A Lifetime of Love

Mother’s Day began SDW9. I woke up to Titus standing next to my bed with a Christmas-themed gift bag full of stuff. He begged me to get up and as I did, I could hear the other kids upstairs with TJ. When they saw Titus downstairs and me following up behind him, they started scolding him for waking me because they weren’t “ready” for me to come up. When I walked upstairs I immediately noticed signs covering quite a bit of wall and furniture space, as well as the counters and doors. They were all uniquely different expressions of basically “Happy Mother’s Day.” Some were written as acrostics, some drawings, and some distinctly bore the words “Happy Mother’s Day.” I had to chuckle because my kids really know me- a lot of the signs made mention of my love of teaching and reading.           My older boys redid a flower bed for me. It had been ripped up years ago to get rid of the scraggly bushes that were trying to grow, but we had never replanted anything in ...

SDW4 was so nice! It was Spring Break week for my kids so we were all able to take a break from school and the stress that goes with it. The kids enjoyed beautiful weather and lots of time outdoors. I did, too. I took several walks around the neighborhood or sat outside in the sunshine. It was glorious! This week we also went on a picnic at a local park. We were isolated and enjoyed watching the ants working around us. The fresh air and change of scenery did wonders for grumpy moods. As a family, we ended Spring Break by roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the camp fire. The girls attempted to camp outside on the trampoline, but it was too cold at night. They were all back in their beds by 3am. ;) TJ did take the kids fishing a couple of times. They LOVED it, especially the boys! Our dishwasher has been opening mid-cycle so TJ ordered a new latch. I am hoping it will be an easy fix and it won’t need to be replaced. We just had to replace our dryer last...

2010 has been a year marked by significant changes! On March 10 th we welcomed the newest member of our family, Taylor Ann. She was born almost 3 weeks early and has been a blessing since before her arrival. Now 9 months old, she is becoming more mobile and independent as she loves to explore her surroundings! She adores her siblings and is quite content to watch them play. At the end of May we moved into a larger house. The house is almost double the square footage of our old house, and is closer to the university where TJ works as the manager of the User Support and telephone call-center. It sits on a half-acre of land and is a long-awaited answer to prayer. We all have room to “spread out” but yet we enjoy the benefits of being closer to town. It is an older home that needs some updating, but we are slowly painting rooms and making it our own. Probably the best part of moving is our neighbors- over the months we’ve been here we have become closer with them and they are a blessing t...

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post so I thought I'd share some of what I've been up to. We went to the beach and had a fabulous trip. We actually stayed a little longer than planned because we just love the ocean and really didn't want to leave. :) Since getting back, I have been working on lesson plans for homeschooling next year. I finalized my curriculum and am now transferring the lessons for each subject into my lesson planner. It's time consuming and I am really only able to do it for a little bit in the afternoons while the kids nap. But, Lord willing, it's getting done and I am thankful. There are still boxes in almost every room that need to be unpacked, but motivation is small and honestly it's just too difficult for me to unpack with 5 small children. We've done some little projects around the house, one of which was putting plywood sheets up in the rafters of the attic to expand our attic space. We still have a storage unit full ...

I am so thrilled to finally be moved into our new "old" house. I call it that because the house is new to us, but it's actually 45 years old. It's so spacious compared to our other house; the kids and I LOVE it! The layout is perfect for us and I am so thankful the Lord, in His wisdom and timing, provided it for us. We are slowly unpacking because the more immediate priority is with cleaning. The house was previously owned by an elderly man whose wife died from cancer last year. He himself suffered from a stroke so it's been a VERY long time since the house has been cleaned. Each room requires a scrubbing from floor to ceiling and everything in between. Thankfully a friend of mine from church has been willing and able to come over to help clean. Together we were able to get the kitchen, kids' bedrooms, playroom, and 2 bathrooms completed; we're about halfway there! I have started unpacking the playroom so the kids have been acting like it's Christmas. ...

I had my routine doctor visit this morning. Weight gain is good (only about 21 pounds) and Taylor sounds great, the only concern was some protein in my urine. The doctor wasn't overly concerned because my blood pressure was normal, but in all of my other 4 pregnancies I've never had this. I suppose I am more concerned because of what my sister just experienced (same symptoms- protein in the urine but normal b/p). She ended up being hospitalized for 3 days before finally being induced. As much as I am ready to meet Taylor and end this pregnancy, I don't want it to be under those circumstances. I also have an ear infection, which is no fun. So do Teagan and T.G. We are all 3 on antibiotics although now tonight T.G. started running a fever. I'm not sure what to think now! I am hoping we are all feeling better by the time Monday rolls around. I've been sick since mid-January and I am ready to move on and get well!! The doctor also reminded me that I could potentially be...

I realize it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, and I thought I would take a moment to share what’s been happening around our house. . . Th lost another tooth so he is now missing both of his front teeth. He looks so cute!! They have both been loose since before Christmas, and he lost the first one a few days after New Year’s. Now that both are gone, some of his words sound strange and I kid him that Teagan now has more teeth than he does. He just smiles his toothless grin and gives me a hug. Teagan started speech therapy and I already love her therapist Susan. She is very much “special ed” so I get what she says. I can talk to her and she knows what I mean-- I love it!! Right now we are working on feeding issues, meaning we are trying to get Teagan to accept different textures of food. For instance, when feeding her peach yogurt, Teagan will manage to swallow the yogurt and spit out the tiny specs of peaches. I know it’s not related to taste because Teagan loves pureed peach...

I am so mentally and physically exhausted I cannot even begin to describe it. I have so many demands placed on me this semester that it is more taxing than anticipated. I wish my family and I could take a vacation and just get away. Alone. Away from school. Away from the house. Away from the chaos that seems to be never-ending. I think part of my frustration is that I am almost half way through the semester but I do not get a break like I normally would. I observe spring break this year at the same time as the school district. Good in that I will be home when my kids are home, but bad because I am finished with the semester one week later. Ugh. 6 more weeks to go until I get a break! I feel like the groundhog who just saw his shadow! I am being observed a few times over the next 2 weeks. I hate being observed, particularly because this is my "mid-term evaluation" and I am graded, but I'll get through it. It just makes for more stress because I have to make sure my lesson ...