the plague

what were the seven plagues again? locusts, gnats, frogs...

around here we've had our own plagues. it's been a bleak time here. i've had a very painful cyst (i know you wanted to know) that warranted 5...count them...5 trips to the doctor. and we still don't really know what it is or how to treat it. it's dying down now. the same day i went in for that initial visit, i found out i had strep.

then i sprained my ankle and had to have a cast and use crutches.

then i got strep again.

i think that's more like 4, but it felt like 7.

so now it's been over 2 weeks of me being medically ridiculous and unable to care for my children, and i am ready to be back to normal again.

praise God for my husband, mom, and friends who have helped out. i truly would NOT have been able to do anything without them. it was kind of bad timing that only a few months ago we moved to a new town where we didn't really know anyone and now i'm in need of help. but God provides!

so...since i try not to leave things on a negative note...here are the rich and wonderful blessings that occurred during this time of craziness:

1. spent extra time with my mom....and i love her

2. the boys got a few lessons in compassion. --still learning

3. i enjoyed a lovely dinner prepared by my beautiful neighbor because she wanted to help us out

4. i watched movies by myself this morning because the hubs had to work and we had to farm out the kids to great friends. thanks again, y'all.

5. my husband showed me once again that he is truly wonderful (never doubted it) last night when, after meeting my every need while i was sobbing and felt awful and was coughing so hard i thought i'd die, he laid next to me and said, "i'm here if you need anything else."

see? 5 blessings! and i'm sure there were much more that i can't think of. i encourage you to look at all the blessings you have been gifted with when it might be easier to look at the negative side of things. 4 illnesses, at least 5 blessings. God tenderly takes care of us. i'd say we've got it made, wouldn't you?

my day off

proof for sissy that i DID in fact organize stuff ;) not great quality, but it'll do.

wahoo! look at me blogging more than once a month!

the hubs gave me a day off yesterday and relieved me of my motherly duties. it was wonderful. i had lunch with a great friend at a girly place, got a pedicure, and bought a pretty dress and belt.

i feel spoiled. it was so relaxing!

the picture above are my toes. my calves look freakishly large. i hope they are not this scary in real life to onlookers.

i forgot to pick a color, so i had my pedi guy pick it out. --this pink color you can see from space was his choice. i like it.

i also read gossipy magazines and enjoyed every minute of it.

now let's all put our feet up.

organization extravaganza!

i'm a firm believer that if you put the word 'extravaganza' at the end of something, it makes it downright exciting. flu EXTRAVAGANZA! or fatigue EXTRAVAGANZA! see? gives it a little extra something, doesn't it?

i've been on an organizing kick lately. Organization EXTRAVAGANZA! (in my head, you yell it.) and what i mean by "organize" is that sometimes i go through things, sort them out, and throw stuff away, and sometimes i just hide stuff in other locations so things LOOK organized.

shameful.

so far i've organized the pantry, the junk drawer, and the guest room (sort of). i had pictures but they're from my phone and not good quality at all. the hubs built shelves to go in the garage (in one evening! he's handy!) all the kids are rearranged in rooms upstairs, i've filed all our important papers, shredded stuff i needed to, and cleaned out our filing cabinet. i've even gone through my scrapbook and labeled it. --my sister does my scrapbook for me and leaves the labeling to me! isn't she fantastic? i've also rearranged our junked-up closet. because let's face it, sometimes the junk just has no where to go. and you can't get rid of said junk because you really do need it.

anyway! i am feeling mighty productive, which is a feeling i enjoy. ;) especially since yesterday i was diagnosed with strep. ugh. and how's the new schedule of education going, you ask? great! today was shapes and colors and the kids had a great time coloring and finding shapes in books. so yay for achieving goals!

like the pic at the top? the boys were in my bro-in-law's wedding back in may. and while this pic is cute, i really meant to upload the whole family pic. but you get what you get. ;) now for a nap. and maybe some chocolate. mmm. chocolate.

