Life Is Moving....

There has been some wonderful new things happening around our home this week. It sure feels like we have every stage of life happening before our eyes. We have teenagers, grade schoolers, little ones, and a babe soon to make an addition to that fullness!

Both Madison and Cole are in sports this year for the first time. We are all pretty excited as we have waited years to be able to swing the added expenses. Cole has been in weight training for months now in prep for the upcoming high school football season. He is playing for the Christian Youth Center's homeschooling team in our area. I have truly enjoyed the positive experiences and growth it has brought with it! Cannot wait for the games in the fall. I am still in amazement that I will be sitting in the stands watching my first babe-soon to be in high school, while cuddling a newborn babe! WOW! LIFE IS INCREDIBLE!! The weight training for Cole has been so beneficial-and he has worked hard at learning all he can and reaching new goals. We now have quite the weight set-up in the garage that he has saved and worked hard to get. It has been a very positive building in Matt and Cole's relationship as well, since a lot of it has to be done in pairs. The Lord has blessed us with some wonderful friends from church as well that helped to get us started with the team. They have been faithful helpers in getting Cole to and from training sessions and practices-the blessing of help in this way has been beyond measure!!

Madison is in track and the season is in full swing!! Oh my, what an adjustment to this life! To go from never having sports practices and games, has been a bit of a shock to the groove of family life we were used to. But, the excitement has far outweighed that!! And the stretching and challenges for me have been positive as well! Madi is also on a team with the CYC. She has been practicing for a few weeks and last night was the first official meet-she did great-and I was just overjoyed to watch her run and run and run-she certainly was built for it!! We brought the younger kids with us and they had a good time watching all the chaos of the meet. But, within the 3 hours, the temp went from around 80 to around 50-burr-for all of us wearing shorts and t-shirts! Ahh, spring weather. By the end, we had found a spot to park the van facing the track so that I could keep the little ones warm and be able to hop out quickly and watch Madi run her events. She loved it-which made me so thankful!!

Cole also was able to have a bunch of his buddies over Friday night. it was the first time any of the kiddos have had friends stay over since I had gotten sick-so it was so fun to have all of this life buzzing in our home! He really has such a good group of guys. They had a great time-maybe no sleep-but fun none the less. And all you need for teenage boys....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FOOD~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPORTS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~AND VIDEO GAMES~~~~~~~TWO GAME SYSTEMS HELP EVEN MORE;)

Many of you have followed along with me for some time now and are familiar with our tiny house. But I will recap for some of you just dropping in. We bought our little ranch a little over 7 years ago when we were expecting Bell, our fourth. It has 3 small bedrooms, one bathroom, no dining space, and a full unfinished basement which has been the saving grace for this family of 7! When we found out we were expecting our 6th little wonder, we were truly stumped as to how to fit this little one in-the bedrooms are completely full and that is with creative working of how to fit 3 girls in one and 2 boys in the smaller room. Instead of being brought down by this, Matt and I decided to just focus on the excitement and gift of this new little man who will make his arrival in about 4 months. I know that the Lord has a plan for this little life that is much bigger than where his crib will rest in our home!! We have always brainstormed about how to add space, whether it be building out in the garage or putting a room in downstairs, but all it could be was dreams which if met with reality, soon fell apart for one reason or another. The garage project meant loosing-well-a garage which for us is the only storage space for this little house and not only would bring the expense of remodeling, but the expense of where to store everything-cost of a new garage down the road or massive shed. Building a room in the basement seemed the best idea, but we were stumped as to how and where. I was also very against putting just one child off from the rest of us. But the Lord has been laying a foundation for the help we needed long before we knew of this little one's life. Some friends from church had been telling Matt that they would be willing to help us on projects in our home. He is a contractor and has experience that would greatly benefit helping us with our DO-IT-YOURSELF needs. Well, he came over Monday morning to take a look at the basement and draw up some plans, goals, etc that would give us direction and hope. Before he had come, Matt and I had finally come to a consensus that putting all 3 girls in the basement together would be the best. They are the ones struggling in their space the most, there is potential for a second bathroom downstairs right next to their future room as well, which seems to make the most sense with 3 teenage girls:). When our friend was here to measure the basement, he was in agreement-and everything fell into place. Even the issue of putting in a fire safe window for their room does not seem impossible anymore for us! I do not know when we will be able to take this on in reality, but there is finally hope and what a difference that has made-even excitement!! We will put the younger two boys together in the girls old room and Cole will stay where he is. We will lose our family room space downstairs, which has caused me to decide to give up my studio space. I obviously need to still have something since it is also my job, but Matt and I are working on how to rework the littler spaces in the basement for me. He helped me to restructure the closet under our stairway already to better accommodate supplies and storage. We will begin working on some very specific shelving projects to help as well. Bummer is, I most likely will lose my dreamy over sized studio table-but I am ready to make the adjustments for the gifts the Lord is giving us instead!! Sometimes we have to give up something good, to receive something better!!

