White House Happenings

A big lift

2009-01-22T13:27:00.001-08:00

Well moving some furniture around and even getting rid of a few pieces has helped tremendously. The rooms are much more open even when they are crammed full of little people. :) We still have piles of thing on the stairs to take care of but overall everything looks great. :)

Tomorrow Paul's mom goes in for surgery to repair a whole near her small intestine. She has been in the hospital for a few weeks prior to this so she is pretty anxious to get this all behind her. Any prayers for her would be awesome! We are praying that her surgery goes well/quick as well as her recovery so she can be back spending time with her grandbabies. :)

It is a cloudy day with 40% chance of rain. It's always nice to get a cloudy day around here once in awhile. The temp was 80* yesterday. WOW! I am ready for spring but am hoping we don't spring right into summer which can happen here. The kids are already wearing shorts most of the time. Seems like winter was a blink of an eye this year.

Well, I am going to go curl up on the couch and enjoy the smell of chimichungas simmering away. Have a wonderful day!

Happy Orgainization Day!

2009-01-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

I was reading a friends blog this morning and she inspired me to celebrate organzing today. Here is her link if you want to check it out. http://www.twelve-paws.com/ She is a super sweet mom I met on Diaperswappers. She has a little girl born on the same day as Preston so her blog is always fun to read along with.

So today I am organazing aka PRESTON proofing our house. He is into everything.. I am thrilled to have him as a healthy and happy little boy but mama needs a little bit of sanity back. He is the first baby to require child locks on our cabinets. I don't think it is him as much as it is we are far more busy at this point in our life than we were when the other kids were smaller. I love his curiousity but we need to make sure he is safe too.

So today I will be going through and removing items that are easily within reach and just trying to make more sense of the layouts of each room. heheh as I type this I can hear Paul in the kitchen telling Preston, "Dude, you have the longest arms ever man!?

I just need to find out a way to make our days more functional and less frantic. It might require moving some furniture but it will be worth it in the end. .....I hope :)

Sick......

2008-12-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

So now that I am in the 2nd trimester and turning the corner on the all day nausea.....I have a cold with a cough that has caused me to throw up just as much. TMI....I know. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. LOL I am just praying the kids don't catch it. My mom and dad have it and so does my sister. My incredibly cute niece said "I think nana's turkey was sick and got us sick." She is too funny. By the way mom, we all think the turkey was fantastic! Where are my leftovers for turkey a la king?

We celebrated Jac's bday a week before Thanksgicing and Garrison a week after. We took Jac to Chuck E. Cheese and all the kids had a really nice time. Garrison chose to go see Bolt for his birthday. Paul took the kids to a late night showing and I stayed home with Preston. They too had a really great time and Paul has already added it to our must by when it comes out on DVD. He is such a sucker for a Disney flick.

We had some family drama go on over the last few weeks but all has subsided for now. Amen! It was a very stressful time but God also shared some amazing blessings with us too. His timing is always PERFECT!

Where we've been...

2008-10-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

It is just crazy how fast the days seem to go by right now. Between school, household chores and a very busy 1 year old our days fill up pretty quick. I wanted to add a few pics today and I realized I have been seriously slacking in the picture taking department. I did find a few to share though but I'll save those for the end. :)

Christmas is less than 2 months away. Can you believe it? We have already started to plan out some gifts for family. Cathy and I are doing family gifts for each other this year. This will help ease the financial aspect on both of us. I am going to work on a digital scraphook for her family. They are a beautiful and fun family so this will be an easy task. :) I might do a book for my mom too. My dad (and myself) are big Tony Stewart fans and he will be changing cars next season. So this will be a great time to grab some cool new Tony gear for my dad. :)

This is his old #20

We are going to miss you #20

Here is the new Old Spice #14

We think it's pretty cool! By the way Cathy, we hope you enjoy all these lovely pics.

Cathy ~~is the only~~ a Jeff Gordon fan. :)

As promised a few pics of our fab 5.

This was taken at the park for our P.E. day :)

Here is one of Preston practicing his left turns. :)

Still here :)

2008-06-28T23:37:00.000-07:00

Man, it is HOT here. We have been in the 110's for DAYS AND DAYS. The kids are climbing the walls. My mom and dad stopped by today to drop off a fridge for Paul's office. While they were here I think my mom realized that I needed a little breather from the overly rowdy bunch. So Paul and I left for about 2 hours to run errands and have dinner. It was such an unexpected little treat. I came home feeling refreshed and renewed.
While at Target Paul and I checked out the summer nonpool options. :( Hopefully next summer will bring a large water source of summer delight to our backyard but for this year it will be coming in the form of 6 supersoaker water guns. Why 6? 4 kids+2 childlike parents= tons of fun. So sometime tomorrow we will take the crew outside and hope to have an amazing time in this incredible heat.

I did miscarry 2 weeks ago. I was devistated. I really thought after Carter I wouldn't have to go through something like this again. But I did. I had a really hard time with it. I had some days where I was pretty angry with God. It just didn't make any sense to me at all. Lots of tears were shed. But now our sweet little boy has a sibling by his side now. We have always wanted our kids to be close in age. The girls are 19 months apart and the boys are 16 months apart. We are praying that Preston has a buddy (girl or boy :) ) God even gave that to our little angel boy. What an awesome GOD!

Let's go to the Zoo! There's lots to see and do :)

2008-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning Paul and I were cleaning up the kitchen mess and I mentioned it would be a great day for the zoo. We had a wonderful cool front blow through and our temps were only in the upper 70's and low 80's. Totally unusual for us this time of year. He immediately said yes which really surprised. On weekends we always try to stick around the house and "get things done". I think he knew I could use some time out of the house as well as the kids.

It was a perfect day. It had been raining the last 2 days but Sunday was sunny and clear. The animals were amazing. So many of them were right next to the fences. I think they were really enjoying the fresh cool air too. We were able to get some really cute pics.

Choices

2008-05-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Every day seems to be filled with choices. From the time I open my eyes in the morning until I tiredly close them at night, the amount of choices made is incredible. There are some choices that seem win win no matter what. Like sitting in the drive thru at Dairy Queen choosing between a Snickers' or M&M blizard. I mean seriously, there are no losers here. :) Other times it seems no matter which way you toss the coin, you're bound to lose.

This week I had to make the choice between having a surgical D&C to remove what was to have been our beloved Christmas baby or I can wait to naturally miscarry. On Friday we went in for our 8 week ultrasound. Our laughing and joking of how many babies would there be this time was quickly silenced by a very blank screen. I could feel my heart get heavy and my words though on the edge of my lips could not be spoken. My heart was crying out "not again, please not again". I knew what I was seeing but also knew I needed to ask to be sure. Oh how I didn't want to have to speak those words in fear of hearing the answer.
"It's not right is it?" I asked.
"No, when did you get your positive pregnancy test?"
"4 weeks ago"
"There is no baby. There is a yolk sac for the baby but that is all. I'm so sorry.:

My doctor started talking about why this happens but my head was spinning. It's like I could feel myself in that very moment when we knew we had lost Carter. A scenario so similar to this but so different. That feeling like you are watching someone else's nightmare unfold right before your eyes. So surreal.

