Thankful Thursday

...on Saturday. I've been thinking all week about what I would post, I just haven't gotten around to doing it.

1. I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit pricked Hannah's heart this week, and used me as a tool to lead her to the Lord. She accepted Christ as her Savior after youth group on Wednesday.

2. I'm thankful that Shannon is feeling better. He still has an awful cough, but he is functioning again.

3. I'm thankful that my boys are healthy and able to participate in spring sports. They're thankful for Tylenol to help ease their aching muscles.

4. I'm thankful for my basement. It provides tons of storage and allows me to hide a bunch of things from the rest of the world.

5. I'm thankful for Shannon's job. He's a wonderful provider for our family, and he enjoys what he does. He's very good at it, too.

6. I'm thankful for computer curriculum. It takes the brunt of some of the boys' subjects off of me.

7. I'm thankful for laws that allow me to teach my children at home. Although it gets difficult at this point of the school year to keep going, it's much better than the alternative of having to abide by someone else's schedule and worldview.

8. I'm thankful for Chase's sense of humor. He's really a funny guy.

9. I'm thankful that Hudson is talking more this week. He's so serious about the things that he babbles to me, but oftentimes I have no clue what he is saying. He's become much more understandable in the past few days.

10. I'm thankful for little girls who like their fingernails and toenails painted, lip gloss, and pretties in their hair.

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:3

Thankful Thursday

Wow. It's Thursday again already, and it hasn't even occurred to me to post this week until now.

1. I'm thankful that my girls are back, even though it is really noisy in our house again. I missed them.

2. I'm thankful for March Madness. More on this later.

3. I'm thankful for disposable diapers. I can't imagine the alternative at this point in my life. I used cloth diapers for Alex, way back in 1992/1993. I don't miss them.

4. I'm thankful that Shannon is feeling a teensy, weensy bit better. Or maybe it's just a different kind of bad.

5. I'm thankful for a safe trip to Des Moines and back today. It was only the second time in my whole life that I have driven there alone. The first time was twenty years ago.

6. I'm thankful for big boys who are willing to babysit while I'm off running around the countryside.

7. I'm thankful that I was able to open the windows this week and get some fresh country air in our home.

8. I'm thankful for the new curtains Shannon let me buy for the living room and dining room.

9. I'm thankful for big boys who can change tires all by themselves. We got new gravel on our road, and now we have a flat tire. Happens every Spring. At least once. Last year we had three flats in one week.

10. I'm thankful for bedtime.

"The rich and poor have this in common, the Lord is the maker of them all." Proverbs 22:7

Thankful Thursday

I just about forgot to do this post today. How many times do you have to do something before it becomes a habit? I'm pretty sure it's more than two. Isn't it something like 20 times? In time...

1. I 'm thankful for Colton. He is sitting on my lap at the kitchen table while I type this. He is growing up tremendously fast. I'm glad he's not too big to sit on my lap still.

2. I'm thankful for my vacuum cleaner. Shannon bought me a Dyson for Christmas a few years ago. It amazes me how much gunk it sucks up each day, and I do vacuum almost every day (sometime more). Sometimes I wonder if it is sucking up the backing of the carpet?

3. I'm thankful for the camera I received for Christmas. I took some really good pictures of the kids this week. I'll post them soon.

4. I'm thankful that Alex can drive. He was able to drive to the grocery store at 9:15 tonight so I could finish preparing the food to take this weekend.

5. I'm thankful that all but one of my boys is finished with his school work for the week. The remaining boy, who shall remain nameless, promises to finish up first thing in the morning.

6. I'm thankful for my husband. He helped get everyone packed while I prepared food this evening, even after working hard for us all day. He's super-duper fabulous.

7. I'm thankful for Bryce and Colton. They cleaned out the van this afternoon.

8. I'm thankful for diet Coke. It keeps me moving throughout the day.

9. I'm thankful for my friends, including those that I only get together with on the internet. We get to visit some real live ones this weekend, and more are coming to visit on Tuesday, too.

10. I'm thankful for Tylenol. We have some little ones who aren't feeling very good. Please pray for them as we travel to the Wisconsin Dells on Friday, back to Iowa Saturday night, then to Clear Lake after church on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

"For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 24:6

The Weekend

Saturday we made a trip over to Cedar Falls to return pop cans to raise money for the boys' mission trip. We came back with just under $50. We added that to the $21 from those we returned earlier in the week, to bring the total collected from our church so far to right around $650. We appreciate the generosity of our church family in donating their cans to the teens.

