daybook, august 29th

Outside my Window... a beautiful sunshiny day

What We're Learning... about the Great Exhibition, nouns & verbs, and how we should live by Jesus' example

I am thankful for... the end of Annual Training

From the kitchen... cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast, macaroni with tomato and basil sauce and parmesan cheese for lunch, Brian's bringing home (frozen) pizza for dinner, and we will be having Blue Bell Banana Pudding Ice Cream for dessert

I am wearing... khaki capris and a black maternity tee

I am reading... just skimmed through the current issue of Above Rubies

I am praying... for some much-needed energy

I am creating... a solid high school schedule/credits for Kylie's 9th grade year. This has been the most challenging homeschool planning I've yet to do since we started our home education journey in 2007. I think we are almost there

I am hearing... the clatter of the sun porch ceiling fan, the buzz of my desktop, and the whir of the ceiling fan in our bedroom. It's amazingly that quiet

I am remembering... that I still need to call the pediatrician's office, since we completely missed Judah's check up back on the 19th. I dread DR appointments, and therefore unconsciously forget most of them. I long for a doctor like Amanda's wonderful family doctor. What a blessing!

On my mind... is this baby a boy or a girl? It doesn't really matter at all. But we sure would love another little girl. Except for Benjamin. He wants a boy.

Noticing that... maternity clothes are either skin tight or hot air balloon-ish. There is no classy in-between

One of my favorite things... a Homecoming. Three weeks is just too long to be apart from my Soldier-Husband. I missed him so much it hurt.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... the grocery store and the library, most likely fishing this weekend, Korinne has requested a trip to the Roller Skating Rink, and church

 

what morning sickness taught me (and i almost missed)

The morning sickness with this pregnancy caught me completely off guard. I had never experienced it to such a degree before with my previous seven pregnancies. A little in the evenings with Korinne, a little more all-day with Wesley. But I was still able to function and carry on with our daily lives just the same as always.

Not so with this pregnancy. I was down for the count for many, many days. And it was awful, terrible, I thought I was dying...at times I really did want to die. Then I felt guilty for wanting to die. I felt guilty for not accepting this eighth blessing from God with anything but absolute joy. And I felt guilty for not being able to care for my home and family the way I should.

Brian would look me in the eyes, and assure me with things like, "Stop it. We will pull through. Let me help. Let the girls help. It can't last more than nine months." And I would sputter things back like, "I don't want you to have to help. I don't want the girls to have to help. And I will never make it nine months...I was thinking three months would kill me."

It took a good few weeks, but God started working on my heart. The Holy Spirit showed me that my biggest 'problem' with this morning sickness was me. I was really ill, but I was very sick with pride too. Which was keeping me from taking care of myself and my tiny baby, from taking it easy, and from letting this pregnancy sickness soon pass.

I am Super Woman. I have a happy husband, happy children. I keep a clean and tidy home. I do every single load of laundry there is. Every. Single. Day. I put three meals, and two snacks on the table each day. I homeschool four children, all while keeping three toddlers busy. I am Super Woman. There is no possible way that Brian or the girls could do what I do.

That is not true. It's actually one of the biggest lies I have ever believed.

My husband is a wonderful man. Not only does he completely support me in my role as homemaker, but he can step in and fill my shoes at a moment's notice. And he does it well. My daughters are wonderful young women. They have been trained for years now in the art of homemaking. I have taught them how to clean, and cook, and care for their siblings...as much as I have taught them academics. They are pretty darn good at keeping house for fourteen and eleven.

I was wasting so much energy worrying that our home would not be taken care of to my standards, that I almost missed the blessing of my family, and that would have been something entirely too good to miss. So I let go. I stopped believing my made-up super woman lie, and accepted the help that my precious family was offering.

I am a little past that 13 Week mark in my pregnancy now. Hello second trimester! I've not had to take but ten of my anti-nausea pills, and it's been almost a week since I took my last one. My energy is returning. Life is good, as it always was...I was just too blinded by my 'trouble' to notice. It was a true test of my faith, that I suppose I did actually fail in a way. But I'm hoping that the fact that I WE pulled through, relying on God and listening to the Holy Spirit, brought my grade up just a little.

It is so true that God doesn't give us anymore than we can handle (with Him), but he also never promises that it will be easy. I just pray that the next time I'm faced with trials, that I can say from the very beginning, that I will praise Him in the storm...not just once it's passed.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." - Isaiah 43:2

children's book monday: does a kangaroo have a mother, too?

Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother, Too?
by Eric Carle


I picked this book up at Kohl's a few years back as part of their Kohl's Cares for Kids campaign. It pretty much sat on the shelf until about a year ago, as I am not a huge Eric Carle fan. Love that Hungry Caterpillar, but that's about it for me.

Last summer, one of the little, bitty boys picked it off the shelf when my parents were down. And my mom read it to the boys over and over. And they loved it! And we've continued to pull it down ever since.