So I was sent off for bloodwork which was to be followed up on Tuesday. Paul had already taken Friday as a vacation day to make a funfilled 4 day weekend. Tuesday seemes to be 48 hours long. Waiting and waiting for the phone call to give us the news we were dreading. Finally the call came and the news was not good. My HCG Friday was 14,XXX and Tuesday was 18,XXX. They should have at least doubled in that amount of time. I was heartbroken and numb.

I told the nurse that while my numbers are not what they should be, with them increasing at all I cannot go through with a D&C. So now I will have repeat bloodwork done next Tuesday and follow up with my dr. then. Where this road will lead, only God knows.

So now I am making the choice to trust. It's not only all I can do it's the best I can do. I can trust in the Lord with ALL of my HEART and lean NOT on my OWN understanding. Proverbs 3:5

I have always loved that verse and have sang it to myself in various situations in my life. Never has that verse been so real to me as it is now. As each day goes by I just pray for strength. Sometimes I let my head run away with thoughts of why. Why even let me get pregnancy if this was going to be the outcome? Why? Why? But, I am chosing to trust. In this life this may never ever make sense to me. I am just so blessed to be a child of God in the stormiest of days.

Blessings

2008-04-24T13:07:00.001-07:00

So yesterday Paul and I found out that we will be adding #7 to our family. We are thrilled beyond belief and pretty shocked. This is a baby that was very much hoped and prayed for. Surprisingly with our large bunch, getting pregnant has never been really easy for us. We would love and encourage any and all prayers for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery. And yes, this is the caboose for the White House Express.
This Christmas is going to be an amazing time for us. Everything just seems "right". It's exciting and exhausting all at once. My God rocks! :)

Ice Cream Sunday

2008-04-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

I was at the computer Sunday afternoon while the kids were happily playing in the playroom(aka garage). Paul was outside doing some much needed yardwork. In the background I could faintly hear the song of the ice cream man coming. Paul opened the front door and said "You want to?". I said "You have money?" ...."Yep". ....."OK". He ran to catch the truck while I ran to get the kids. Calm cool and collected I walked into the garage and said "Yea, so I am going to the ice cream man. " I then turned and bolted to the front door. I could hear eight footsteps right on my heels. I swung open the front door and they charged out to meet daddy by the truck. I instantly burst into tears. To think that God has intrusted all of these precious people to Paul and me is incredible. They are all so amazing each in their own incredible way. I love being their mama.

Halfway thru day 1

2008-03-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

and all is going well. We just got home from Park Day where we blew around the park for about 30 minutes. We finally decided that the wind won and we would go home and catch a movie. Paul and I just couldn't take the chance of anyone getting any kind of sickness. So we got to spend a few extra minutes just hanging out together before he went back to work. It's crazy how precious time has quicky become. So often we would just waisted time together, me on the computer him watching t.v. Now we just want to savor those moments together. I love the fact that after 12 years I still feel like that 17 year old totally in love when he holds my hand. Ok, back to school and laundry and all those super fun things. Hope you have a great day! Smiles

90 days = a better US!

2008-03-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

Over the last 3 years our family has been thru a lot....a lot for us anyway. We had a major financial situation that was incredibly stressful. We seriously contemplated a move to California which was only a state away but would have been life changing for us. We were carried through the loss of our little boy, Carter. We again contemplated a move to a nearby city due to schools. We were led to homeschool our children. Paul's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimers and moved to an assited living facility We then welcomed our newest addition as a preemie by 6 weeks. We have recently spent nearly the last 2 months with a house full of sickies. I'm sure loads of little things were sandwiched in there as well.

So needless to say, Paul and I have not always been on our "A" game over these 3 years. Lots of things in our life have seemed to spin out of control. The house cleaning, our relationship, the discipline of ourselves and our children, school has suffered to a degree as well and Paul's job has been a struggle. We are tired. I know there are people dealing with much worse but this is what has been on our plates.

2 weeks ago Paul was informed from his.....eh hum...boss that he will be returning to the center for 90 days. He has been working from home the past 6 years or so. This was devistating to our family. Paul being the only driver is a huge help to our family during the day. It would have been nice if his boss had had a small amount of compassion...but she didn't....not even in the least.

So we are taking these very sour lemons and making some delicous lemonade! We are creating a campaign around our house for "90 days to a better you, a better me and a better us" Either way we are going to go through these 90 days so why not make the most of them. Each person in our family (with the exception of Preston) has some areas that need improvemt. So that's what we are going to do and in 90 days we will be healthier. happier and a little more holy.

Deal or No Deal Salvation

2008-02-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am not one to get "preachy" on my blog but I really wanted to share something I was thinking about last night. We were watching "Deal or No Deal". It's always interesting to see how people go through the process of deciding how much to wager and how much are you willing to risk at a "chance" of getting the million $$$ case. Howie kept telling the contestant last night "This is going to change your life forever!" I am sure in many cases (no pun intended) it really does. You may walk away wondering what if or you may walk away with more money than you ever dreamed. But, it is all by chance.

Can you imgaine if salvation was the same way? What if it didn't matter how you lived your life. You could live like Mother Theresa or Ozzie Osbourne and at the end it would all come down to chance whether you enter in to Heaven. Can you see St. Peter standing there with all these cases. He would be cheering you on just like Howie. "Come on Heidi, do you want to open up one more case or do you think your case has salvation in it?"

God is amazing. He didn't leave that decision up to chance. He said very simply, no one comes into the kingdom unless through my son. Asking Jesus into your heart is your "case" into Heaven. You don't have to leave anything up to chance. You can ask Jeusu into your heart today and know that when your time on earth is done you will be Heaven bound. Now that IS life changing.

Hi!

2007-12-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

Not a lot to report at the White House so thought I would just post a few pics. :) Have a great day!

Older than my older brother.....:(

2007-10-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow I will embark on my 29th year of life. I have more in my life than I could ever imagined. I have tons and tons to be thankful for. But, this is one birthday that is harder for me than most. Tomorrow I will be older than my older brother. How I wish this was some crazy riddle with a silly answer but it's not. My brother who was 8 years older than me entered into the gates of Heaven at a very young age 28. I have often thought about him this year. Thinking about how I remember at 28.

Tomorrow I will surpass him in earthly age and it is just making me so sad. I really miss him so much. We had our ups and downs like any brother and sister. I dearly miss being Paul's little sister. Of course I will always be his little sister. I just miss having him here as my big brother.

I couldn't and wouldn't wish him back here. He is in a perfect body now and I can't even fathom how he must feel, I can only imagine.

Here is a video in memory of my biggest and bestest brother love your little sis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3LUc78vbDk

A WORM!!!!

