush of course, our 4 yr old at the time could not find her black shoes. As I am trying to get the younger kids ready to go, I keep telling her to get her shoes on. I have prompted her at least 3 times at this point. She is standing right by the shoe pile and exclaims, "I can't find MY shoes, mom". A little frustrated by now, I look across the room and see a black pair of shoes sitting right in front of her, so I bluntly tell her, "OPEN YOUR EYES and LOOK FOR THEM, THEY ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!

I hear nothing back, with a sigh of relief I glance over hoping to see her slipping her foot into her shoe, instead I see her with her fingers pressed to her eyes, pulling her eyelids apart as wide as they can stretch, and she shouts back, "I'm looking and STILL DON'T SEE THEM"!

Oh, my literal child. What a riot!

The joke WAS on me, the black shoes I saw were her younger sisters, after all.

Little Girl...

Little girl run and hide,
Of whom to be afraid?
The monster comes to vandalize,
The innocence of childhood.

Warm tears streaming down her face,
Of whom to be afraid?
You are bigger now and the monster is no where near,
Why then, is the fear still inside of this not so little girl?

The past is in the past, and let it be just that.
Of whom to be afraid?
Jesus wept His tears with you,
Jesus felt your pain...

Little girl don't run and hide,
Of whom to be afraid?
Little girl is grown up now,
She has found a better way to live.

Laughter IS the best medicine

WoW! It feels good to laugh! I seem to be so busy lately that I don't even take the time to laugh. I have the best comedians, the perfect joke tellers, the innocent mis-pronunciations, and the humble pranksters, all at my fingertips. Why don't I take advantage of laughter more often. It is quite disheartning for your child to say, "Mom, you are laughing". I need to show them more often that life is fun. We can be bitter or become better!

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE!

Hot Air Balloons

this was a 1st in my life
I have never had the privilege of watching
a hot air balloon fill to capacity
it was a 1st in my children's life, too
the excitement
the thrill
the dreams of youth
up...

up...

and away...

Happy Father's Day!

Husband,

Daddy,

Gahd-Gahd,

Friend,

Lover,

Hard - worker,

Student,

Provider,

Unique,

Determined,

Son,

Brother,

Uncle,

Grandson,

Nephew,

Man of God,

Faithful,

Devoted,

Doctor in training,

Special,

Caring,

Holds 7 hands,

Comforter,

Loves unconditionally...

Dad.

#'s

I have 1 God that I worship with all my heart

I have been pregnant or nursing for 13 years

I get to clip 160 nails (including mine!) every couple of days

I have 8 heads of hair that I get to trim

I have 14 adorable cheeks to smooch on

I have a 3 bedroom home

I get to teach 47 letters to spell my kids first names

I have been together with my husband for 15 years

I do approximately 14 loads of laundry a week

I run my dishwasher 10 times a week

I drive 6 hours to visit our families

I have 2 parents - a mom and a dad

I have 2 brothers

I have 1 sister

I have 5 nieces

I have 5 nephews

I have 7 children to get kisses and hugs from

I have 1 beautiful life

US...you and me.

If it weren't for us,

there wouldn't be you,

and if it weren't for you,

there wouldn't be me...

God knew what he was doing...

Keegan Lucas

Keegan is number seven. He is the "baby".
God knew he needed some size to him being the youngest of 7 and all. He was born 2 weeks early and weighed 10lbs 3ozs. He was 22lbs at 2 months old. He has weighed 30lbs since he was 6 months old. What a hunk of chunk to love on. It is the BEST!
He brings smiles to all of our faces and joy to each of our hearts. He has the cutest way of saying "huh" when called upon.
He loves to call everyone Tay-Tay, but will say each of the kids' names when prompted...except Dad. That sounds more like gahd-gahd. He loves to say MUUM!
Keegan loves music. He always keeps the beat by moving some part of his body.
He has the most adorable laugh.
Keegan is turning into a toddler. He goes everywhere and gets into everything.
Keegan has deep brown eyes and ringlet curls. He has the chubbiest legs and arms ever!

Keegan is so loved...and he knows it. It is the BEST!

I love you, baby!

Quinton Levi

Quinton is our sixth child.
He definately changed our family dynamic

having 4 girls and 1 boy before his birth.

Quinton is ALL BOY. He is busy.

Quinton loves all types of cars, planes, trucks, and trains.

He is an explorer and very inquisitive.

He looks for the details in everything.

Quinton is a jokester and makes us all laugh.

He loves his mommy and daddy.

He loves to help daddy and work with dad's tools.

Quinton has brought joy to our entire family.

We are thankful for his "busy-ness" each day!