As far as my pregnancy, I am still doing pretty well. Even my migraines are becoming less and less. And I am able to do without nausea meds quite often-Praise the Lord!! I have been a little discouraged this week, because in general, I have been feeling pretty icky. Some of it is allergies-yikes, they are bad this year! But Matt has a terrible cold/flu that has really taken him out and I have been wondering if maybe I am run down because my body is fighting that virus off-- at least, that is what I am hoping! I have been pretty limited though, even last night, we arrived home after Madison's meet, ate dinner that I had thankfully had cooking in the crockpot, and I went straight to bed, even before the kids. On one hand, I went to bed feeling accomplished, because I had made it to the track meet, and fed my family-which really is quite big still, but on the other hand, I felt as though there were so many other things needing attention and I just didn't have enough energy to do them. And I know Matt is sick because he is picking up so much extra for me. I just need to give those struggles over to the Lord though-He knows our needs before we do, and knows Matt needs healing too.

Today, is a day, for rest-for a normal routine. Just school-no practices. A chance to just do the simple things like chores maybe a little work in the shop and maybe even grabbing dinner out instead of wrestling with standing long enough to finish cooking a meal. I found yesterday, that I was even struggling with sitting on a stool while prepping dinner, so Cole graciously finished up for me. Thankfully today, there are now enough leftovers for lunch-it really is the simple things that make such a difference.:)

For those of you sewers out there-I have finally learned how to turn regular pants into maternity. Boy, I sure could have used this for the first 5!!! I had gotten rid of all of my maternity clothing-so I have started from scratch again. I wasn't too worried though because clothing today is so versatile and of course thrifting makes it super easy to put together a new wardrobe. But I do not always like the maternity clothing out there and wanted to figure out how to make my own. It really has been easy. I did a bit of studying online, and took some really good looks at what I already had and what I really liked. I found that I do not like the under the belly maternity pants, they always feel like they are falling off. I do not like the older style front maternity panel either. But I love the full belly panels that are a newer style(at least from 15 years ago when I was expecting our first). So, I have successfully combined 8 pairs of pants into 4 of which I love and feel very comfortable in-not to mention-I feel like myself. I found 4 maternity pants(that were not my style) in my size or close, with the full panels, and 4 pairs of non-maternity pants that I would really like to wear right now(some straight out of my closet) and combined them. I will try to put together a tutorial soon. It was as simple as cutting off about 1 1/2 inches of the waist band and sewing in the maternity panel. I think the full panel is probably the easiest to put in too.

And oh!! I found a new recipe that everyone loves-so i am going to pass it on!! Isn't it funny how a new recipe can measure right up there with a basement remodel! haha-and better yet-it is a crock pot recipe for those busy days!! I found it on Pinterest-which is my favorite place to find new recipes now. It is for a chicken ranch and bacon pasta. It is super yummy and quick to make.

A Wonderful Start to the Day....