2007-10-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

So today had been a good day but a long day. I finally sat down to eat around 8:30pm. I had all the kids tucked in so I decided to sit down and watch some tv while I ate. I was sitting on the floor and noticed something by the molding. I asked Paul what it was. After close examination he says "Huh, it's a worm." What, a what. Is what I was thinking but my legs were already outta there. I dashed in to the kitchen totally grossed out. Thank goodness the kids were all sleeping otherwise it would be Heidi the science teacher who just loves worms and all of God's wonderful creations. Instead, it was Heidi from Jr. high who can't stand bugs and hi tailed it out of the room yelling "Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!" Now my sister is like the ultimate bug killer. She lives in a rural area which has stunning mountain views. However, along with those views come some very interesting creatures. I mean not just your run of the mil scorpions and tarantulas but like on Tuesday for instance....she found a bug in the hallway that she described as centipede. I told her that I thought they felt really soft on their backs. She said ummmmm, it actually had pincher's on the back. EKKKKKKKKKKK. I love her so much and she has to be one of the bravest people I know. I told her I would have paid the bug guy $100 to come kill it for me.

Anyway, I guess tonight was a blog much to do about nothing. LOL Hope you are having a great week and please..........watch your step. :)

PS obviously no picture is needed or wanted for this entry.

We found our church on CRAIGSLIST!!!

2007-10-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I was at my wits end with the girls' room. There room is probably about 10feetx11feet so fitting two twin beds in is really tight. After 8 years of proudly proclaiming we would never, I mean never buy bunk beds........we gave in. (We were afraid they would get hurt) We just felt they needed a little room to play and spread their wings a little.
We searched and found a really nice set on CL. When Paul called to work out a pickup time he realized we had bought something from these people before. Indeed we had, we bought a really cute cat and dog shower curtain set. (We had flowers in the kids' bath and thought we needed something a little more neutral for the boys now.
When Paul went to pick the beds up it was too tight to fit in the van. So the couple offered the husbands help and truck to bring it to us. How cool was that. Anyway, Paul spent at least 30minutes chatting with the guy on the front porch. When he came in he proudly told me, "I found our new church." This struck me as odd or really it was God. I have been really struggling with some issues of the church we have attended for about 5years. Paul on the other hand has always loved the church so I figured finding a new church wasn't in the cards.
So Paul and I talked for quite awhile that night. We both agreed that the distance and size of our church was a little too much. (easy to get lost in 12,000 people. :0) So we decided to give this new church a try.
Paul and the kids and my mom and dad went last weekend. I stayed home sick with Preston. When he came home he said he enjoyed it and thought it might be the answer for us. My mom and dad, who have been looking for nearly 5 years, seemed to enjoy it too.
I finally got to go today and it was awesome. He preached straight from the BIBLE. He has an expository style of preaching. I loved it. It was really neat having someone explain line by line what is being said.
The kids seem to really enjoy their classes as well. I think this could really be a time of growth for all of us and that is so exciting.
Now I am off to bed after I smother my lip in carmex. It's amazing how I can go through the pain of labor and yet a cracked lip can still hurt so bad.

Happy week!!!

Brownie batter and backyard swings

2007-10-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the first day in a long time I really felt like a "good" mom. We were babysitting a few kids from our homeschool group due to a death in their family which required attending an out of town funeral for the parents. So needless to say with 8 kids running through the hosue, the day was all about the kids.

I was a little overwhelmed at first. I'm the type who quickly offers my help and then moan and groan to God and anyone who listens(sorry Cat) about dreading what I willingly got myself into. I know the bible is pretty clear about being a cheerful giver with money and I am trying to practice this with time too.

Anyway, the day went really well much thanks to my hubby. He is way more laid back than I am and goes with the flow. I am more of the dam that gets in the way of the flow sometimes.

So by mid morning I just chilled out. I thought, all that is going to get done today is taking care of the kids. You know what, that's ok.

Garrison was having melt down after melt down so instead of spanking, time outs and both of us crying......we made brownies. I plopped him on the counter and he and I made a delicous batch of brownies. He was covered in batter and I didn't even care. He was happy and so was I.

The rest of the day rolled really well. We spent some time mowing the yard. Then all the kiddos took turns swinging on the backyard swing with me. It was really nice just enjoying each other. I went to bed feeling like I had really spent my time doing the most important things. Obviously there are chores to keep up with but a day like this was just really nice. :0)

Today, I feel a little behind with school. I always manage to get the 3 R's done but sometimes neglect the fun parts of science and geography. It all comes down to planning and I am really going to work on that this weekend.

All in all it's been a nice week.

We did have one very sad event this week. My sister's sweet dog passed away. Raisin was an incredible and loyal pet. I kept telling Cathy how sorry I was and how we will all miss her so much. I cried with her on the phone telling her I wish there was something I could say to make things better. I hate when my sister cries. It's not often, but I hate it. So please keep her and her family in your prayers. I do believe dogs go to Heaven and I am sure she is already getting some good snuggling in from my big

brother.

Doesn't even compare

2007-10-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I was feeling overwhelmed with some money issues. i was really wrestling with the frustration of having mroe month than money.Staring your morning off with 2 calls about payments being due prompted this struggle. It's not medical bills or car repairs that have caused us these problmes but just irresponsible overspending. This is something Paul and I have struggled with for the better part of our marriage. We have made huge striedes but still have muh work to do.
So I was feeling quite sorry for myself for the place we are at financially and so I went surfing for awhile. Quickly I found the blog a fellow MFW user/blogger who had just lost her precious baby boy during her 20th week of pregnancy. (For those who don't know, we lost our little boy Carter during the 23rd week of pregnancy in Feb '06) So her blog touched a nerve and I began reading her previous posts. Then I cm accross a post with the Casting Crowns song "Praise you in this storm". Thsi has been what Paul and I call our "Carter Song" since shortly after we lost him. The words are incredible and completely describe how I felt/feel.
After watching the video and of course shedding more tears, I realized how I was really missing the mark this morning. Sure, money is tight and it is frustrating but GOD is BIGGER! Hasn't he proved that to me? He scooped me up and carried me in His arms when we lost Carter, will he not walk with us through this as well? This struggle does not even compare to ANY we have already faced. Yes, Paul and I have made mistakes to cause this but God is still here. He will provide in ways we NEED and I know that. He showed me that yesterday when a neighbor showed up at our door with 5 stunningly beautiful dresses for the girls to wear this winter. Amazing how in 24 hours I could let myself doubt Him.
I am beyonf blessed to call myself a child of God, his child.

Here is the video if you would like to watch it. :0)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr7i5L6kFT0

Hot glue and a chicken head???

