Why We Are Here Again

Crazy times in this part of the country; you know that house we've been talking about since March 6th? The dream house with land and room, closer to everything we love about this state? Well we have one week and we're going to be homeowners again!!!!!

Unbelievable; last year at this time we were anxiously hoping we could get rid of the homeowner title as fast as possible yet now we're back again, packing, planning with bouts of shrieking with excitement.(well I'm shrieking my husband just has a goofy smile on his face most of the time )

 Where we come from Houses and property are jammed together; more people less space. It's rare to have a yard bigger than a bedroom, and only the "well off" can have jacuzzis, pools, large homes, backyards, hot tubs and little extras. Leave the east coast and housing options become outrageously diverse plus extremely nice.

Enter the people who started from floor up, no joke here.

I grew up sleeping in a bunk bed, in a converted garage turned bedroom with five other people.

From there I lived on couches, to another floor because eating was more important than a mattress. From there a blow up mattress to the  first year of marriage a bed (finally) in a tiny room, then a bed in a moldy apartment. Then the bed went to a 100 year old house that needed to be renovated slightly.

The bed broke; we got a new one with a mattress that stayed in an upstairs attic like bedroom last year until we found our tiny abode in our new state.

And now this poor, (yet blessed) unassuming family who has ALWAYS been frugal and yes, not as well off as a higher income bracket tax payer from the East coast, are shocked owners of a dream location home.

Funny thing is no one puts on airs around here when they happen to have granite countertops and three bathrooms. It's very normal to have those things, again getting away from an East coast mindset is refreshing.

Also; there is a lot less emphasis on labels around here, more on that another time.

Last week I had an immensely fulfilling conversation with someone who had lived for several years in Malaysia, in a one room home with four small children. ONE room.

They were happy, they were able to properly put into perspective how much we don't need. People in other countries have six or more children on average in tiny, little homes. And this is very normal.

American's we are so gluttonous sometimes aren't we? We put each child into one room fill all four bedrooms with one human body each yet still complain it's not enough.

With that thought rubbing some people the wrong way, I will say that while our " dream home" is wonderfully unexpected. I feel guilty with the thought of all that space plus the added bonuses this home comes with. Pray that we will use it properly to serve and grow a family and it will not become an idol.

Tune in Tuesday's #.2 Edition

I think those veggie puppies are too cute to eat! My children love this kind of thing, they're really into eating fruit and green stuff with "dip." I'm just thankful they'll eat fresh food without too much fuss.

Speaking of fussing, it's so nice seeing my new one embrace tummy time like such a pro! (Minus fussing.)

Ahh the love grow between my oldest and youngest melts my mommy heart.

Since we're showing off family photos I'd like to announce that my daughter is an advertising model for U haul! Last year as we were moving the U haul company caught wind of a tagged photo of Clarity. Her picture is being displayed on thirty eight trucks! The actual link is here. This the photo they asked to use, maybe you'll see her someday on a highway!!!!

New Jersey; a lifetime ago......still just because I love Kentucky doesn't mean that a shirt like this wouldn't be worn proudly in our new home state by ME.

Just thinking about that move again brings to mind all the clutter we eradicated from our lives. I came upon this blog that could've helped me out while I was sorting and packing.

Summertime means a summer reading list and I follow this blog around mostly for the free kindle reads they recommend. Here is clean reading being advertised, I can read several things at a time when it's free on kindle. 

http://thecommonroomblog.com/2014/06/free4kindle-summer-leisure-reading.html

Also if your all about Facebook, but have acquired the habit of letting social media take over your tissue box or have been noticing its become the main topic during anger management check this out.

 This is one of my daughter's smiles. She's always giving me a sweet memory when she does this.

Making me think of this quote.

Speaking of lessons thank you and please are hard habits to impress on a child, you can always figure out what manners are demonstrated at home between spouses because their children will repeat the manners often in public with little or no prompting. This blog from my group site has something to say about bad habits and manners.

Sometimes I wonder as a Christian that I'm not doing enough mission work. You see these people out there on the streets preaching, going on elaborate missions, often they proclaim loudly to everyone within earshot that they're "leading many to Christ."