It has been a good morning thus far and I thought I would share a few goodies before the day got away without me...

Woke up early to get some homemade whip cream made as a yummy treat for my husband this morning. It is his birthday and a bowl of strawberries and cream was the order.

After sending him off to work and getting the kiddos going on their school work, I was able to finish the first baby quilt for this little guy. Unfortunately I worked a little to late last night and ended up with some mistakes on the backing that couldn't be fixed without ruining the fabric. Such a discouragement, but the front turned out just as I hoped. Simple with two colors that I really love together and a few touches of personality.

I think we may have all come to an agreement on the little man's "real" name, but I will give it awhile before I start setting it in stone:).

I am enjoying the school time with Bell each day and thankful to be past the being too ill to teach! Spring has sure helped too!

I also thought I would quick share something exciting that I found while at a thrift store this past week. An absolutely beautiful antique feedsack quilt that was hand quilted!! And here is the crazy cherry on top~~it was only $5!!! The tag read, "as is." You want to know what the "as is" part was...MUD, that washed out!! Now, this kind of find does not happen very often, but when it does, I am left feeling amazed and encouraged to continue hunting. I just love running my hands over the quilt as I pass the table. And I find the kids, every once in awhile studying it too. I hope someday to be able to use it in a guest room, but it will be some time before that happens:). A treasure I am saying thank you to the Lord for!!

A little Update...

It has been a very rough week. I went from being an active mama and wife to being completely unable to care for myself in a matter of a week. My hyperemesis has hit with a vengeance. I spent Sunday night in the ER being rehydrated after days of unrelenting vomiting and an inability to hold anything down. After making it home after 1 am, we were back at the doctor at 9am to begin the process of home health care. I had to have an emergency ultrasound to make sure the baby was safe. We were blessed to hear that strong little heartbeat and I was overwhelmed by that sound. Next was the surgery to place my PICC line. We finally arrived back home for good after 5. It was amazing how the Lord granted strength to get through such a long day, but I had a great deal of pain throughout the evening from the surgery with no ability to manage pain since nothing stays down. So there were some pretty dark hours I felt like giving up in. The vomiting does not cease in the nighttime hours, so I struggle to get any sleep. But morning has come and with it, a small amount of relief, a little less pain and a few hours void of the constant wretching. Matt is home today to meet my new nurse and learn how to care for the PICC line and infusion I will be getting round the clock. It helps a great deal to have him hear. The kids of course have pitched in a great deal, but are struggling for sure. They struggle in different ways especially depending on their ages. This is the part I hate the most. Sometimes I wish I could hide all of it from them. I know it scares them, I see it, and even though they have been through it before, it is still hard. Life just gets a major upset. It was hard to even figure out when to get groceries in the middle of all of it. So 10pm last night, Matt finally got out for some. Madi has taken on a partnership with Matt in making the list as well as seeing to all of the laundry and much of the care of the little ones. They are a good team. Cole is my comic and tries to make me laugh, which I hate to admit, but it doesn't come easy. And he is also the one that holds down the fort every time Matt and I need to be gone. Joslyn is the easy going,"it's going to be ok" one, but also super sensitive to always making sure to come and give me a kiss,rub my back and just make sure I am not alone. Bell is in a unique age, able to not understand completely and be able to play with Noah like nothing has changed, but does have those moments when it hits pretty hard and she just really needs to crawl in bed with me and cuddle. She fell asleep in my arms last night after a good amount of tears. And Noah, he is just curious about it all and not too fazed by it. He is another good cuddler which I am grateful for. And Matt, well, he is just amazing. The amount he takes on is overwhelming but he does it with such grace and care.

There you have it, a little view into the life of an HG pregnancy. It may be a little too real and raw, so I apologize. The weeks ahead seem so very long, but I know there is an end with a super sweet blessing;) May the Lord bless all of you this Christmas season and be your strength for the difficult passages you may be going through!

My Creed For This Journey...

