What is: I Am A 5th Child

It only takes a 36 second clip for you to see one of my siblings shout out the answer to the question I've been asked as the brand new toy I've just received is ripped from my hands just before my physical person is assaulted.....resulting in me finally losing patience and letting out a scream.

Double Jeopardy after the commercial break.

Merry Christmas Eve

My 3yo's version of The Story

Rated PG:  Unlike real life where God is always in a good mood, Jesus is depicted as somewhat of an angry character in this rendition of The Nativity.

My Mac's version of The Story

You will take your binky!

Managed to catch Lincoln abusing caring for his baby as he was hanging (pun intended) at Grandma's house last week.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

My reindeer friends and I running the Jingle Bell 5K for arthritis.  We even had Santa and an elf (not pictured here).  32 minutes....not too shabby considering I hadn't run since sometime in the 90's.  And it was 18 degrees outside.  True story.

"....and a little child will lead them."  - Isaiah 11:6

Happy December!

Merry Christmas Christmas

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Thanks for the gift card Shutterfly!

Happy Turkey Day

....even though its beginnings had nothing to do with turkey.  Did you know that our Congress actually commissioned George Washington in 1789 to assign a day of Thankgiving for the people of this country?  A day to give thanks to our God!  That is cool.

A Thanksgiving Declaration from George Washington

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Reprinted from Vision Forum 

Gobble, Gobble!

Getting Ready for Black Friday

We just made our first purchase. Visit http://water.cc for more information.

When I Think Of....

Madeline likes to play this game she calls, When I Think Of....
Here's how this morning's game went:

Madeline: What do you think of when you think of beads?


Me: When I think of beads, I think of colors.
M: When I think of colors, I think of green.
Me: When I think of green, I think of grass.
M: When I think of grass, I think of lawnmowers.
Me: When I think of lawnmowers, I think of Dad w/ the Kelty.
M: When I think of Dad w/ the Kelty, I think of Gabe.
Me: When I think of Gabe, I think of smiles.
M: When I think of smiles, I think of stickers.
Me: When I think of stickers, I think of laundry.
(You know how I got there, right?  Stickers, stuck to clothes that you don't find until after the dry cycle.  At that point you have a better chance of an winning an all-expense paid trip to Paris than you do of removing the sticker from the fabric.  Grrrrrrrr.)


M: When  I think of laundry, I think of obsessed.
Hold up.  What??  Obessed is a strong word.  Just because I insist on doing 2 loads every day and have a very specific way I like to have it done.  Oh, and I like it put away on Wednesday?  I call that organized.
That's ok though, I can rebound.

Me: When I think of obsessed, I think of praying. (rebound)
M: When I think of praying, I think of church.
Me: When I think of church, I think of Papa.
M: When I think of Papa, I think of Grandma.
Me: When I think of Grandma, I think of helpful.
M: When I think of helpful, I think of ME!


And we are both laughing too hard to continue.  So, that's When I Think Of....  You really should play sometime.

Do I really need a caption?

In Which I Reflect on the Past 10 Years....

**Update:  Miracle Blanket has extended a discount code for those that entered the contest but did not win.  Please contact me if you would like this discount.**
** UPDATE!  Congrats jenzen69 on winning the Miracle Blanket.  Please post a comment here with a way to contact you. **

Everywhere I turn the past few weeks there is some sort of big "baby" news.  A college roommate  expecting triplets (yes, 3!), friends and family announcing "baby" news or thinking about that possibility, water births, hospital births, home water births.  Sorry, that one deserved a 2nd mention.  My cousin recently had a home water birth.  Wow.  I actually just returned from delivering a meal to a friend who birthed a beautiful baby girl, Zion, earlier this week.  Babies.  Everywhere.

During the past couple weeks, Lincoln has taken to waking just after the rooster crows and I was saying to Ron last night, "Should we pull out the Miracle Blanket and swaddle him?"   Ok, not really. 
But it did prompt a discussion on how this part of our lives will be over soon.  A whole decade of pregnancy, sleep deprivation and breastfeeding, almost over.  Did I mention sleep deprivation?  As much as a laaaaaaarge part of me won't miss the lack of sleep, part of me really will.  A teeny, tiny part.  Really tiny.  Tinsy, winsy.  I kinda enjoyed the late night re-runs.  I digress.

As I was saying goodbye (and good luck!) to this new mommy today, I asked (as I always do), "Do you have a Miracle Blanket?"
Cause you're going to need one.  Like the human body needs oxygen.  Like a duck needs water.  And don't think I'm exaggerating.

So, in honor of my week of reflection and the many sleep deprived nights these new mommies are about to experience (significantly less though, if they swaddle!), Miracle Blanket is giving away a swaddle blanket to a randomly chosen commentor.  Post your comment and 1 individual (from this blog) will be chosen on Tuesday 11/9 via MB's Twitter & Facebook.
(I don't usually do comments but I will turn them on for this :))

You can use the blanket for your own baby or make yourself famous by giving as a gift.  Your choice.

The winner will be ONLY be announced on Miracle Blanket’s Twitter page or Miracle Blanket's Facebook pagethe afternoon of Tuesday, November 9, 2010 (after 2:00 pm CST). Be sure to check there to see if you've won! The folks at Miracle Blanket will give the winner 24 hours to respond back, otherwise you forfeit the prize. Contest is open to U.S. and Canada.