What is the definition of that term though? Isn''t the Christian life itself enough to show a difference that would " lead " others to His glory?

Aren't we supposedly "leading to Christ" every second of every day by the way we are to live according to the Bible? 

Maybe you aren't leading to Christ when you're watching that show with sex scenes, or listening to that secular music, or on the job, or on the beach in a revealing swim suit. I get it, leading to Christ is a side job. Something you do with the youth once a week or only on Sundays. (Just kidding) (kind of)

While it sounds great that you " really have a heart for Africa" , we forget that the big things with Jesus aren't the big things to us. God isn't impressed with just the overseas missionaries who win souls farther away then the neighbors next door. They are trifles compared to His glory His unfathomable glory. God uses the foolish things, the weak things, simple things to confuse the mighty, to confound the wise.

The really big thing could be some unknown Christian,alone yet in the quiet of their heart resists temptation.When God has taken someone whose only ever sinned, someone whose been a slave to sin and they resist temptation that's HUGE.

The big thing may be a Christian seeing a spouse or a child, their child, succumb to cancer; the prayers for healing unanswered and YET they continue to glorify God.

When we glorify man, when we glorify missions as though we have to get on a plane to make it count then we are playing down God.

The Christian mother striving to teach her child to have a happy heart and a good spirit that doesn't whine and complain has just as difficult a mission as someone publicly leading worship or a sermon.

The big thing could be that person who has persevered in Christ, year after year. Trial after loss after let down. Yet still they glorify God and have run the race quietly, without much popularity or anything to tweet about.

These are the big things. It's the unspoken, hidden, subconscious little stuff that only God can see. But to Him it's immense, Jesus works through the simple things unseen so He can WOW us on the inside. So don't feel as though cleaning a bathroom for an elderly invalid is tiny compared to that person spending all weekend on the youth retreat. Or that sharing the gospel to a co worker was a fail when they rejected it compared to that orphanage in Brazil your friend is volunteering at. Those quiet things are just as important if not more so because it's done from the heart without any recognition. 

Until next time when you tune in on Tuesday.

One thing at a time

I'm really good at doing a lot of things all at once. Before I had children of my own I did one thing at a time. My day would go something like this; get up, shower, clean, go to work, work, go home, shower, eat, clean, go out, sleep, read or hang out. One thing, at a time, always. When I was on vacation, I did vacation, just vacation. When I was washing dishes, or vaccuming, that's all I was doing until I became a Mother.

Now my day goes something like this; wake up, nurse baby answer text, while nursing baby, while nursing baby find husband's uniform still nursing baby while directing toddler's to take off wet overnight diapers.Change baby, feed toddlers, take out dogs between feeding toddlers, wash dishes while dressing toddlers, start laundry, make beds, change baby, make phone calls while  again nursing baby. I won't keep going on with this terrifying illustration (there's a cup of coffee in there somewhere too ) I'm sure you're get the point. I'm always doing several things at a time.

My husband is the opposite; he's really good at doing one thing at a time. When he's home or has a day off from work (very rare) he's a pro at just hanging out with our children taking pictures of them and doing that one thing all day.My husband is a one-thing-at-a-time kinda man. When he works, he's just working, when he's eating it's just eating. Not too much talk, a whole lot of chewing.

I like when he's home. True he leaves a lot of messes adding one extra mouth to feed during snack times but I like when he's home and the coziness it brings to our little nest.

We're hoping to move any day now and after a very busy winter we are trying to take as much downtime as possible. Family will be visiting at different intervals for the rest of the summer and I know September will be upon us before we can blink. This will be the first year of true homeschooling for my children, we have some groups we are joining and trips we will be taking and lots of playdates to be attending.

These sorts of things will require me to do lots of things at once.! Until then I want to soak up my babies, catch these rare moments of doing one thing at a time.

Tristan likes to give Baby Dagen rides around the backyard

Gavin " fixing" his quad

From this angle T. Looks so very little

Where would a fun day be without ice cream, sunglasses, water play and photo bombing?

A friend mentioned that these kinds of pictures are going to be the ones our children will look back on as "family photos." I wonder what sort of pictures my parents would've taken if they'd have had social media ? What a shocking and amusing  thought all at once !