We then went to Troy and Theresa's house to play for the afternoon. The boys played basketball, and Theresa and I went to Hobby Lobby. We had lots of yummy, fattening food. We stayed later than we should have.

We always dread losing an hour of sleep for Daylight Savings time. I did not sleep well, and woke up achy and sick. I stayed home from church with Naomi, who also wasn't feeling well. We spent a very lazy day in bed. I'm still stuffed up, but up and moving today. Naomi seems to be fine. We have a couple others with runny noses, but nothing major.

We're still plugging away at school and it is 5:39P.M. Ugh. The boys haven't been doing a spectacular job at their chores lately, so Shannon assigned Alex, Jackson and Chase the job of each writing a two page report on the job and responsibilities of a squire in the 13th century. Bryce had to write "I will do my chores in a timely fashion" 100 times. All of this has made Bryce and Colton behind (even more) on their school work. I don't know how many times I've said today, "Colton, hush and just do your math!".

I have gotten the rest of the tests and study guides printed for the remainder or the school year today. I'm starting to get the itch to start planning for next year. That's the fun part. It's the daily grind that I'm ready to be done with!

We had beef enchiladas for lunch today. Easy peasy. That's the kind of meal I do when I look at the clock and realize it's 11:13A.M. and I haven't started lunch yet. First I browned some ground beef and rinsed it. Then I poured enough enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 pan to cover it, then pulled out all of the open cheese bags from the fridge. I mixed the beef, cheese, and about 2/3 of the can of sauce in a bowl. I microwaved the tortillas a minute to soften them up, then put the filling in and rolled them up. After lining them up in the pan, I poured the rest of the sauce on top, then some more cheese and stuck it all in the oven for about 20 minutes. I had enough time to do the dishes while they were baking, and set the table. We like the "El Pato" mild enchilada sauce from Fareway. We can't always find it in Waterloo, but they have it in Marshalltown, which has a higher Hispanic population. One 28 oz. can is all I use.

Anyone know what "El Pato" means?

"A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." Proverbs 27:7

Thankful Thursday

I have been reading a blog for the past couple months that Mary led me to. The author of the blog has such enthusiasm and is so encouraging, even through some very tough times recently. She has challenged other bloggers to join her in Thankful Thursdays. You can find out how she started this event here.

I often fall into the habit of complaining. Nothing seems to go the way I plan, and I spend too much time dwelling on the bad things. I'd like to take this first step to turning my attitude around, and will begin by posting my very first Thankful Thursday installment.

1. I'm thankful for my husband. He's an amazing man.

2. I'm thankful for my eight beautiful children, and the two that aren't here in my arms. I have learned so much from all of them.

3. I'm thankful for Jesus Christ, who died so I could live.

4. I'm thankful for my super capacity front loader washing machine and the matching dryer.

5. I'm thankful that the sun is shining and it is 66 degrees outside. In Iowa. In March.

6. I'm thankful that my sister is turning 40 today and not me. :)

7. I'm thankful that Alex can drive.

8. I'm thankful for the privilege of being able to teach my children at home.

9. I'm thankful for food in my cupboards and fridge.

10. I'm thankful for my bloggy friends.

Let's all remember to be thankful for the big and small things in life.

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

Body Art

Today while Shannon was home for lunch, we decided to make another pyramid since it had been quite a while since the last one, and Chase was missing from the previous one.

It evolved into spelling out our name with the kids' bodies. It actually went pretty well. It took me a lot longer to figure out how to put it all together than it did to take the pictures.

Here are the pyramid pictures.


No hands


The beginning of the end





And they all came tumbling down.

It all adds up to some cheap entertainment.

"For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity." Proverbs 24:16

Alex's Fashion Show

A couple of Alex's friends decided that he needed to go shopping and get some new clothes. Apparently I don't buy him the right kind. This is the outfit he came home with. He got some pretty good bargains.

He even bought a belt.

Even though he got some good deals, I still think that the shirt pictured below is just as nice, and I only paid $3.00 for it.
The girls are modeling more shirts that have been upstairs in the hall closet for quite awhile, just waiting for someone to wear them. The jury's still out on whether or not they'll pass his inspection or not.

