Fall mania...

I walked into Hobby Lobby yesterday and saw rows and rows of FALL...including the cutest owl decor (Carlina collects owl items). I almost hyperventilated, but I will be okay....

Love this article!

The Case for Siblings (When mom has a new baby) taken from Generation Cedar.

Happy Anniversary!

Jesse and I celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss, yesterday! It just happened to be a day that he had off, so that was a wonderful bonus. His dad had a surgery yesterday, so we left the kids with Grandma and went up to the hospital. After the surgery, we went out for lunch and saw a movie...plus did a little shopping at Target. Fun! After 20 years we are happier and stronger than ever, only thanks to Jesus. He has given us strength and helped us through some tough times. I am so blessed to have Jesse for my husband. He is a Godly man, striving to serve the Lord, first, and take care of his family next.

Thomas

This is my fearless little guy....he went to his doctor's appt today (4 year old checkup) and was so brave, even through his immunizations.

Mission accomplished..

Well, sort of...I took a whole load of stuff to Goodwill yesterday. That was a good feeling. Still have much more to go.

Colton, Carlina and I went to SC yesterday to buy Colton's tools for school this Fall. We went to the place that the school recommended and they were very helpful and speedy. He got all his tools ($450 worth). Very good tools, at that, that are supposed to last a lifetime. Also hit GW & Walmart. Colton bought subs for us at Subway in WM. It was a very hot, humid day and our ac is not working so great, but we survived. On another note, Jesse's dad is in the hospital again. His hip is out and they are going to have to do surgery to get it back in. Wondering if his hip will ever be right. Jesse is almost through is big 11 night stint...only 1 night left to go and then a day off, finally!

The great clutter experiment....

It is time for stuff to go! Clutter in my house has been stealing my time and sanity lately. We are thinking about moving to another house and now is the perfect time to get rid of and organize. I am going to detail my search for militant organization and order via decluttering. Here is something that I am going to use as a tool (I found it on the Good Housekeeping site):

If you have one hour...

When serious decluttering is in store, try the ABC method. Select a cabinet or closet that's been bugging you. Take everything out and arrange items into three piles:

A: always used
B: used during the holidays and special occasions, or seasonally
C: not seen or used in a year or so

Then do a final sort:
Step 1: Toss or give away C items unless they are valuable or have sentimental worth.
Step 2: Return B items to the back of the storage area.
Step 3: Place the A team in the front of the space so those items will be handy for immediate use.

Details of my journey to follow:)

Fun at the pool

We all enjoyed an evening at the pool last night. Everyone enjoyed the cool water in the humidity, especially Anna.

Camp

Yesterday I, along with my mom, Katie and Garrett, took a beautiful, scenic 75 mile drive to an out of the way place along a gorgeous river, Bible camp for Alicia! We got her registered, set up in her dorm and took a little walking tour around the place. It will be a week of games, crafts, swimming and other sports, along with Bible teaching and Christian fellowship. She got a big list of verses to memorize when we registered (each room has a team, they compete to see who can learn the most). I am so excited for her. Katie determined that the place looked great and that she wanted to go next summer. Praying that Alicia has a wonderful week and makes great memories to last a lifetime!

Pictures....

Jake is in the shower...one of his hideouts in a thunderstorm. He is deathly afraid of them. Julia and Thomas making funny faces. Anna in her typical "messy marvin" state, looking like she is pondering the state of the world. Julia and Alicia under water..taken with Julia's new waterproof, drop proof and shock proof camera. Alicia and I got haircuts today, she is all ready for camp next week!

God is good..

July has been a beautiful month, hot, sunny and perfect. Summer is all too fleeting.

I have been so blessed by my friends and family, beautiful cards, flowers, prayers and sentiments. God sends us just what we need when we need them. I am still grieving my little gummy bear. He (I felt like the baby was a boy) looked so perfect on the ultrasound screen and it is not for me to know why God called him home to heaven. God is so good, He sends good things to His children and I trust Him fully. There is so much peace knowing that He is in charge. This life is so fleeting but eternity is forever. I will enjoy the company of my 3 babies who are now in heaven forever! What a blessing for them that they did not have to endure the trials and sin of this life; I'm sure they wouldn't come back for anything. They are in the presence of the Living, Holy God.

A poem

This is a beautiful poem I found on Above Rubies.

BABY TEARS

We cried tears when we learned that a child would be,

that your God had allowed you to quicken in me.

We cried tears with our loved ones as they shared our joy

and we thought about names for a girl or boy.

I cried tears as I thought of the things we would do,

all the things that your Daddy would pass on to you.

And I cried as I thought of each inch you had grown

as I pondered the day you'd make yourself known.

Then, to think of the world you must enter brought fears

once again, Little Loved One, your mother cried tears.

Something's wrong I can tell… once again there are tears

and I'll not get the chance of your love through the years.

Oh, the ache and the sorrow and all of the pain… and again,

yes, again... my tears fell like rain.

Then His peace comes to me as I think of you there

gently rocking with Father in His favourite chair.

Your sweet little fingers clenched tight in His palm

and His Son softly singing to help keep you calm.

Our Father knew your days before they came to be

And He knew, Little One, you would not stay with me.

So I cry, but I know that when this life is done

I will greet and embrace you, my sweet Little One

There's a time to be born and a time to die

and the joy and the sorrow both make us cry.

CONNIE JOHNSON

Rough couple of days..

I have been in the hospital for 2 days due to a uterine infection after the d&c. I just got home today and I am so happy! It was a miserable 2 days, but I am happy to be on the mend. Also, Jesse's dad fell and broke his hip so he had both of us in the hospital at the same time. When it rains, it pours. God is good, God is faithful...always. I trust Him, He knows what He is doing, even if we don't know or understand WHY? Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

Great post...

This is a good post about Homeschooling over at Books and Bairns.

She is so "right on" about homeschooling. You just never know and your perfectly planned schedule may flop. It is a ride and a wonderful one, at that!

Colton

This is Colton, dressed up for the VBS skit, in which he played a British Butler. His accent was spot on, too.

Colton celebrated his birthday, yesterday. 18 years ago on a hot, windy July day, Jesse and I brought our first little child into the world. We brought him home on the 4th of July, dressed in red, white and blue, of course. It was a struggle from the start (just being honest). He had colic and was extremely fussy and angry (it seemed). We felt so inadequate. I have to say that things are still a struggle with our firstborn, at times (honest again!). We are proud of him for working hard at his job (he works at a local discount store) and taking college classes online. He will start an Electrician's Apprentice program in the Fall and continue to live at home. He is a smart kid and can accomplish most anything he puts his mind to. He scored a 27 on his ACT w/o even studying or prepping for it,which I thought was pretty darn good. My goal for him, my prayer for him is that He follows God his entire life; stays within His will and stays in His Word...daily. That is the only thing that matters...

Happy Birthday Colton!!!!

I'm home..

My poor doctor thought that I didn't know the bad news yet...she is so thoughtful and caring. I definitely did know the news..knew it before the radiologist even said a word...there was no beating heart on my sweet little babe at the u/s on Tues. Anyway, she asked me if I wanted to schedule a d&c or just wait it out. With my history of bleeding I chose to go ahead with the d&c and had the procedure done at noon today. After it was over, doctor agreed that I had a lot of bleeding. I am home now and recovering, also, thanking God that it is over and hoping to regain some strength. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Doctor's appt

I have a doctor's appt today to check the hcg levels in my blood and then will go from there. Still no bleeding and still feeling quite nauseous, which is depressing. Will update when I get home.