2007-09-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks, no more like months have been so crazy. I seriously have wind blown hair from life blowing by so fast. The crazy thing is most people I talk to feel the same way. At first I thought maybe having 5 kids causes you to feel like you are in perpetual motion but I think it's a majority of our country. I was on the phone with a friend who has 2 kids and I asked her if she felt really busy. She said absolutely. I was so amazed that she felt the same way.
So why is it that we have made so many fantastic technological advances but yet our time seems more limited than ever. We have appliances that help make our life easier in so many valuable ways yet......we feel like we have to stop and grab fast food because we either don't have time to shop or even if we did when on earth would we cook it????
I think our kids feel it too. I remember when I was young and I felt so carefree. I could lay on my bed for hours and not feel like I was going to be days behind for enjoying a leisurely afternoon. Jac stormed out of the room muttering how she wishes she could have "just one Saturday to do what I wanted". I know, at first I thought well listen here little missy, you don't call the shots on how the days run around here. I admit I was pretty upset over the fact that she feels like the days should revolve around her plans. But, then tonight I think it really hit me that the kids needs breaks too. There are days we have errands up the wazoo and I am sure it is overwhelming to them. It is to me too.
So as of tonight I am quiting the days of running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I am officially hot gluing my head back on. (You know I could have said rubber cemented my head back on and that sure would sound a lot less painful than hot glue......but)
My mom and I, both are all star quality procrastinators, often tell each other you make time to do the things you really want to do. It is so true. So this week I am going to try my best to take out all the things that just don't belong......right now. I hate to say it but I think browsing.....no stalking craigslist is going to have to be put on hold for awhile. I know there will be someone else that will be the first to find that listing of 10,000 Christmas lights tangled beyond belief free to whoever is willing to detangle them but......that's just going to have to be ok.
So if you are reading this thinking......that crazy lady must just not manage her time well. (you are right :0) ) Please share something that you have done or changed in your routine to create a little more time in your day.
These days of toddler and babies will pass so fast and I don't want to miss anymore than I already have. So if you have time, :0) , please lift me up in prayer for getting all of these things straightened out.
Ok, 6 minutes until I promised myself I would be in bed so that should be just enough time to cruise craigslist one more time right......I know...I'm going to bed. Good night

Turning the corner on colic :0)

2007-09-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

I know it's hard to believe this sweet little face can be Mr. McFussypants isn't it? Mr. P-body has ben so colicy for the last 6-8 weeks but we really feel he is turning the corner. It has been a long several weeks to say the least but every day gets a little better. I am so thankful that we have these incredible little people in our lives.

Isn't he such a cutie!!!!!

I just love this pic of the kids. They really are a tight little bunch and it's so awesome to see. Sure, they have their fair share of fights and then some but then you have moments like these and your sanity comes back.

School is going FANTASTIC. Amazing what a difference a year makes. Last year I spent so much time wondering if we were doing the right thing. What if I was making a huge mistake? What if they don't learn anything? Now we are a year down the road and I can see tremendous gains. I really helped them learn. Not to mention all the little lessons they have helped me learn these last 12 months. I still have the lovely "yellow school bus" days every now and then. But I am so thankful to be in the spot we are today. Some days Paul and I look at each other in shock and wonder what are we doing!!!!!!!! But most days we look at our life in amazement for the life that we have. Tonight, I feel very blessed.

10 pm and still awake waaahhhhh!!!

2007-08-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

No matter how hard I try, I cannot make it to bed before 10pm. It's so funny to think back when I was younger. Staying up until 10 was a big deal. Then staying up even later than that was huge! I can remember nights that I stayed up all night and still felt great the next day. Now if I am up past 11 I can plan on two fully charged cups of coffee just to try and roll my lifeless, tired beyond belief body out of bed. I'M GETTING OLD!!!! Apparently not really getting but I done got!

10 years

2007-07-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Paul and I celebrated our 10 yr wedding anniversary. We have managed to pack a lot in to those quick 10. We have had great times and not so great times but all I can say have been blessings in one way or another. We started very early into our marriage losing my brother at a young 28 (which is the age I am now and feels very odd to be as old as my older brother was). The blessing was knowing his heart was marked for Christ and I will hug him again someday. Shortly after we welcomed our first baby into the world. Followed by 3 more little sets of feet that run through our house spreading joy and an occasional mess, or was that the other way around. hmmmm Then we were carried through the loss of our little boy, Carter. I say carried because I know God scooped this heartbroken mommy up into His arms until I was ready to walk again. Then we added our newest little guy to the bunch.
We have had our ups and our downs and we have always had each other. Marriage is a TON of work. More so than I ever would have thought. Mom and Dad, you made it look way too easy!
So we had a pretty mellow day around here but that was fine in the end. I went on a shopping trip to Target with Jac and that was just what we both needed. OK, scaring her in the toy aisle with a giant plastic tarantula may have been a little more for me. :0). Mom and Dad dropped by for a few minutes to bring us a gift which was very sweet. Then we wrapped up the night with a pizza party with the 7 of us. All in all, a very nice day.
I am planning on venturing over to church this weekend. Our church has DVD's of each service but the music is not quite the same. I need my Andy fix. :) ( He is our worship leader who is a cross between Bob Carlisle and a little bit of rock to me. )

I also want to say a huge thanks to everyone who left such encouraging words the other day. I needed them as I am sure you knew. They really touched my heart in such a huge way. I am the first in my local family to home school so at times I feel like I am on an island and it ain't Barbados. :) Thank you so much!!!

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Uuuggggg

2007-07-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

When you find yourself sitting on the couch absolutely glued to the TV watching Super Nanny.......not because you can't believe how some children act.....but more like you are trying to gain any useful tips to help you "get through" the day........feeling like this could very well be your own family on tv is......well it just isn't good. To say I am struggling with the kids would be an understatement. I am tired and drained and feel very overwhelmed. I love my kids and they are my world. But right now I am just wondering if we are in fact doing the right thing.
The reason we first talked about homeschooling was so Jac(dc #2) would not have to attend full time K. I felt and still feel an 8hr day away from home is too much for a 5 year old. Then Paul and I talked and we really felt led to homeschool because we wanted the kids to really have strong character, know right from wrong and have a personal relationship with Christ to guide them in their life. We never said we would homeschool forever. We felt we would take it one year at a time.
Now here I sit, curriculum bought wondering if I should just send them to public school. I feel like we dropped the ball on the girls. The things that were so important to us fell by the wayside and we were just trying to "get through" our days.
I had dreams of our kids getting along, enjoying each others company and us all having this great adventure in life. Nope. Our days are filled with bickering, griping, complaining and that's just from Paul and I. :0) JK. It's not that way all the time but it just feels like it at time.
Part of me really wants to make this work and another part of me wants to take what I feel is the easy way out. (Not that sending your children to public school is taking the easy way out. But for our season of life right now I feel God pushing me to do something I just don't want to therefor I would be taking the easy way out.)
I am tired, my clothes don't fit, my kids wear me out, money is tight and I feel stuck in a rut. More than anything I lack discipline BIG TIME. The sad thing is most of these things would go away if I could get my act together. Could it be because I am trying to handle things all on my own. I haven't been to church in 10 weeks (we are keeping P home until around 12 weeks due to him being a premie) but that's no excuse for not cracking open my bible.
I guess I am writing thise because maybe seeing all this in type will help me to realize what the problems really are. Please pray for me that .......honestly I don't even know what exactly to pray for. I am just tired of "getting through". I want more for me and I want more for my family. Maybe God is putting little thorns in my test so I can focs on what my priorities should be rather than what they are.