It's a perfect pre-school book. Very simple, repetitive sing-song style, only a sentence or two on each page. With, of course, Carle's well-known, colorful illustrations that capture any reader's attention.

The book moves through about ten different animals(giraffe, dolphin, kangaroo, etc.), asking, "Does a bear have a mother, too?" And of course, to ensure the smallest of children, "Yes! A BEAR has a mother. Just like me and you." (which your child will start to 'read' with you, after only a few pages) *At the back of the book is a section that names animal babies, parents, and groups. Something every small child likes to know!

:: Happy Giving NEW Books a Chance! ::
(you can see what Elise and her children are finally reading, here)
~Kathi

daybook, august 9th

For Today...Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

Outside my Window...another beautiful day. Sunny, but not too hot. With a very nice breeze. Much, much better than that day that was 107* last week!

What We're Learning...we started back to school yesterday. We ended up taking most of the summer off, so it's the first time we're back to schooling like normal folks in a few years. Korinne and Connor are using 1850-MOD, pretty much as-is in the TM. TJ will wait to start First Grade until Thursday (a recommendation from the TM, so that Exploration Day falls on a Wednesday, giving him a much needed mid-week break each week). Kylie is doing...until we're able to purchase AHL. Yes, those plans are much different than the ones I just posted last Friday...but we had a very homeschool friendly weekend, that reminded us of a lot of homeschool-type things we'd forgotten. Ahem, moving on...

I am thankful for...relief from morning sickness during the day. I cannot take one of my prescriptions because it causes extreme fatigue. The other one I can take up to three times a day...which I only need to take once, around dinner time. I'm very thankful. Very.

From the kitchen...we had maple & brown sugar oatmeal for breakfast, chips & queso & corn for lunch, and dinner may just be Stouffer's Lasagna.

I am wearing...jean skirt, gray tee

I am reading...nothing. It makes me ill. We are even listening to our Read Aloud (Farmer Boy) on audiobook.

I am praying...for my mom. Who thinks she broke her foot at work yesterday. For the families of Seal Team 6. Such sad news. I'm also praying that this war will be over soon. Very soon.

I am creating...I rearranged the furniture in my family room yesterday. We brought back down a chair, ottoman, and the computer table from the empty room. It's a little crowded but we like it much better this way. Cozy.

I am hearing...the neighbor mowing his grass, the AC (which NEVER turns off), and Wesley asking a thousand questions (he is also NEVER off!)

I am remembering...that it takes Stouffer's Lasagna like forever to cook, so I will have to think of something else for dinner...

I am going...to head back outside with the kids as soon as the babies wake up. It really is nice out.

On my mind...how to find a way to get everything accomplished in a day that needs done. I know I posted our Morning Routine a while back...and as soon as I posted it, it needed changed. Now I see with a 9th grader, 6th grader, 3rd grader, 1st grader, 2 preschoolers, a toddler, and a baby on the way...that I can no longer fight the schedule thing. Routine won't cut it any more.

Noticing that...I don't have the urge to put my kids back in public school this year. Usually, with all the back to school sales, and the school buses driving around, etc. I get that sad feeling that they're missing out somehow. I don't feel that this year.

One of my favorite things...Blue Belle Ice Cream. It's one thing (one!) that I will miss when we move from here. ...the Banana Pudding flavor is the BEST!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...we had plans to go to the pool with friends on Thursday...but it looks like that will have to be cancelled again. We also have to get to the grocery store before the weekend.

nine now

The Baby Boy~

The baby boy that I hoped so much for.

The baby boy that I admitted to Brian I wouldn't know how to properly care for (after having two baby girls).

The baby boy that would sit on his Daddy's lap for hours.

The baby boy that almost ate a toad.

The baby boy that took three tries to potty train.

The Little Boy~

The little boy who was scared of his Bob The Builder costume (even though Bob was his hero).

The little boy who walked around our home 'playing' leaf blower and weed eater all day (with full sound effects...how did that child not get a headache?).

The little boy who put his pop gun in the microwave only days after his Daddy left for Afghanistan (Brian called, and I cried, "You have to come back home. I cannot raise this little boy without you!").

The little boy who asked for his Soldier-Daddy back three times a day, every single day, for 545 days.

The little boy who played soccer like an absolute maniac when he was five years old.

The little boy who fell in head-over-heels-love with his baby brother, Wesley.

The Big Boy~

The big boy who learned Math on his fingers AND toes.

The big boy who literally dreamed of his own Red Ryder BB Gun.

The big boy who was on the Champion Baseball Team his very first season of baseball.

The big boy who studies (hard) Army Regulation Manuals and the backs of Baseball Cards.

The big boy who loves his Cincinnati Reds.

The big boy whose hero is no longer Bob The Builder. But his DAD.

...

Is Nine Now.

And he is not a baby boy. Or a little boy. Or even a big boy.

He is just a boy.

And I will blink again, and he'll be a young man.

Be still my heart.

Happy Birthday, Connor. I love you.