Happy weekend !!!!!!

Tune in Tuesday

 Now that summer officially arrived and the heat of our western state has fully descended upon us we are spending a whole lot of down time inside before we venture outdoors.


I've had less coffee these days due to the heat, perhaps that's why I find it difficult to get up with my children at six am! Husband leaves for work around 6:30-7 AM, the sun pops up earlier now and so do our children! I make sure to start my one load of laundry per day immediately then I make sure to switch it to the dryer promptly. I find that we can keep the house AC set at 75 degrees during the day if we use less electricity.(And my husband can pinch pennies happily)

As we glide into our school free mornings my daughter is most likely found reading after I've dressed her, done her hair and she drapes herself in necklaces.  (What a life of leisure this tiny one leads!)
During this my middle son has become quite the builder with his kinetics. Today he made helicopters!

My son's are allowed media time. (Shocker right? You may have assumed by my past verbal distaste for cable we don't have any fun around here!) However a few weeks ago we discovered these Biblical shows on YouTube! I'll let them have one or two during quiet time. My boys are really into David; no surprise, and the video will display a sidebar with others just like it. For three year olds on up I recommend it. Just click here to view

Speaking of YouTube videos this lady has some great tutorials about makeup and hair. She's about my age, has four children and kinda owns this awesome, crazy yet modest style. Check out this scarf tutorial here.

Her cool hair ideas are why you're going to find me rocking the bandana. I just NEED the hair off my face, my husband likes my hair midlength or longer while I just want to chop it off into a pixie. Hair accessories definitely keep a restraining order on my scissors.

While naptime happens I'll take one too if everyone goes down at once. If I'm unable to  snooze because Mr. T has been growing past naps at the old age of 4 1/2 I'll let him do sticker books or some simple work books or educational games on http://pbskids.org/.

The reason I'm craving naps can be blamed on my new one. At 16 pounds, 26 inches long he still requires night nursing three times. I dream feed baby around 10-11 pm then he wakes to nurse three times afterwards all before 6 the next morning. 

This four month old just recovered from a terrible bout of bronchitis and an ear infection. He's been super clingy too, we spend a lot of time attached. Still he's so cute and cuddly, I think we'll still keep him around :)

Speaking of seasons my brother and sister in law rescued the cutest puppy!  They already have a busy family but this adorable baby makes me want to adopt one too! But.....I don't know if I can add one more thing to our family plate right now.  Anyway meet Gunner ! And please if his cuteness makes you want some too ALWAYS check out your local rescues. Don't buy ADOPT.

My beautiful nephew Niko turned ONE. My lovely sister (#4 in our large family ) resides in Florida with her military hubby. I miss her, technology just doesn't cover physical real time. 

Can't believe one year ago I held him here.

And NOW he's this blonde haired, blue eyed boy!

Wishing we were on the sandy beaches of Florida with you cousin Niko......

This past Father's day was special because God has enabled my husband to accomplish a lot under the age of thirty. I don't think I need to list everything here, but I can show you a picture of some of our earthly blessings.(including the wall of our rental home, it's so nice having a roof over our heads )

One of the things we're in the process of is purchasing our second home. LOTS of setbacks with this one. None having anything to do with us.(I promise! We just have issues buying and selling apparently!) We're currently on our third appraisal due to a freak accident that landed our second appraiser in the hospital for two weeks! God has an amusing way of teaching us patience. While we're waiting my bedroom dresser has been a landing spot for my current reading material, and a few layers of dust, hair clips and baby wipes temporarily removed for your blog reading experience.

On top you'll see a short book by one of my favorite writers.

A call to prayer by J.C. Rule. Honestly, if you want sound, biblical doctrine go fifty years back. I'll give a review (hopefully) as soon as I'm finished with this short yet intense read.At the rate I'm going with the leisure of personal reading pursuits that post should be up around July 2017.

The second book ; The lost loves of World War II by Bruce Judisch & Sharon Bernash Smith appears to be clean. By that I mean lacking crude content. I inhale anything written about WWII, Germany and the holocaust. I find it difficult though to actually discover reading material with clean language. That's why I'm happy to have been invited to join this Google group.