This

This morning I was awoken by a throbbing headache that made me arise with fear in my heart that already we were going to be starting the trial period of this pregnancy. I was overwhelmed by it. The day has a full schedule. Matt and I have a funeral this morning, and we are going as a family to help a friend to rake up her yard this afternoon. In all of that, I have orders to finish and send out, and school with the kiddos, so I was feeling the impossibility of the day. No one was up yet, except my husband, so I got myself dressed, grabbed my phone, the dog, and bundled up a bit to head out for a long walk. It was a chilly rainy morning but I knew that if I was going to get through it, I needed to spend some time in worship and prayer away for all of the things needing my attention. I set my pandora radio to the Selah station and was blessed with this song "Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer." The words to this hymn could not have been more pertinent to what I am preparing for. I just wept as I prayed this song to the Lord. But was so filled with His hope. Ellie just walked along peacefully next to me not even fazed by my overflow of emotion. Even she is a gift from the Lord during this time. It was one of those times with the Lord that lingers and that song will become my creed for this pregnancy. I wanted to share it with you to encourage you as I was.

I returned ready for the day and all that it holds. Noah asked me, Is your headache fixed?(he had awoken just as I walked out the door wondering where I was going and I told him I had a headache I needed to get rid of). And I was able to respond with a joyful yes! I just needed Jesus! I know the Lord is walking it with me, I know He concerns Himself with even the smallest of details in my life(wether it is helping me get through a headache or taking it away), and I know He is my biggest cheerleader(something that I have not always grasped). But the awesome thing is, I do not have to earn it and I do not have to do it alone-all my impossibilities are possible with Him.

So here is my creed!!

JESUS DRAW ME EVER NEARER

Jesus, draw me ever nearer

As I labor through the storm;

You have called me to this passage,

And I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing.

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest

Keep my spirit staid and sure;

When the midnight meets the morning,

Let me love You even more.

May this journey bring a blessing.

May I rise on wings of faith;

And at the end of my heart's testing,

With Your likeness let me wake.

Let the treasures of the trial

Form within me as I go -

And at the end of this long passage

Let me leave them at Your throne.

By Keith and Kristyn Getty~ Ireland.

Day 3- I Must Count My Blessings....

Mondays are always one of my favorite days. It is Matt's day off and I love having him milling around the house all day. It gives us a chance to run errands to together as well. It is just more fun having a friend with you when you are doing the boring stuff. Today we had the day off of school to work together on some projects needing attention a little sooner because of the news we received last week. We did a bit of what feels like spring cleaning, but it was needed not just for the baby on the way, but more for Thanksgiving company. Either way it sure feels nice!! Madison wanted the job of laundry, and she pretty much ran the machine all day! It takes a lot of the day just to get all of our rag rugs around here done. I have decided to pack some of them away until either later in the pregnancy or after the baby comes. It is one less thing to have to keep up for us. The are always one of Ellie's favorite things to lay on, so washing them is all too regular.

So, here were my realizations today;) We are really starting all over again around here with the baby. Our youngest is 4 1/2, and we thought he was the "baby" and decided with the growing family and lessening space, to give up most of the baby essentials-like swing, stroller, car seat, glider(which is actually a planter in my yard now!) etc. It feels weird to be at a place where we have to baby shop again. Noah and Bell were only a bit over 2 yrs apart, so we did not even really baby shop for him.

But here is a "kind of" first though that is fabulous!! I have no children in diapers during this pregnancy-I haven't experienced that since I was expecting my first 14 years ago!! Wahoo-talk about a bonus on the morning sickness front;)

Something that will have to work itself out and I am praying for the Lord's timing on this one! Just found out yesterday that my brother in law is getting married two weeks after the baby is due-Matt is the best man. HUM?? What if baby is late? And even if baby is on time, how do we travel out of state with a wee one so tiny? I may be a mom of five, but I haven't done that one yet;) The wedding is something I would be crushed to miss-he's my brother! But I know the Lord will work it out-funny timing Lord:)

But, onto the blessings...