I did go back to Aeropostale and get another pair of jeans for Alex and a pair for Jackson. They were only $13.50 each.

I think he's growing up to be quite a handsome guy, but I'm just his mom. I've been telling him that for years.

And just for the record, I arm wrestled him today, and I still beat him. Even though he got a note from his football coach telling him what a great job he's been doing and the big improvements he's made over the winter. Maybe I should go out for football?

"...for all her household is clothed with scarlet." Proverbs 31:21

Naomi's 4th Birthday

On February 18th Naomi turned 4 years old. She was SO excited.

Naomi's favorite colors are purple and pink. She loves the Princesses, and likes to dress up in her princess outfits. She walks around in my high heals often, and has fun pretending to be a big girl.

Although Naomi has a stubborn streak, she can be a real sweetheart, too. She can definitely hold her own with her big brothers and sister.

She has beautiful sparkly blue eyes, and a sweet smile. She likes to snuggle, and would prefer to run around the house in a pair of panties than be fully clothed. I have so many cute pictures of her, but can't share them on the blog becuase she rarely has all of her clothes on. She's definitely hot blooded!

Her hair is curly in back, and she HATES it when I brush it. She has only let me change her earrings two times, and is content to wear the same pair for great lengths of time.

She loves playing with her Polly Pockets. It's awesome having a big sister so close in age to play with all of the time.

Her daddy has trained her to say, when asked what her name is, "Naomi, don'tcha know me?"

She's the best little 4 year old I know.

Love you, Nomi!

"Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways." Proverbs 8:32

Big Brothers

This is what happens when you get on your big brother's nerves. Jackson stuck little Miss Naomi up on top of the fridge, and there wasn't anything she could do about it except yell for help.

She was too afraid to jump down (which is a good thing). She was too far away from the bags of chips that we hide way up high to get a snack. She just had to wait until someone had mercy on her. I had to snap a picture before letting her down.

Jackson tried doing this with Hudson. Hudson is not afraid to jump down. Good thing Jack was standing nearby.

"...let no one help him." Proverbs 28:17b

Saul to Paul

Today Bryce stood in front of me and told me he wrote a song last night. It just came to him before he went to bed.

This isn't the first time he has written a song, and he usually writes them on little scraps of paper he finds in his bedroom. I'm not sure if he is keeping all of them, but I wanted to make sure I wrote this one down to remember it.

Saul to Paul
by Bryce Clark

Goin' down the road
Tripped, then I was
Blinded by the Lord.

I knew it was like Saul
so I went home
And I saw a man.

He knew what to do.
He said, "Worship the Lord"
Then I knew what to do.

I went to church,
Every event.
And now I'm saved.

Now I'm Paul
Was Saul
Now I'm Paul.

He doesn't have any music for it, because he doesn't know how to do that. Maybe someday. With or without music, I'm proud of him. Bryce is a good kid that sometimes gets lost in between the big boys and the little kids. He's got a huge heart, and he loves the Lord. He and I are the only lefties in the house. We've got to stick together. I love him tremendously.

"Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart," Proverbs 3:3

My Badittude

Today I have been crabby with the kids. We didn't do school on Monday because the big boys went to a friend's house for an Xbox tournament. I got sick Monday night, and spent most of the day in bed yesterday. Today I haven't felt great, but I am up and moving.

The boys had a hard time getting out of bed and going. Chores aren't getting done the way they should (or the way I think they should). My kitchen floor is sticky. It took over an hour and a half to get everyone caught up on Spelling this morning. The little kids were underfoot, and the big kids were bickering with each other. Then it was time for Shannon to be home, and I hadn't started making lunch.

The more they griped, the more I griped. Alex finally said to me, "Why can't you just be happy?". "About what?" was my sarcastic reply. He retorted, "Because God gave you life. Because He gave you a family". Oh. Yeah. Then the tears came.

Some days I just find it so hard to count my blessings. I get so selfish, and things don't go my way, so I act like the little kid and whine and pout and yell and scream. And then I expect them NOT to act that way.

I guess school isn't all about books and worksheets, and I'm not always the one qualified to be the teacher. I've still got an awful lot to learn.

"The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools." Proverbs 4:35