One of the places we learn

2007-07-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is our main work area. My Dad found those cabinets on clearance for $25.00 each. I love a great deal and boy can we fill those up.
This is where the kids work. We wanted to make sure there was enough room for the older 4 to be able to work all at the same time. Some day we would like an old formal dining room table that we all could sit at but for now this works fine. :)
The rainbow storage unit is where the girls store their books by subject. The piano is where the boys make "music".
This is our homemade calendar. We used items from the Dollar Spot at Target last year. The pieces velcro to the foam board. I think this cost about $5.00 to put together. :)
This is an idea I found on Heidi Swapp's blog and we all love it. It's a tray that we put in the middle of the table and everyone has easy access to all the crayons, markers, colored pencils and other goodies. It's so functional and pretty cute too. :)

I would love to see the places you learn too. SO, if you have pics please feel free to post your links. We are still looking to fill in some gaps so if you see something missing let us know. We love all the help we can get. :0)

Our Bumbo Boy

2007-07-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

The cool thing about having kids over the last 8 years is the new things that come out with each new baby. Now this may have been around for a while but for us it is brand new, a bumbo chair. I put P in it this morning and he looks so cute. He lasted about 3 minutes but that was long enough for me to snag a pic. Now it is back to school with the girls. Have a great day!

Ok......I can do this

2007-06-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

So I had a mini breakdown on Saturday night. After shedding many tears I came to the realization that I am exhausted. It's like everything just hit me at once. I knew Paul was going back to work in 2 days and had no idea how I was going to handle all 5 kids! Any other time that I have had a baby I feel pretty fantastic quite soon after. But with Preston it has been really different and difficult. Having a csection and then spending the next 2 weeks after going to and from the hospital was a lot. Then finally bringing him home but then getting used to his monitor that beeps....a lot. Then trying to make sure I am spending enough time with all my babies. Wishing I felt up to do the cleaning that I know needs to be done. Wishing I was in the kitchen pulling freshly baked chocolate chip cookies out of the oven while a roast simmers in the crock pot. But I am tired and I am lucky to get the necessites of a day in.

Today is a much better day. The sun is brighly shining in my world today. Which is kind of ironic as it is really overcast today and a chance of rain. But, I love rainy days so that just adds to my day. Our 5 month old pug is getting the hang of potty training. AMEN! and yes Mother the boys will be NEXT! :0)

Today, I feel like I am going to be able to handle it all. I am getting used to the monitor. In fact this morning I was changing Preston and it went off and didn't even scare me. SO HA! It's pretty funny that me who LOVES to scare people can get so riled myself. I am very blessed and thankful today. It's amazing when you try to handle your life on your own how much easier and enjoyable it is when you surrender the reigns to the rightful owner. I am drawing from the unfailing strength that only God can give. What an awesome God!

PS and a few new pics of P!

Just a great day

2007-05-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

So today I had my first official outting(other than the daily trips to see P) and I got to go to Target. It was about a 30 minute trip and that was enough for me. I wanted to "borrow" Heidi Swapp's very cool craft idea for entertaining the kids through summer. The girls are having a ball with the new crayons and markers and what not. Then we took it a step farther and put a clear plastic table cloth over the entire table to protect it while the kids are coloring. Then when they are done they can slide their pic under it and TADA we have a kitchen table adorned with beautiful pics from our favorite artists. :)

Then Paul and I went to see Preston. It was amazing. He was wide awake when we got there. He was waving his arms around and sucking on his hands. He seemed so "normal" today. He took the first part of his bottle and then finished the rest through his tube. He even gave us a few little cries. What a precious sound that was for us. We haven't heard him cry since the first few minutes after he was born. He is really doing well and hopefully we will soon be a party of 7 at home.

Here is a cute little pic his Daddy took. Please continue to keep out little guy in your prayers. :)

6th baby and I feel like a ROOKIE????

2007-05-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition quickly made his way into the world on Friday May 18th. We got to the hospital around 1pm and by 6 pm he was being delivered via c-section(my first). He was 34 weeks to the day. He was taken directly to the nicu where he still remains. Everyday he hits a new milestone. At this point we are dealing with a little jaundice and he has a tube in his nose for eating. He does about half of his feedings through a bottle and the rest through the tube. We are hoping and praying that he comes home very soon. He is doing fantastic and was just a little early to have to deal with breathing, eating, swallowing and everything at once. Please keep our little Preston Lee in your prayers!

Preston Lee

born May 18th

weighing 5lbs 3oz

18.5 inches long

6:06pm

Is someone fooling me or is April really almost over???

2007-04-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

WOW, I cannot believe April is ending this weekend. Crazy. The time is just flying by right now.

I took a little time last night and worked on 2 layouts. I used the same colors so I could have the pages side by side. I usually don't scrap 2 page layouts but they look so much nicer to me. So the first one is Preston's ultrasound and the second if a very brave belly pic layout. I never, ever have done these with the other kids becasue of not wanting my pic taken when I look "that" pregnant but I bit the bullet and went ahead and tried one. I know I love the pic of my mom pregnant with me in her swimsuit by the pool. We looked so cute huh Mom. :0) Anyway, Victoria actually took the pic for me. I guess we had a photography class that day. LOL

We had a great dr. appt today and now all the rest of my appts. are scheduled. Our little guy will be here before we even know it. :)

Hope you have a great day, Heidi

Sasha 1st photo shoot

2007-04-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sasha has had a big day today. She started off early this morning by being introduced to Gus. Gus is an 8 month old Pug that lives 2 doors down. We are very partial to our little Sasha and think she is the most beaufiful Pug we've seen but I gotta tell ya that Gus is a looker. They both were so excited to meet each other. Gus just strolled right up to our front door and I'm sure we'll be seeing him back. LOL

So Miss Sasha was feeling pretty good about herself today. So when the kids went down their nap I took her in the office to do a mim photo shoot. I found some great fabric at WalMart last night that I thought would be so fun for backdrops when I take pics of the kids. I was so anxious to see what it would like so I grabbed Sasha and started taking some pics. She is just so cute. I took about 5 pics just to see how they would turn out. I am pretty happy. Can't wait to experiment with the kiddos. They are always such willing little subjects. LOL

Happy Thursday!!!!

Botanical Garden Field Trip

2007-04-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to the Desert Botanical Garden. Paul had free passes from AMEX so we figured what did we have to lose. I have to admit I am not a fan of the desert wildlife. I would much prefer to be looking at palm trees and ocean waves but.........we had a fantastic time. The weather was beautiful, the kids were awesome and the plants were actually pretty cool. My favorite cactus is one that resembles and octopus. It was creepy and cool at the same time.

The best part for all of us was the Butterfly Encounter. You go inside this huge screenhouse and there are TONS of butterflies flying around. 2 of them landed on Paul which the kids loved. Some of the butterflies were just HUGE! The colors were amazing. God must have had so much fun when he made butterflies.

I was really proud of the kids. It wasn't the most exciting field trip but they had so much fun. They are still talking about it.......but I guess so am I. LOL

So here is the layout that I did last night.

Have a SUPER day!!!

Broke my streak

2007-04-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

So last night I was doing a little cyber shopping and found this really cool flame paper from atomic cupcake. I so LOVE her stuff! I remembered that Cathy had just sent me a pic of Jeffrey driving a Ford GT. So I opened up photoshop and got busy. It felt great to get a little scrapping done. I don't think I have done any since we did that book for my Dad back in November. Oh my gosh, is that crazy.

Victoria finished her spelling book today. Yahhhooo!! It feels great to have one subject completely done! She was so thrilled and then asked me when her new book is coming. LOL

Man, I wish you could hear Sasha snoring on my bed. It is making me so sleepy. LOL 9 more hours and I can go to bed.

