Putting out fires!

Do you live your life putting out fires?  No, I am not a firefighter by trade, but my profession sure deals with a lot of 'fires'!  While some you can find humor in after the fact, I am constantly telling myself to count it all joy.

First thing this morning some unnamed adorable child put a full cup of chocolate milk in the refrigerator.  Top shelf...without a lid...must I say more?!?  I spent time showing her how to mop up milk from the floor, splattered milk from the inside of the fridge, and washing and drying the produce drawers that had received a standing flood of milk.  **Don't cry over spilled milk (or yell etc)

Secondly, the girls noticed we had received a blessing in the form of new head of cattle.  Our field was now host to brown, white, and speckled longhorns.  When I called our first neighbor he laughed and said I could keep the bounty, must be the other neighbors.  Sure enough after tracking the other neighbor down he came to claim his wayward children.  I was off to show him how to use our corral, the hot wire fence, and to insure none of our calves went home with him.

Next it was to clean up the blood bath in the second fridge...all families have two fridges right?  All large families do at least.  I had been to Sams and purchased huge packs of fresh meet to cook and bag. While waiting for the cook, the bag leaked...again on the shelves, drawers, and food below.

I also frequently have to listen to feelings.  Someone is always broken hearted, mad, or excited in a family this size.  As SJ often tells me "You broke my heart", usually in response to no you can't do such and such.  Someone is happy they placed in the state fair.  Someone else is sad wishing their ribbon was higher up. Another person needs a long talk to spew out all those festering feelings of not being loved enough. There are LOTS of feelings in a family!!

Here are some of our fair entries:

Miss M's Gluten Free at its finest.  Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars...so addicting!

 Little Miss A drew an Apple tree at her house...

Miss K did great with her Horse Head.

Miss Leelee got 1st prize for her self portrait

Now that the smoke is settled from yesterdays fires it is time to go fan the flames of the next ones...

Have a great Tuesday!

The truth be told (under anonymity of course)

I have always wanted a blog where I could tell it like it is... could let it all hang out...  could recap the good, the bad, and the really ugly.  Well friends today is the day!  I will tell you what, just not who makes my life the crazy, lovely, chaotic, beautiful, hectic, wonderful life it is.

First a little about myself....

• Here's where I can claim perfection. We have arrived!   We are done decorating our lovely farm house to resemble this years Southern Homes and Gardens Farm House edition.  Our farm is a self sufficient, 80 acre farm with a beautiful garden, productive fruit and nut orchards, free range chickens and grass fed cows.  You will even see our gentle dairy goats frolicking in the lush green fields.
• I now have my chore charts posted and the children each do their part to keep house well maintained.
• I have a daily, monthly, even seasonal meal plan. My stocked up pantry is fully inventoried, including knowing what is in my freezers.  I coupon for every shopping trip, bringing home loads of free foods and toiletries that I add to my stockpile. I never know when I might need to use this bounty.
• I have a house full of beautiful, smart, obedient and respectful children.  They all rise early each day, work hard all the time, and call me blessed.  We have homeschooled for 19 years which might lead you to believe they are slow learners, however they are not...we just have a house full with 8 of them!
• I am able to rise early each morning, get my Bible study time in and my exercise time done.  This keeps both my mind and body fit and ready for the day.

NOT Hardly!!!!  In reality, these are good things to aspire to in and of themselves but they do not lead to perfection.  Somewhere along the road of life we moms were led astray.  We were led down a path that leads straight to a river of disappointment when we can not keep up all these self imposed standards.  I have to remind myself they are self imposed.  I really WANT all the things above, but I am not any less of a good mommy if I don't have them.

So for now, here's how it goes....

• I live on an 80 acre non working farm, with a refurbished farmhouse.  I am a mediocre decorator and it is time to repaint the walls after being here 8 years already.  We have cracks in the walls and a few broken tiles on the floor...it is a farm house after all!
• We do have a garden that consists of 8 tomato plants and six pepper plants.  The flower beds grow weeds just as well as they do flowers.  We sold the goats, the chickens got eaten by coyotes, and the cows belong to our son.  We have planted the fruit orchard 3 times, but only 2 trees continue to grow.  We do have 80 pecan trees, but by the time you invest in a brush hog and labor to clean the area up, the income is not worth harvesting the trees.  The drought doesn't help either!
• My daily, monthly, and seasonal food plan is to eat.  I don't know what it will be or who's going to make it, but we will eat.  I have a rough idea of what foods I have in the pantry.  We live far enough out from town that I always buy 2 to make sure we have extra on the shelf.  I love couponing but it causes me STRESS. I am not nice to be around when I am trying to prepare my shopping trip.
• My children are wonderful.  I love each one dearly.  The are beautiful...they look like Daddy. Smart (but some times smart mouthed!), obedient unless they are disobeying, and respectful at least in public.  The older ones do rise early and work hard.  The younger, not so much.  In fact, I often let them sleep in just for peace and quiet!  They have yet to call me blessed loud enough that I can hear, but maybe that is what they are mumbling under their breath??  
• We really have homeschooled 19 years and so far have 18 to go...  all I can say is wow!  I will be almost 60 when I am done!!
• I do try to read my Bible, often while nursing the baby.  As far as exercise goes, I hate it!  I don't want to do it, don't enjoy it, and my body reflects that truth.  