(Almost) 1 1/2 and into absolutely everything.

3 1/2.  All.  Boy.

"I'm 5 1/2 and I can READ!"

7 1/2....going on 24.

Officially 9 and 1/2.

Our Little Grand Finale

Swingin' Single

Ron is traveling on business and I've been single parenting all week.....seeing this picture made me miss him even more.

Amish Country!

 Explanation needed?

I figured.
Maddie & I (and Grandma!) headed out to Amish Country last weekend.  Madeline has been wanting to go for about a year now so I told her if she read the Little House on the Prairie series (my original books that I saved from when I was her age!), I would take her.  She whizzed through the entire series in a couple weeks.  Yikes, didn't realize she was that serious.

You didn't think she was going to dress like a commoner for the journey, did you?  

(on a side note: she was photographed quite a bit from other tourists.  The Amish don't photograph themselves or allow photos to be taken of them so once people realized she wasn't "official", they started snapping away.  Hilarious!)

Here she is, on our tour, convincing me that we could "totally" live without electricity.  (you realize I'm serious, right?)  She came home and tried to convince Ron to let us all "try it" for a week.
I love this girl.

 Wearing denim and short hair, I'm not sure if there's a spot in heaven for me.

We saw lots of Amish children riding ponies along the roads.  And dozens of buggies over every hill. Definitely no texting while driving in Amish Country! (or anywhere for that matter)

Here we are buying all things Amish from the local shops. 

A-ha!  I caught them without their bonnets on.   A big no-no for the Amish, even in their homes. 

 (partial credit for Amish-looking pj's though)

We had a fantastic time.  The tour was amazing and made lots of memories shopping, eating at the local Amish restaurants and buying home-baked goods to bring home.  We stayed in a small hotel that was built in 1847 and was orginally a stage coach stop.  It has 20 rooms and lots of history!

Abigail is already planning her journey....

Santa Maria

The girls and I took a field trip to the Santa Maria last week.

This is what they used for toilet paper.

(true story...and more info than I was hoping for on this tour)

Heading up to the bridge.

Release the jib!

Today's Spanish Lesson

Family Farm Chores

Headed to a local organic farm for Family Farm Chores. The kids get to milk the cow, gather eggs and feed the chickens, goats, sheep, etc. I got to watch. ;) Lincoln too....from the Ergo.

(have I mentioned recently how much I adore the Ergo??!!)

Taking hay out to the animals. Don't pull a muscle Gabe.

Abby: I will hold this hen. I will!

Maddie snatches an egg right out from under that poor hen. 3, actually.

Lauren is convinced she can get the goats to eat the hay out of her hands. Me? Not so much.

Touche.

Hocking Hills Part 2

We headed back a few days later with the gang.

Ron, careful with that walking stick. ;)

Maddie, Abby & Lauren exploring a cave.

Lincoln, thank goodness you loooove the Ergo.

The girls and me at Cedar Falls. (Ron took picture from the gorge)

Hocking Hills sans GLLAM

Last weekend, we headed to Hocking Hills to do some camping with Tom & Beth. We hiked 10 miles on Saturday....and of course went off trail to get back to our camping site. We were hiking with my brother after all.

Yes, the cliff drops off several hundred feet just behind us. (I'm really gripping that tree)

Tom, the Adventurer

Beth, the Tree Hugger

Me, the Wannabe

Ron. Isn't he handsome? (blushing)

The girls went to Ron's late-night basketball game last night and I woke up to find 2 letters in the kitchen this morning.

Dear Mom,

Thank you for being the Mom that you are. Thank you for keeping us healthy. Thank you for homeschooling us. And thank you for taking us to fun places like you do. I love you yes I do.

Love,

Madeline

I love you FOREVER

Deare daddy,

i know you Love basekit ball and i love it to and i bet that donut is going to be so yummy, i love you and dad my love can never chnge and i stil love you even if you play Baskit-ball all day. i love you Dad.

LOVE Abby

*Ahem* Donut? What donut??

Busted!

Who me? Pull Lincoln out of bed and bring him down to cuddle while we watched MF? Huh?

Ron would have to whip out the camera for proof.....

I asked one of the kiddos to "tidy up" the pantry......

Patience is a virtue, my friend. And apparently the definition of "tidy up" varies greatly.

Might I mention this was 30 min. before I had to have GLLAM out the door.....and I still needed to feed them dinner.

Minor detail.

Six Months of the Everlasting Happy Meal

I'm not getting into the politics of all this....but I always enjoy a good tune.

I know you'll want to download the song. The Fast Food Song, by the Fast Food Rockers.

You're welcome.

Chicken Soup for the (Mom) Soul Moment

Lauren: Mom, are you 1/2 Mom and 1/2 kid?

I so know where this is going....I'm such a fun, cool Mom that she thinks I'm like a kid....

Me: (corny, big smile) What do you mean sweetheart?

I mean, I already know, I just have to hear her say it.

Lauren: Well, because you're our Mom but really, you're God's kid.

So, 1/2 and 1/2 right?

Me: Oh. (seriously deflated) I mean, yes of course. 1/2. And 1/2.

We have thoroughly enjoyed....

....our Indian Summer.

Ahhhhhhh.....

......to be back on vacation.