Well, hope you have a really nice springy day!

Tired...........

2007-04-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

I am more tired this pregnancy than ever before. Hmmm, I wonder why? I mean I wake up tired. I love being pregnant and feel so incredibly blessed to be but I am POOPED!!!! I told my Dr. that I was feeling really tired this time around and he lovingly told me I should feel better when Preston goes to college. :) :) :)
We did get a few things done this weekend. I ordered all of the girls' curriculum for next year. I have spent hours and I mean hours researching so many different kinds of books and what not. Last year we chose a "boxed" curriculum which is pretty much everything you need for the year. Super for a rookie homeschooler like me. This coming year thought I wanted to try something a little different. So now we are doing an "eclectic" style piecing things together. It's pretty scary at first having no one to tell you exactly what you need to buy for your child. So I tried to really listen to what God was guiding us toward. So after spending all day yesterday online, I can say that everythhing is DONE! I feel so great about it too. My goal is to finish our year up this month and then start our next year in May. With our summers being so hot having something to do during the day seems to make sense to us.
One of the books we are using is Apologia Zoology 2 which explores some of the animals God created on the 5th day. The author has an amzing style of writing that just sucks you in. Like did you know that the blue whale has a heart the size of a VW Bug? Or that it has veins so large you could swim through them. Crazy huh! Look forward to more of my little tidbit this year. LOL
Well, Preston has decided to park himself right under my ribs so I think I am going to go lay down with the boys and watch "Cars". Such a great movie to round out our Nascar Sunday.

It's a jungle in HERE

2007-03-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

So we made the big switch and put the boys together this week. It's so funny to hear these two little voices chattering away at night. They seem to really enjoy being together. Now we are starting to prep the nursery for Preston. We purchased most of the items when I was pg with Carter so now all we need are the little touches. I am a little stuck on what to do with the green wall on the right. Any ideas??? I bought the matching wallpaper border to embelish a few things in the room like the ceiling fan blades and what not. It is a work in progress and I'll update as we go along. We are almost done with the entire house and I am so happy. It's been a lot of work, a lot of fun and LOTS of paint. :)

TGIF

2007-03-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

I love Firdays!!! I am so glad every week has one. :) Today we are off to run a few errands. I love getting any shopping before the weekenders hit. I am not a big fan of crowds especially when we have 4 little ones in tow. I am hoping to find a couple cute outfits, a trip to Joanns to grab some card making stuff and the book store to grab this really cool book called "Managers of their Households". It's a book that helps you figure out what are your most important priorites around the house and then making time to get everything done. I love organization. The downside to that is if I feel unorganized I feel very unproductive. We are also going to work on chore lists and an allowance and this should help with that as well. A lot of little arrands but will feel so great when they are all done!!! YAHHHOOO

It's a GIRL!!!!

2007-02-28T07:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, we haven't really been able to say "It's a girl" in quite a while but we can today. We adopted our newest addition to our family this past Sunday. Her name is Sasha and she is a spunky 7 week old pug. I know some people may think that was really quick after losing our sweet Sassy and it was. Crazy as it is though Paul and I have lost now 3 precious pets in our10 years and each time we have adopted someone within about a week. It's always seemed to work out and I'm sure this will be the case with Sasha. We named her Sasha so she has SAS from her big sister. 0:)

We had checked the pound over the weekend but weren't able to find any puppes. Because we have such small kids we wanted to make sure we knew what we were getting. So we found Sasha in the paper and went and picked her up early Sunday morning. The lady we adopted her from was also named White so Sasha went from the the White house to the White house. :) The kids are just eating her up. I don't think she has spent to much time on all fours yet. Not to mention her daddy is pretty smitten with her too. She seems to be a great fit for our family and we are so happy to have her.

This weekend we are going to the nursery to pick out a really pretty tree for Sassy. We want to plant it in the backyard near a spot where she loved to sunbathe. Jac even mentioned placing her beloved ball near the tree. I think it is a great idea. Jac has had the most difficult time other than her mommy, with losing Sassy. She is so full of passion. It is so awesome when she is loving someone but just heartbreaking when she is hurting. She loves to push my buttons but her spirit is just incredible. What a dynamic little person God entrusted to us.

Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!!!

Off you go

2007-02-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to believe these are words I am actually even writing. Yesterday we let go of our very first furbaby. Sassy was our sweet little girl that we adopted on our honeymoon. She gave us nearly 10 years of tremendous loyalty and love. We fell in love with her as soon as we met her. She was so full of life. When Paul called to make her an appt. yesterday the receptionist said "Oh, I remember happy little Sassy." She really left an impact on all who knew her. That girl LOVED to play ball like no other. She was such an incredible part of our lives. Even my Dad cried when he found out. She really loved everyone. So many things we can learn from our beloved pets without them ever speaking a word. We love you so much Sassy! Words cannot even begin to thank you for the nearly 10 amazing years you gave us. A part of our hearts you will always be. Love, Mom and crew

It's a ......................

2007-02-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

BOYYYY!!!!!!!!!! We are so thrilled that our little "he" looks so healthy and happy. He was a busy little guy during the ultrasound. We were able to take the girls with us and they were very entertained with their new little bro. Now we are stuck on names. Any suggestions?

This Saturday we are going yard saling for baby items. I am so excited. I love getting great deals on fun stuff. We had given all of our baby stuff away after we had Gar thinking we were done. So we will get up early and grab powder doughnuts and OJ.....breakfast of yard sale champions. LOL

Here is a pic of our little guy sucking his thumb. Thanks for looking and have a great day, Heidi

I NEED to scrap

2007-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

It has been weeks so I have done any scrapping be it paper or digital. Hopefully today will be my break through. It seems like the weeks are just flying by anymore. So I thought I would post an older layout of our Toribug. So hard to believe she will be 8 soon. WOW!

Today is the girls first day of PE at the park. They are so excited to meet their new coach and fellow homeschool friends. I hope they have a great time.

Last night I felt my first "real" kick from baby "E". I was laying down listening with the doppler. It's really cute right now because you can hear "E" wiggling around in there. I was so intent on listening and then there was this big kick. It totally startled me. I think "E" had enough of the doppler at that point. It was really cute and reassuring as I never really felt our little Carter kick at all. Then I felt a few little kicks this morning too. I can't wait for the kids to start feeling them too. :)

Hope you have a super day, Heidi

Sweet 16

2007-01-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

I was 12 years old when my nephew, Jeffrey, was born. I was the baby of the family so this was the first baby I was able to spend time with on a regular basis. I might as well rat myself out now before he does about something. When he was about a week and a half old I thought I had broke him. :( I was changing his diaper and his cord fell off. I felt terrible. I mean someone could have warned me that could happen. :) I was reassured that everything was fine and I felt much better. I love him so much. Jeffrey and I share the same sad sense of humor and he loves to laugh. Jeffrey has always felt much more like a little brother to me than a nephew. We also tend to fight like brother and sister too. Now he is taller than I am so he can take me down a little easier. LOL

Anyway, Happy Birthday buddy! I hope this year is your best year yet. I love you, Heidi

Jac is reading....... yahoooo

2007-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

My goal for homeschooling Jac was to have her reading by the end of the year and by george she's got it. I am just amazed. Even though I spend everyday with her, it blows me away how much she has learned. She is just starting with the easy readers but she is well on her way. She is so proud to be reading along with her big sis.