I love you VERY MUCH!

Gabriella Laine

Gabriella is our fifth child and youngest daughter. She goes by Ella.
Ella Bella is full of sweetness. She has finally come out of her "haze" and been able to experience life. Gabriella has had epilepsy since she was 13 months old.
Ella is a charmer. She loves any and all men (this worries us a bit). She is sweet and kind. She is always looking out for her little brothers. She loves to "hold" baby Keegan, even though he outweighs her. She is a mother.
She is a girly-girl, and would not be caught without her purse, carrying inside her "goodies". The necessities like: lipgloss, make-up, cell phone, keys, sun glasses, more lip gloss, her money, AND if anyone can't find their stuff... Ella's purse is a good place to look. No wonder she keeps it by her side at all times!
Ella if full of spunk. We are ecstatic to see the little girl she is becoming. We are thankful that God blest us with her, seizures and all! Her smile brightens our day and her giggle warms our hearts!

I love you sweet girl!

Shaye Lyn

Shaye is our 4th child and better known as

"Princess Shaye Lyn".
Shaye is a very strong willed and fiesty young lady. She likes to be loud and silly.
Shaye has a good friend, the crow. When Shaye gets upset the "Shaye bird" comes to visit. We have to promptly invite Shaye to "spit" the crow out of her mouth. The crows where we live don't say "CAW-CAW" they say "SHAAAYE-SHAAAYE".
We were blest with a beautiful baby girl at a time when we didn't see anything positive. Shaye was a blessing in our lives at a very trying time. She continues to bless us and keep us on our toes daily. Shaye takes everything literally and loves life. She is a good helper and enjoys playing with her younger siblings.
Shaye's favorite song is:
Shaye Lyn, Shaye Lyn, Mommy loves you,

Shaye Lyn, Shaye Lyn, Mommy cares...

I love you sooo much and I care deeply!

Caleb Logan

Our third child, first born son, Caleb, is a great kid!

He has challenged and tested us. He has forced us to stretch outside of our comfort zone.
Caleb is a kind, caring and compassionate young man. He has a love for people.
Caleb tested our faith, when we had no answers. Caleb has made us stronger.
He has shaped the type of doctor we will be and practice we will have.
Caleb is helpful and full of energy.

He takes his birth order (between 4 sisters) in stride.

He likes to be the "man of the house" when dad is gone.

We were thrilled when we found out we were having a son. We are proud of the unique and individual child he is. He is very special.

I love you to the moon and back 100 times!

Taylor Lenae

Taylor, our second born is a spunky young lady.
She has a beautiful smile. She has the gift to smile about anything...she always has. Taylor has smiled since birth.
She is an awesome soccer player. Taylor strives to make everyone happy. She is determined. Taylor loves her family. Taylor works hard at anything she sets her mind to.

We were ecstatic when we learned of her...then devastated, believing she would not be with us...she surprised us all.

I love her for the wonderful, creative child she is. I thank her for teaching me laughter and joy.

I love you more than you'll ever know!

Mackenzie Leigh

Mackenzie is our oldest daughter and first born.
She is wise beyond her years.
She has a love and passion about her that
radiates her being. She is a perfectionist.
She loves to buy new things.
She is an excellent and gifted student.
She has a beautiful voice and talent.
She entered our life before we dreamed,
but has changed our life more than we could have fathomed.

Mackenzie is the first reason I still live and breathe today.

My life has been blest by you!
I love you!

My Family...

I will introduce you to my children over the next couple days... or should I say week. 7 kids = 7 days in a week.

Having a large family is not something I planned, or even dreamed of as a little girl.

I had 3 siblings and my husband had 1. So we didn't come from large families.

God knew what He was doing though. It took 7 children for me to be broken completely to a point that I needed to ask for help. Where does our help come from? The Lord.

God knew my tough exterior. God knew of my inner strength. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 weren't enough... I feel a bit selfish saying it like that. I did not for one moment selfishly have these children to bring about my own healing. But God knew by blessing me with them, I would be healed.

I am humbled by that.

Moods

I've been in a "mood" lately...
It is not a very friendly one.
I ask myself...What are the underlying feelings of this mood?
Do I want my bad mood to permeate all of those around me?

I have taught without teaching...



...I will strive to change my mood on account of those that are being taught!

B...L...I...S...S...

I was reflecting on what I want to remember.

They are growing up!

12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1...

Where has the time gone?!?

My goal each day is BLISS.

How can I acheive this?

...month by month,

week by week,

day by day,

hour by hour,

minute by minute,

second by second...

praying, asking, begging for strength from God...

Because Life Is Something Special...BLISS.