Blessing One-I have had a good day physically- no lurking signs of queasiness- and let's face it, each day without that is fabulous!!

Blessing 2-Matt and I went hunting today for about an hour. We needed a safer TV stand in our living room. That was in the plans even before baby. Our TV has been temporarily sitting on an old little coffee table and the DVD player on the floor(not a very good way to ensure it lasting:). I wasn't in a big rush until last week, but knowing we would need to team up to rework whatever we found, I knew it needed to be done soon. Thankfully, we found one. I wanted a dresser that we could take the drawers out of and build in shelves. There were not alot of choices today, but there was the perfect fit.We are in the process of priming and painting it. Matt has already built in the shelves. Cole helped him this afternoon to dismantle it. They are quite the pair!

I will share pics of the "after" tomorrow.

Blessing 3-The kiddos were able to ride bikes and play outside today. The weather is crisp but not too cold to enjoy being outside. I even sat out front for a bit after dinner deeply appreciating the cool air! The house just feel too warm for me right now.

Blessing 4-The girls cleaned out the van while playing outside-oh was it overdue-how does that mess happen!! I think I am going to have to do a "security check" before allowing anyone in the vehicle with contraband toys, food, clothes, etc!!

Blessings 5- Another great dinner around the table. And with a new recipe! It was a winner-most of the family loved it(and with 7 tastes-"most" is highly successful! Matt will not mind making it! I enjoyed making it myself. It is a recipe I found on Pinterest(oh how I have fallen for that wonderful piece of heaven online).The recipe comes from blog chef.net. It is chicken stuffed with chives and cream cheese and then rolled with bacon-so not healthy-but so tasty every once in awhile!!

Blessings 6-Did finish up on some made to order -orders. Happy to have them accomplished and in the mail! But not much sewing besides that.

Blessing 7-All of the kiddos cleaned out closets and drawers today. Out with the things that don't fit. It will help me in the next few weeks to deal with any needs so Matt does not have to.

Blessing 8-Matt and I found a fantastical (yes, one of my favorite movies is Ramona and Beezus)winter coat for Cole today. It is in perfect condition and quite new. It was only $8.50. Even better-Cole likes it!! That was a huge load off of my mind and now everyone has their winter coats for this year. Thank you Jesus!!

Blessing 9-Matt actually found my old maternity clothes up in the attic- amazing. I didn't keep very many, but the few I did will be extremely helpful in stretching the wardrobe. I also found a pair of brand new maternity jeans at the thrift tore today for $4-yippee-they do not fit yet(that is a blessing in itself):). But I know they will sooner than I want.

It was another blessed day!!

Works in Progress...

Earlier today I shared a post of random simple events around the house. I have taken a few more photos to share the works in progress...This resting place for this bookshelf has yet to be determined, not because it is unnessesary, but because there are so many places waiting to be oganized out of crates! The girls helped me paint this. I still have a coat or two left and then need to seal it.
This is the school table for my youngest two. We are giving it up for a few days to give it a fresh coat of paint and maybe even some fun designs having to do with school. I still have not decided on that. I tend to move furniture around as often as i wash bedding-so making something with a permanent theme is not usually a good idea;)
This little side table is actually an old stool. I couldn't pass it up-it had such a cute bean shape to it. We have used it for everything! But I finally have gotten around to painting it and re-glued the legs.

And last but not least for now at least, is a little school chair I recently found. It is shorter than most chairs and would not fit at a normal table, but our school table is at an awquard height which has made it difficult to find seating for. This chair works fabulously! This chair I took the easy way out and spray painted. Certain furntiure re-dos I will not invest alot of time in because I know the beating they are about to take;)

Two Things I Want to Remember...

This is one of those posts that acts as a journal entry for me-something I do not want to forget. A quick reminder of my blessings, but hopefully it will also be a sweet little smile to your day as well. Remember to capture those moments worth savoring. Keep your eyes wide open and your ears in tune and grab onto God's whispers to you even in the midst of ordinary life!!