whelmed

ready for a boring mommy-blog post? around here, i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. i'd love to feel just whelmed. we'll shoot for that next week. ;) although we have a lot of flexibility in our day now that we're up at the butt-crack of dawn, i'm feeling the pressure. academic pressure. seeing gabe and where he is now with all the stuff he knows, i realize that i should probably be dedicating more time to education in our home.

this is not to say gabe is behind...he's doing great in school, but i'm realizing days can go by without anything going on but chores and playdates (which are educational in their own way, but don't exactly teach letters and such).

so in order to feel more in control and focused (a vice of mine) i've created a little schedule of things to teach throughout the week.

monday: reading and writing practice

tuesday: letters and numbers

wednesday: puzzles and drawing

thursday: songs and writing practice

friday: colors and shapes

now i know a lot of these intersect, and my hope is that each day i can plan just a few activities where we can learn and practice and then i won't feel like the whole day was used up making beds and washing dishes. the younger three start preschool next week and i know they'll be getting a lot of this at school, too, but it's not just the school's job to teach my kiddos. so here we go. wish me luck.

he's all grown up

it's wednesday. do you know what that means? it means that my little... i mean BIG man has been in school for three whole days. and i've only cried a little.

when asked if he liked school he said, "no...i LOVE school. i NEVER want to stop going!" so i guess i'll keep sending him.

so far his favorite parts of his days have been eating lunch, recess, and sneaking into PE (it's a quiet game of sorts). so i guess he's a typical boy.

although he's loving it, it is wearing him out. i tell yah, today i had him do one extra chore...actually not even a whole one, just a part of an extra chore, and he flipped his lid. he started crying and asking, "why?! why are you making us do more?!" he's not really a whiney kid, and it was hard not to laugh because he was so stressed about the whole ordeal. i asked him if school made him tired and he said, "yes. and work makes me tired. does work make you tired mama?" --yes. yes, son it does.

i have every intention of blogging more often. i really need to be utilizing a creative outlet.

if i type here what future blog posts will be about, i will never write them. so stay on pins and needles.

can i complete a thought?

i've begun writing this blog entry 3 times. the problem is: i have lots of tidbits to share, but nothing that i can form a whole entry out of.

here's a brief summary:

1. after 5 weeks of keeping the kids busy while the hubs was away, i am exhausted. so we've spent the last week or so doing a lot of resting and sitting around. the hubs is still working really long hours. we can't wait until things slow down for him.

2. we found out gabe needs glasses. he starts kindergarten in a few weeks, which makes me cry just thinking about it. lots of changes for our little...i mean big...man.

3. my 10 year reunion is coming up in september. this reminds me i'm aging. not really a fan. ;)

4. we're finishing up a study called "the prodigal God" by timothy keller, and it rocked my world. so so good. you should check it out.

5. a week from today, i will have been married to my hubs for 7 years. in these 7 years, we've received 4 children, gone to mexico and honduras together, moved a bunch of times, gotten to serve at several churches, graduated with various degrees, been through valleys and mountaintops, and SO many other things. but in the end, the thing i've seen demonstrated over and over in our marriage is that no matter what happens, we are there for each other. i have learned so much about what God desires me to be like through our marriage.

thanks, hubs, for always being so compassionate, loving, and patient with me. i see Jesus in you.

and we're back on

ok, people, i'm back.
sorry i've been gone so long.


the hubs has been gone to india for 5 weeks for work. i didn't want to share in a public forum that my husband was far away from home, so i just stayed away.
plus...we have been very busy trying to pass the time.

over the last 5 weeks we have visited my parents for a week, been swimming, played on our lovely new back patio, had playdates, driven up to kentucky to visit my brother and his family, driven BACK from kentucky, and hung up 90% of our art and wall hangings in our new home!

and now the hubs returns! wahoo! God has truly provided for all that i've needed during this time. i was really concerned beforehand how difficult it would be for myself and the kids with the hubs gone, but God generously took care of us. the kids did great! and i got to catch up on bonding time with my friend leanna as well as watching chick flicks as much as i want.

hopefully i will be around more now that i'll have a partner in these adventures once again.

see you soon!