I've been treated to some great reading material here ! Lot's of ladies like me, just beginning in the blogging world. Here's a blog I came upon the other day. She has some insightful posts for one so young. Why Jesus Wept is moving, beautiful and written with a godly clarity.

And again if you want to get some more online reading in check out the blog I contribute at, in fact start with this post written today. All about loving the space you have.

Sometimes daily devotions turn into one or two verses during my busy days. So here's  something I'm pondering right now found in Proverbs.

Proverbs 2:2-3 " so that you incline your ear ear into wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yea, if you cry out after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding."

When we value wisdom properly both our minds and ears are entirely caught by it. And when we plead with God, desperate to know and apply the truth we will receive a godly discernment. Friends, let us always be sure that all we do, say, watch and listen to is befitting of a Christian. Ask God, is this something I should be doing, saying, watching, indulging in? He will answer and give us the wisdom to know. Summertime often leads to slacking off in some things, taking up other pastimes or it leads us to be around more situations that need discernment. It can be something as simple as "is my skirt too short?" To putting off time with God in favor of fun. I am so guilty of all these things. 

And until then...peace out ....and stop over for some more tune ins about life on another Tuesday.

Dear Dad

 Daddy; it's me, your little girl.

I'm all grown up.

I'm the first born; I resemble you Dad and I love coffee, bookstores, writing, cooking and gardening, just like you.

We have some memories together; like that winter night you woke me up to play in a perfect snow wonderland? You pulled me in my red sled until I couldn't up the hill anymore. We made snowballs and a snowman until I couldn't feel my fingers. Daddy if they had instagram back then what kind of hashtags would you write?

You took my brother fishing once; I asked if I could go with you sometime too. You said "sure we will."  But you must've forgotten.

Everyone else's Daddy's called their girl's "princess, baby girl and sweetheart." But you never did.

On your days off you'd stay in your room Dad. Mom told us not to bother you because you were crabby and we'd make it worse.

After a family vacation I'd hear you tell Mom how you couldn't wait to go back to work.

You sketched and painted a lot Daddy; but I never got a chance to tell you that my favorite color is green. I still don't know what yours is.

You forgot me at youth group once; you left early for work too like you did every Wednesday night all through my high school years. I called your cell phone a dozen times, you had fallen asleep in your car in a parking lot. I felt like crying when you showed up without saying anything to me.

Remember when you made me change out of my brand new skirt and sweater that mom bought me? We were late for church because nothing else I put on was good enough.

We had one Daddy/daughter date, our only ever,  I discovered that the cup of coffee you bought me came with a price. "Stop being who you are, or I'll let Mom throw you out of the house." There wasn't much to talk about after that, you took your full cup of coffee with you and drove away in your car.


Dad we didn't talk for two and a half years. I slept on a lot of couches, spent some time being hungry. I worked hard Daddy, two jobs, one time three jobs. Sometimes all I had was ramen noodles for dinner. Your pizzeria was only fifteen minutes away from where I was staying still I felt that deep down you'd tell everyone how I used you for food if I stopped in and asked for a slice of pizza.

Remember when my future husband tried calling you to ask for my hand in marriage? You hung up on him, he never got your answer.

On my wedding day Dad I asked you to give me away; I wanted you to say so many things to me, but those words never came.

We didn't see each other until the next year; I gave you and mom that card saying you're grandparents now, you wouldn't look me in the eye.

We gave our second son your name as a middle one. Did this make you smile?

When I became saved I wanted to tell everyone , especially you Dad. I wished you never learned how to text message though, the words you wrote to me in response cut me to the core.

You like some of your other children better then me. Everything I am has always rubbed you the wrong way.

I have a little girl now; we almost died when she came into this World.When we celebrated her first year of life you were there, but you sat in a corner fiddling on your cell phone. Mom had to remind you to stand up when we were ready to cut the cake.

Daddy; sometimes I hurt when my friends complain about their father's, about how much their Dad's are in their lives, treating them like they're still little girls.