One of the reasons I love homeschooling!!! All the places we can learn!! Joslyn is studying for a spelling test out under the clothesline, it has the best shade at this time of day. I can do laundry and quiz her on her words-simple joys!!!

So, after I took the photo of Joslyn, I came to drop some pictures off at my computer, and found this next picture. I had been taken by my older daughter Madi while I was running some errands this morning. What a fun surprise to find!! Definitely a keeper!

A Garden Post

I think this is the first year of gardening that I feel confident of a good outcome. I usually get all excited come May and rush to get the gardens in, but after June and all the trips of the summer, things have gotten a bit too out of control to get it back and I find by the end of the summer, I am waiting to clear them all out and start over next year. Either the weather plays tricks on me and goes into a mysterious drought while we are away at camp or visiting family, or it gets desperately hot and the weeds overtake the gardens while we are away. Thankfully this year the rain and sun have cooperated with my summer schedule-how nice;) But Matt and I also went about the planning and planting more slowly, we built raised boxes to help with certain plantings, and have arranged the yard in a more manageable way for us. Another thing that has actually helped me to keep up with the garden is a new pool for the kids-I know that sounds odd, but it is situated in the back of one of the gardens which helps me to keep an eye on the kiddos while they swim as well as enjoying working in the garden. Knowing the kids will swim everyday, helps me to work in small chunks of time to keep up at a more casual pace instaed of a long miserable day each week of weeding and pruning. The pool is new this year, it is just small enough for our youngest to touch in, but large enough for the older kids and Matt and I to enjoy cooling off in as well.

Here is the box of lettuce when it was just first planted in mid May.

Here is one month later...lots of rain has done it well.

Here is one of our potted tomato plants.

And at the one month mark.. We put in around 25 brocolli plants this year hoping for a better year than last year.

Last years brocolli batch was sterile, and by the time we realized it, it was too late to plant new ones!

This year, we came home from camp just one month after they were planted, and I had a large bowlful of brocolli already for cutting. We have been happily munching on it all week! And there is lots of room for growth-looks like it will be a good year!

Here was an extra lettuce plant needing a home when we were planting.

And here is how it looks one month later! Along with the peppers and peas. The peppers are in need of some good old sunshine now after all the rain.

This was about 10 days after planting our bean seeds...and radishes below...

And here they are one month later-beans over in the right corner of the box...you can see the radishes are well under way along the front of the box, we have been enjoying them each day as well. We will be planting our second batch of radishes in about a week.

We have a new box for the watermelon, but, it takes such a long time to fill the box-so I decided to put a large container in the watermelon box for some overflow bean plants. The container allows them to be in with the watermelon and use the space wisely, but they will not be overrun when the watermelon takes off mid summer. Here they are about 2 weeks after planting the seeds...

and here they are a month later...

These are the climbing peas about 10 days after planting them...

And here they are a month later!!! I just love seeing the progress, it still amazes me... We added a different trellis before they started latching on to it.

These are some peas as well that we are using bamboo for it to climb. This was about 10 days after planting...

And here they are one month later...

This is our pumpkin patch this year:) We have alot of hopes in this one little plant...

It is off to a good start!

For the first time, I am growing yellow squash-I love to saute zuchinni and yellow squash in garlic and butter and then add some shredded parmesaen cheese to it, so I am very anxious for those veggies to be ready....

They are doing quite well one month later, it looks as though I will have my first crop in about a week!

Here are my butternut squash after planting-the perfect squash for Thanksgiving dinner!

And here they are one month in...

We put in a new strawberry patch this year because our raspberry patch took the old ones over.

I did not expect any berries this year but surprisingly, we have had a few tasty temptations!

I think I had mentioned in an earlier post about using some older ladders for the cucumbers to climb. Here they are when we first planted them, looked impossible....

But in a few short weeks, they are starting to look promising! I even noticed a little climbing action going on from one of them.