Now that I have shared these truths from my life, you can rest easy...you're not alone!  Surely I can't be the only mamma who struggles...daily!!??!!

At the risk of taking this scripture out of context, I will leave you with the words of Jesus in John 8:32 

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  

Today...the Lord's Day...a Day of Rest

Can you imagine what all moms across the country did this morning trying to get their little flocks off to church?  They dressed, fed, and loaded them up.  They hushed their child's tears or soothed their grumpy attitudes away.  This was going to be a good day.  A good follow up to a great celebration.  A day to rejoice.  A day to worship the Lord.

However, first that age old question was given.  'Are we going to church today?'  Momma herself had to decide...'do I take them to church or do I keep them home?'  What is a momma to do?  They need to go to church...I need to go to church...but as I get ready, I am reminded of my resolve to NEVER take them out of the house again.  Teenagers who cop an attitude, tweens who are grouchy, toddler who is behind the couch coating everything in sticky, white sunscreen(!) and a baby who is crying loudly to nurse.

Does momma lose it and end up speaking LOUDLY ?  Does she end up in tears?  I confess that yes, I did both.  However, I did not stay in that place of despair.  I reminded myself of what my good friend said the night before.  "I may have been in Church with my little ones, but I didn't always have a Godly heart."   That sums it up.  I want to be there AND have a Godly heart!  I want to know God.  How can I lead these children to him if all they ever see is me and my failures?  The answer is once again GRACE.  I needed to have grace on tired children, grumpy hubby, and my hormonal self.  If God can give me grace for all I have done, why can't I do the same for others?

I love my children.

I love my hubby.

I love my life.  

I am grateful for where God has allowed me to walk in life. 

 I am grateful for salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

This crazy time we call life...

January brought about a 20 year old birthday for Josh.  February we don't celebrate any birthdays.  March we were expecting a precious blessing and received one!  Our newest son, who I am gonna tag as Little Man was born.  His delivery took place at 37.5 weeks...just two weeks early!  That is good for our family as my body seems to give up around the 36 week mark.  Labor was just that LABOR.  Long, painful, but went OK.  The doctors don't think I move fast enough for them often, so they 'offer' to help me along.  I prefer to try and keep things natural and only fantasize about painkillers!
After about 15 hours of noticeable labor, Little Man made his appearance.  I was so happy to have another son.  It has been 17 long years since our baby BOY was born. For the first hour I was allowed to hold and cuddle this precious fellow.  After that he started going into distress!  He started grunting, then retracting...both scary signs in a newborn.  The nursery gave him 2.5 hours after birth to turn around or they would take him back to work on him.  At 9 PM, he left my arms and started his long journey to recovery.  I went to shower and rest, but only moments after laying down the nursery nurse came to say Mediflight was on their way to pick him up for transport to Children's NICU.  This was the second of many things he did to follow in Princess SJ's footsteps.

• He was delivered in the same hospital, same nurse, same room
• He had the same distress symptoms
• Rode the Medflight to Children's
• Was placed in the same room and isolette as Princess SJ (that hospital has about 70 of them!)
• Had many of the same nurses

What he did differently than Princess SJ was:

• He stayed 19 to her 10 days
• Tested (falsely) positive for a strep blood infection and had to have a spinal tap
• Took Mega doses of antibotics
• Nursed better than Princess SJ
• Was smaller than she was 6-12, to her 7 1/2 pounds

After 19 long days away from our family, we were so blessed to bring this little guy home!  It had felt like we would never be all together as a family again.  

Pictures from our last day in the hospital...after all the cords and tubes are off except oxygen.  This is the step down 'we are going home' nursery!

We also missed a special big sister Miss K's 11th birthday while in the hospital.  We now have 2 March birthdays...

May came up too fast.  Time to celebrate Miss M's 9th birthday!  We got her a Ukulele.  She adores it and is ear picking everything she can on it.  Too fun!!  Lots of fun, lots of scary, lots of life this year has held so far.  Up next is Joe's graduation party.