When we had our house moving party you were there Dad. I was 20 weeks pregnant, I was moving boxes and loading things up. But you just sat there with your phone. When we packed up all our chairs you moved outside to sit on the porch steps.

Daddy the last time I saw you I didn't cry when I hugged you goodbye. Maybe you were glad I was leaving, if you had to choose between me and my other sister's it would be them. I wont make you choose.

Daddy I called you on your birthday last week, you thanked me for the coffee and espresso we'd sent you. We didn't talk about anything else.

They say Dad that girls always marry men like their Daddies. I've never followed rules, my children's Daddy is a strong, rugged kind of man, blonde and messy, loud and tough. He works hard like you though, and gets quiet like you too. Well I guess maybe he has a lot of your qualities Dad.

Your granddaughter runs when her Daddy asks where his baby girl is.They go on walks together, he reads her stories, and hugs her tightly.

My boys take care of me; they pick me flowers, patting my back while they promise to protect me from bad pirates. They're a lot like their own Daddy in that way.

It's Fathers day; I couldn't send you a card. I dont blame you Dad when my life is so full of good things.

Sometimes I think about you, I send text pictures of your grandchildren without a reply from you. I often wonder if you think of me. Do you  ever wonder what would happen if you called your little girl?

She'd come running.

Happy Fathers Day Daddy.

Linking up with http://calledhomejfisk.com/2014/06/12/winter-warmth-wellness-thoughtful-thursday-linky/

Fruitful Families

Fruitful Families, growing in size, growing in faith.

Please don't run away because of the title; every mom can discover something here. Don't be thinking you have to have a bowl bursting with fruity delights. Mom's of one, Mom's with some, Mom's who have one's in Heaven or grown up and moved away. All can find something on this site.

I've always enjoyed expressing my opinion; in our technological age it's easy making sure everyone knows where you stand, what you're about, how many children you're having or not having. Sometimes there's too much info out there, those instagram lives and family photo shoots appear too pristine and we wonder what's really going on with these blogging mom's?

No, the woman I'm the mirror is just an image. She looks nice, on Sunday she has it together with her dressed up family. They take up almost half a pew and she looks almost too good to be real. While she blogs about her life she's most likely only showing the pen worthy moments because she has a voice and a technological device.

Fruitful Familes isn't just sweet moments on a cute little page. It's a place with twenty-nine woman who each have advice, love, loss, and skills to blog about.I recommend it because I'd like the page even if I wasn't given the chance to contribute.

Thanks to Sarah Avila from My Joy Filled Life who has given me the opportunity to contribute to Fruitful Families. I am honored and feel blessed to be a part of this :-)

Now I'd like to urge you to check out this site on facebook like it if you please :-)

You can go directly to the google + link.

Follow on Pinterest

And most importantly!!!! SUBSCRIBE HERE

May everyone gain something  positive from Fruitful Families.

Welcome Summer!!!

Hello summer 2014!!!

We have waited for you all through a bone chilling, icy, snowy winter.Sometimes we felt as though we were under house arrest thinking we'd never see green grass again. I drank a lot of coffee, my husband consumed a lot of sweets, while the children bounced between illnesses, playdates and their first year of home school Pre-k with constant zest and enthusiastic energy.

It was a good winter full of blessings like the birth of our new one.

And here we are enjoying our first summer in our new land!

We were first treated to a lot of mud!

And a lot of bubbles containing lots of spit!

And mowing our green lawn.

Then we began to go on a lot of evening walks

We have fallen in love with this rolling green country

We've spent a lot of time outdoors playing pirates

And we've had a lot of water play too, even the new one has joined us.

He has taken a while to adjust to all the outside stuff, like grass. He'll usually keep his feet up so they don't touch the ground. Silly baby !

This is an oops picture of me, can't have summertime without shades and a good hair wrap!

Sometimes I feel as though I am reliving childhood through my own babies. My husband constructed a makeshift Native American Indian playhouse. Can I tell you how many hours of imaginative play this has provided for my children? A few long sticks, some string plus an old sheet and voila!!!!

My boys have even napped in here! Talk about good, clean fun!


Welcome summertime!!!!

AND in case you want to check out some great link ups here!