One Day

I was having a discussion with my good friend about being on time. She said, "You are about my only friend who is always on time, or early. I just don't understand how you do that!" And, I gave her my ways, the things we do in our family to be on time. It was perplexing to me to think this was even something unfathomable to another person. I mean, it's just not hard. To me, anyway. That night I was thinking about it and realized she does something that I find unfathomable. She, and most of my other friends, can eat 1 or 2 pieces of chocolate, or 1 brownie (or a bite of brownie) and be fully satisfied. I. Can. Not. Do. This. I do not understand how a person does this! How can't your chocolate craving be satisfied until the bag of Hershey Kisses is gone, or the XL candy bar is devoured, or the pan of brownies is eaten? I do not understand. And, because of this not understanding, I am over 200 lbs and find myself needing to lose weight. I think this is why God

Babies are so precious, aren't they? They smell good, they're so soft, cuddly and well, it's rare to find a person who DOESN'T like a baby! Late last week my sister-in-law, David's step sister, had her first baby! We've been anxiously awaiting this little one's birth. Her parents decided not to find out if they were having a boy or girl, so we were all anxious to find out! Well, they had a GIRL--an adorable, precious, little girl!!! We were/are so excited for them! We decided to head down to their city (2 hrs away and same place my MIL and sister live) the day after she was born because we were just too excited! The kids were excited to have another cousin, and they ALL wanted to hold her! They had each picked out a little toy for her. Here's some pictures of our precious new niece/cousin! I apologize for how many there are...ok, no I don't!

Change. It's hard. It's uncomfortable. It can be painful. It's rarely fun or looked forward to. Sometimes change is unexpected (like a death), other times it's expected and you have time to prepare (such as a new job). But, what about the changes you KNOW you need to make and you keep putting off? Well, my husband and I have been putting off change for a long time. We are fat. We are overweight. We are miserable. We must change. There's no other way around it. If we want to live a healthier and better life we must lose weight. We can't keep living the way we are.  A friend of ours introduced us to a weight loss program back before Christmas, I think. July of this year came and my husband said, "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to do it." Mind? Of course not!!!!! I don't mind at all!!!! He ordered his food and began his process of change. He's lost 35 lbs since he started the end of July!!  On the left is David's before

Last week marked the first day of preschool for Ben! How is it we have TWO children in school now?????? He is attending the same co-op nursery school that Cora did when she was 4. It's nice to be a returning parent! We know the ropes, we know what's expected, etc. It's nice not to be new. This year I have also decided to join the co-op board, so I'm  in charge of membership. Eek! I hope I'm able to get enough kids ready for next year!!! ANYWAY! Ben LOVES preschool! He is so excited to get to do something without his sisters ("Peeeeeschool only for MEEEEEEEE?), and he gets to spread his wings a bit and make some of his own friends. We love this preschool because you can't find ONE screen in the school. The kids learn through play, play and more play. They do have a craft time, which is used for learning the letter of the week, and they take time to do the weather, date, etc. But, the majority of the morning is spent in play. The teachers are GREAT and well

A couple weekends ago David was asked to perform a wedding for a couple who we didn't know. They have a mutual friend with David and this friend suggested David perform the wedding. It was at this gorgeous vineyard! I have never been to an outside wedding and this did not disappoint! It was so fun to watch David in action, perform a lovely ceremony for this couple, and then we got to enjoy a delicious meal, with 48 other strangers. HA! However, it was so nice to have a date! I love my husband and am thankful for him!

Since Bekah had her surgery back in February she has struggled with sleeping. And I mean, she's had night terrors, won't sleep for HOURS, has a hard time getting to sleep. You name it, they've written a chapter on it in a book. It's been a VERY frustrating 6 months. We have tried everything we know to do and still, sleep is not something we can count on. We have often felt like we have a newborn in the house again. We have cried, we have yelled, we have screamed, we have prayed, we have sought advice, we have read books, we have prayed and prayed and prayed. No, I have no idea why the Lord is allowing us to go through this season. During the early part of all this I had a friend share with me that she went through something similar with one of her sons. She shared with me that she spent those many hours in prayer. Yes, tears too, but prayer. I figured since she is wiser then me and had been through this I ought to take her advice. And so, I have. Prayer changes thing

Do you have a support team? I do. My husband is, of course, A-#1 support for me, but I also have several other friends and family who are a support system for me/us while we home school. A lot of those people don't live around us, however, there are 3 very special women and their families who live around us. We have 11 kids between our 4 families, and Ben is the only boy! The kids' ages range from Rebekah who is 2 and the oldest girl just turned 12! We have tons of fun together. We get together regularly to give our kids time to play, time to learn, and a time for us moms to support each other. We've been through a lot together in recent years. We've all been through some major downs and have held each other up through prayer, hugs, tears and open ears. I am so blessed to have these ladies in my life. They are so special, and I know God placed them in my life for so many reasons! Last week we all got together to celebrate one of our birthdays. It was fantastic to sim