School is going really well right now too. It sure has taken a lot of getting used to. It's fun and exciting and challenging and draining. I am still trying to decide which programs to use next year so if you get a chance please pray for guidance for me in this area. This year we did a box program that was all inclusive. Great for a newbie like me but next year I am looking for a little more structure than what we had this year.

Speaking of school, I am off to give Victoria her math test and Jac gets 5 new sight words. Have a great day!!!!

PS The pic is one of Jac from the summer daydreaming at Nana's. I thought this was a great pic for entering the world of reading. WOW

11 days to go :)

2007-01-21T08:03:00.000-08:00

11 days until we find out if we are going to round out our family with a little girl or little boy. It's been so long since I have been able to buy little girly baby clothes but having boys is wonderful beyond my dreams so either is fine........I just want to know!!!!!
Right now I have Turner and Hootch on in the background. That is such a cute movie. Gotta love him with those droopy cheeks and pouty eyes. Not my favorite movie but still a good one. Which brings me to what would be my fav movie.................hhhhmmmmmmmmmm.............there are several that I like but my all time fav would probably be Shawshenk Redemption. Normally those are not the movies I love to see but I have always loved that one. Morgan Freeman is such a fantastic actor too.
I sure do enjoy Sundays. It's so nice to have a fresh start to the week. I am not even behind on anything yet. LOL But I will be if I don't get my grocery list done soon. :) Ugggg

7 am and........

2007-01-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

I am dressed, hair done and make up applied. This has to be a good day right? I am not really a morning person at all. I enjoy lounging around as long as I can but today I made myself get up and get going. It feels great. My pj's will miss me today but that's ok. :)
I have to tell you about this show I watched last night. Now, first I have to say I feel that I am pretty busy with 4 kids and being pregnant. Well, last night was a show on TLC about a family with...........are you ready for this......................................16 kids. HOLY MOLY! It was amazing to watch how smooth their days ran though. The Mom totally has things under control and the kids seemed to be great kids. They range in age from maybe 5 to older 20's. They all live at home too. The Dad and a few of the boys built their house all on their own. It's so pretty on a huge piece of land. They have 6 bedroom and 8 bathrooms. Wow, it was really cool to watch. She also homeschools them all. In all 16 children only 1 is a girl. Can you imagine when she goes on her first date. LOL

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday. Make the most of it. :)

Choices

2007-01-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's pretty crazy to think that it's barely into the 2nd semester at school and already we are looking onward to next fall. I am planning on choosing another program to go with for the girls next for homeschooling. Last year we waited to long to decide that once we know we wanted to homeschool I had to hurry and pick a program. The one we used was ok. I guess for this year I am looking for something a little more structured.
There are just so many options out there. It's always hard when it comes to your kids because you want to give them the best you can and sometimes it just overwhelming. The girls love being homeschooled but being the parent I know there are compromises on both sides. There are huge pros for both public school and homeschool. I guess tonight I am just tired and overwhelmed.
This week 2 big things are happening. Paul is taking over our small group from church. I am so proud of him and I think this is going to be a huge growing experience for both of us. Also, this will be our first week hosting at our house. EEEEKK. I am so excited but my house really needs some TLC. or CAB-which are the initials of my beautiful sister who always has a beautifully clean house. Maybe after she reads this she will come help me. :0)

2007

2007-01-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

I love a new year. It's so nice having a fresh start. It is such a great feeling. This year my goal is simple, have an attitude of grattitude. It was a sermon we heard this last weekend and it just clicked for me. I can be pretty negative at times but deep down that's not who I am happy to be. I let little things get under my skin way too much. So, this year I am going to try my best to be more thankful and I think it will flood into all areas of my life. I am affecting 6 lives, including my own, everyday with the things I say and do. What a great oppertunity to impact those who I am closest too. I have so much to be thankful for and much less to pout about. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Christmas break begins........now

2006-12-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

That's the cool thiing about homeschooling. I can wake up today and decide today, we will begin our Christmas break. YAAHHHOOO!! Time to bake some cookies. My Christmas cards go out in the mail today, I am going shopping with "santa" tomorrow night, and then I think we will be ready!

I wasn't sure what pic to post today so I thought this one of G was really cute. He is such a sweet guy and has been such a blessing to his daddy and I from the very beginning.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

My Mom and the crazy purse snatcher

2006-12-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad adopted a family for Christmas this year. Paul was taking the kids to his mom's Firday night so I thought it would be fun to go along shopping with my mom and dad for the family.

It was about 10pm and we had been shopping for a good 5 hours. My mom and I decided to go walk down to Ross while my dad finshed checking out at Target. Ross is about 5 stores down in the strip mall. As we were walking down we saw a woman bending over tying her shoe. Nothing too crazy right. Well then this guy comes running up the sidewalk and GRABS HER PURSE from beside her and starts running down the sidewalk again. I was in shock at what had just happened and then....................my mom...................throws herself in front of the guy and says "Hey, what are you doing!!!!!!". I was in complete disbelief at this point. The guy threws his hands up and says he was just teasing the girl and that it was his wife! RELIEF. The woman was really grateful to my mom and said how awesome she was. :) As we walk away I burst into to tears. My mom had scared me so bad. I mean my dad is usualy the one we call Dudley Do Right. He is the one that gets riled up with idiot drivers or just disrespectful people in general. But to watch all 5 foot 4 inches of my mom get in this guys face was insane. I was such a wreck. It took a while for my legs to stop shaking and get the color back in my face. :0

Anyway, I called her the next morning and told her how I proud I am of her and she better not pull that crap again with me. :P I love my mom and am so veyr proud of her. Way to go Mom!!

The Wendy's Story :)

2006-12-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

Missy had asked in her post if I would share our Wendy's story and I thought since this is the time of year when Paul and I met it would be a great time to do so. Thanks Missy.

I got a job at Wendy's with a very dear friend Lisa, in October 1995. I had just turned 17. We had a great group of kids to work with and it was by far the most fun job I have ever had. (other than being a mommy)
Sometime during Decemeber I started talking a little bit to Paul. He was a manager at the time and just seemed like a nice guy.
As many teenagers at the time, I had a pager. How cool was I??? lol Paul couldn't understand why a bunch of young kids would have these crazy pagers. So one night he said that he was going to start paging me with all these crazy numbers. I laughed and told him he didn't even know my number so good luck. A few minutes later he came back and rattled off my number.
So the paging began. He would usually page me with all 1's or maybe a 2 throw in. It was pretty silly. There was no flirting or anything like that going on. Just being silly.
Then at the end of December I asked Paul what he had gotten for Christmas. He said he didn't get any actual gifts persay but he had one thing that really made Christmas for him. He told me his Mom had bypass surgery very recently and his present was knowing his Mom was going to be ok. WOW! I have to admit, this was when I started just beginning to see him in a little different light. I remember buying him 2 cd's so he would have something to open on Christmas. One was Mariah Carey's current at the time and Alan Jackson's greatest hits.
So over the next few days the paging continued. Then on New Year's I left this greeting on my voicemail."Hey #1(due to his paging) I do have voicemail so why don't you leave me a message.
That night I went to an allnighter with my church group. I got a page at about 3am and figured it was my friend school. When I got home around 8am I checked my messages and was shocked to hear Paul leaving me a message. I was in total shock and wondering what I was getting myself into.
So I waited a few hours and gave him a call. We talked for a few hours that first time nd I don't even remember what we talked about except thing, our ages. During the conversation it came out that he was 33! Yikes. What was I doing. To this point I had been a very easy kid to raise and pretty much always did what I was told. So even considering dating someone twice my age was totally out of character for me.
As the next few weeks went on things got more serious and more serious. I know I couldn't tell anyone but very close friends of my new found "love". :) So in the meantime Paul and I had midnight conversations on the phone when my family was sleeping. On occasion he would give me ride home from work and one night our first kiss. :) :) :X
Anyway, sometime in late Feb. I told my family. I think they thought it was just a crush I had....until he sent me flowers.Then my Mom flipped her lid, now that I have 2 daughters of my won I can say rightfuly so. :)
Anyway, it took a while for my family to really accept Paul and get to know him. I was teased and hassled at school and church for dating "my dad" as I was told. But I was so in love I could have cared less.
In Oct. of my senior year Paul proposed to me. It was on my 18th birthday. I graduated in May and was married in July. This summer we will celebrate our 10 yr anniv. I am pretty proud of where we are. We have been through a lot of trials, mostly our own doing, but we are solid and I wouldn't, couldn't imagine being married to anyone else.
So in a nutshell, a really big nutshell that is the Wendy's Story. :)

Carried Away

2006-12-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

We were at a festival with the kids a week ago and got this shot of the Wendy's balloon. It was right about this time 11 years ago that Wendy's brought Paul and I together. I thought this was such a perfect pic to describe how Paul has changed my life. Sure we have our struggles and "clouds" in life but I really feel like being married to Paul, the forecast is sunny and clear. : ) :) :)

You've got a friend in me

2006-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have to say Toy Story is probably one of my favorite Disney movies. When I saw Evander and Casey this morning in the backyard, that's the song that popped in my head. What great friends they are. :)

So today I am going to tackle the scrap/craft/school/ future baby's room. There, that way it sounds like much more work than just one room. LOL

I have been doing a lot of digital scrapping the last few months and I am missing my paper stuff. Usually it just takes a page or two and a giant mess that sends me back to digital. I am even missing ebay right now. :). Maybe an auction or two will cure that two.

Hope you have a great day!

PS Jesse, a scrap day sounds so perfect. Let me know if we can work something out. Maybe Cathy will let us invade her living room and her "store". :)

Chirstmas Cards and a little freak show

2006-12-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have my cards all made and printed now just to work on the letter, get them addressed and mailed! YYAAAYYY

So we had our 2nd appt for Baby-E. I hadn't been feeling good at all that day. Just really worried that something was wrong. So by the time I got in to see the dr. my blood pressure was really high, my heart was racing and I was a wreck. He did the u/s and Baby-E is perfect, already waving these tiny little arms aroud. I think trying to tell me "Hey Mom, I'm ok in here'. At our first u/s we measured a week behind and this time right on target. What a relief. It is truly amazing how much you can love someone beofr even meeting them.

So this weekend is get orgainzed at the White House. The kids closets are such a mess and really need some work. I am my happiest when everything is put in it's place. Let me tell ya with 4 little ones that is a rare day!

Have a great weekend, Heidi

Happy Little heartbeat!

2006-12-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

So we got to hear Baby-E's sweet little heartbeat. We decided to buy a doppler on ebay this time around. After losing little Carter we felt it was worth the peace of mind. So at this point Baby-E has a nice strong hb of 172! We are waiting until delivery to find out the sex this time. We have always known ahead of time so we thought it might be fun to be surprised!

Well I think it is time to put our tree up. I so love Christmas time. It's just such an incredible time of year. I am really going to try to get everything I need to get done and then just ENJOY the season. I tend to procrastinate and that really causes me to miss out on the fun.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy all you can of it!

Cheers to old friends!

2006-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got a call from an old friend, Sue-zee-que! It was so nice to hear from her. For me, the sign of a true friend is one where you haven't talked for some time and you pick up the phone and it's like no time has passed. It was so great talking to you Sue. Thank you so much for thinking of me.

So tonight Paul and I are going to try to finish up some Christmas shopping. It's really chilly this week so it feels kind of Christmas-y here. Last week our high was 89 degrees. Yikes! I think we'll head to the mall and grab a Peppermint Cocoa from Starbuck's. Thanks Cat for the tip. :0)

Hope you have a fantastic and fun today!

Off he goes.......

2006-11-27T07:19:00.000-08:00

About 3 months ago we adopted our newest addition to our family. His name is Evander. He is a rottie/ boxer mix. We think he is right around a year old. He is so sweet and lovable. He is just fantastic with the kids. But.....given the chance......he loves to run away. Paul and I were putting up the Christmas lights outside while the kids were watching a movie. Well, one of the kids opened the backdoor and Evander got in. Not a big deal right? Well then one of the other kids opened the front door to check on Paul and I. Evander bolted out the door and was gone. Poor Paul chased after him in flip flops for at least 20 minutes. I was shocked to see him return with Evander! Paul said he had been chasing him and all of the sudden Evander turned around and ran home. A little blessing from God I suppose. It's so hard to be mad at this cute little face isn't it???

What's Cooking???

2006-11-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

So, today I hope to get all of my turkey day cooking/baking done.
Here's my contributions for this year.
Brocoli and cheese casserole
Cranberry nut mold
Herb and cheese crackers- this was a recipe from Paula Dean's sons. I made them last year and they are so easy and soooooo yummy.

Black Friday is less than 48 hours away. WOW! I am trying to decide between the Vsmile or Leapster systems. WalMart has a great deal on the Vsmile but I'm thinking we might get more use out of the Leapster. Well, at least these are fun decisions to make.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We as a country have so much to be thankful for. God bless you all!!!

Is it really almost Thanksgiving?

2006-11-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

WOW, has this year gone by so fast or what. I can't believe we are already into the holidays. I think being in AZ makes it a little tougher to get into the spirit of things too. Our temps are still well into the 80's so no chance of flurries on turkey day here. Nothing like eating a big turkey dinner and then going for a nice swim. LOL
Last week we took a fall break from school. It was nice to have our days a little carefree. The girls just finished their ice skating and dance classes. They really enjoyed the ice skating as did Mom and Dad watching.
We also went and had our first ultrasound of our newest addition. We are nervous and excited and pray that this little one is a keeper for us. :0) We are not going to find out the sex this time either. For the first time we really don't care if it's a girl or a boy.......we just want a healthy baby to bring home. :) We figured being the 6th baby we have to shake things up a little bit. So if you think of it please keep our little one in your prayers.
Hey, have a fantastic day today! :0) Heidi