My obsession...

I love decorating for Fall! It is so fun and there are so many cute things! I was drooling over all of the adorable things that Gordman's has recently. Although my budget doesn't allow me to splurge on these items it is so fun to look....here are a few cute ones from Terry's Village:

Happy Fall, everyone!!!

Thomas

Thomas has been getting 4 new teeth and consequently not feeling very good. They are finally in, hooray!!! It has been hard to get smiles lately though. Here he is enjoying animal crackers.

Inadequacy...

Sometimes I feel so inadequate....Not up to dealing with what life is sending my way. I can't solve my daughters depression problems, can't make problems go away for dh at work, can't motivate my home-schoolers and wonder if my public schoolers are being direly influenced. I can't keep up with housework and wonder how I will take care of one more... I cry out to God for help! He has reassured me that it is good to feel inadequate...that He will give me strength and He wants me to rely on Him. If I felt adequate, I would be Superwoman. I would not need God to get me through each day. He will equip me for my daily tasks as I look to Him and pray for help. He wants me to take each day as it comes. As it says in Matthew 6:34...Do not worry about tomorrow, today has enough trouble of its own...Amen!

Hebrews 13:20-21 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

One of my favorite verses....

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come". II Corinthians 5:17

Storms and misc musings...

We had one again last night but not as bad as the night before. We didn't lose power this time, thank goodness. It is such an inconvenience to lose power for a measly 5 hours...aren't we wimps? I think of back during Hurricane Charley in 2004 (Fl) when people were out of power for weeks! We were one of the fortunate neighborhoods and got ours back in 24 hours. The kids were up at 3am the night before helping light candles and just enjoying the storm. That makes it very hard the next morning!

Carlina has now been taking her medicine for a week but hasn't been sleeping good at all lately. Sometimes when you first get on those anti-depressants, you feel much worse before it gets better. I hate that they take so long to work and I pray that they do work for her.

Garrett hasn't spilled much about school, he won't talk about it at all. He did tell us that 2 boys yelled at him when they were playing with trains together. The teacher put the train in time out and then the boys were able to play together nicely. He also told us he had delicious white milk and a circle pizza for lunch yesterday but didn't eat the pizza. I wonder if he eats anything at all.

OB appt

Boring! That is why I try to stretch them farther apart then what they tell me....Everything is fine and the hb is 140. Next time I get tested for strep (joy). She said that she wouldn't let me go more than 1 wk over, due to my age. So baby will be here by October 13th if not before. I am so tired and notice that an afternoon nap does me wonders. I don't get those everyday but am dragging at the end of the day if I miss at least a small snooze. Still haven't settled on a name and need to get a bassinet and infant seat, probably another pack of diapies too.

Alicia...

Alicia turns 11 this month. She had originally asked for a new bicycle for her birthday, then we found out her cousin might give her the one she had outgrown. It is really nice and in great condition. Now she doesn't know what she wants:) She misses her best friend, Elizabeth, in Florida but seems to be adjusting very well and enjoying 5th grade. She has made some nice friends in church.

We love our school....

Here are Alicia, Katie and Garrett posing outside their beloved elementary school:
Thomas is having fun climbing the steps.

Garrett

Garrett had a good day yesterday. He had fun in Sunday school and then got to play with his cousin, Jewel, all afternoon after church. They have so much fun together. That evening we went to a church family's house for dinner. They have 5 children, including one little boy Garrett's age. He had a blast playing with all of his trains and trucks. Regardless of what he gets to do, he is usually smiling:)

Ready for winter?

Kumquat is, with his stylish hat and cozy blanket.....the weird thing about him is that he doesn't mind when they do this to him. He loves to sleep on one of the girl's beds all day, he is so lazy!

Garrett's first day of preschool..

He was so excited and got right up this morning. He had been waiting to wear his new Wall-E tee shirt and asked for that right away. When we got to school he put his blanket and pillow in his cubby and hung up his backpack and jacket. Then he joined the other kids to play. There are 18 4 year olds in his class which meets M,T,Th. I hope he has a good day!

I'm reading...

Dragon Seed by Pearl S. Buck.

This book is amazing and heartbreaking! It is the story of a peasant farmer and his family in China during the time of the Japanese invasion (WWII). I loved The Good Earth and would highly recommend this one, too. It really brings these people to life and makes you appreciate living in a free country.

Having fun without spending money...

We are getting to be experts at this...some of our favorite things to do:

1. board games-we love clue,yahtzee and uno
2. cooking-we love to get together in the kitchen and whip up delightful dishes
3. picnic-this is our favorite thing to do this time of year. ***
4. watching the Brady Bunch-we own every season and don't have cable and get two network stations--the kids love it.


***footnote-we went to Southwood Conservation area today for a picnic. It was gorgeous--sunny and 75 degrees. Ollie had a blast running around and got pushed (ahem-accidentally?) off of the dock of the pond into the water and had a fun swim. He proceeded to drag a huge dead rat out of the pond and chase everyone with it. We saw Monarchs and twin fawns. Sorry I don't have a picture of the rat, its teeth were beyond belief!

More on depression...

Carlina was prescribed lexapro today by her nurse practitioner. Since she is losing practically 2.5 weeks out of the month to pms, depression and anxiety, I am so hopeful that this will make a difference for her. The nurse also said that she would be more prone to ppd and depression as an adult...well, duh?!! I will not hesitate to go back on something if ppd rears its ugly head this time. It takes so long for those medications to begin to work, you can't wait a minute for something that takes 4-6 weeks to begin working. 24 hours after birth is when I feel totally devoid of those good hormones that kept me going for 9 months. It's too bad they can't hang on a bit longer....maybe 3 months until that 4th trimester ends.

Belated pictures from sono...

Here she is!!!

Ka-boom!

I'm a ticking time bomb. In approximately 6 weeks the timer will say 0:00. I will be officially done. At that point, eviction orders will be issued....generally ignored by her elder siblings, but not this little girl. No sir! She is obedient and will arrive right on time. I'm wondering about these next 6 weeks. I'm exhausted, my varicose veins are a map of the world with swollen rivers being their main feature, morning sickness is back and the cramps in my feet keep me up at night. But I want to cherish this time. No complaint, whine or symptom can overshadow the awe of waiting for baby's arrival. Soon I will not have her to myself. She will be introduced into the world and I will have to share her. Can there be any better blessing than a child? I can't say I will ever experience pregnancy again, I want to relish each day. I also am so anxious to meet my new little one. To see her sweet little face and smell her baby hair. To look with wonder on her ten little toes...and the pink! My big girls wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole now, but this little girl will be decked out in pink! She will be welcomed with great delight by all of her siblings and especially her mommy and daddy......let the countdown begin!

Back from Florida

Jesse and I took a very short trip down to finish up some business. We left Sunday and returned Tues. We were so fortunate to get out before all the flights were canceled due to TS Fay. Lots of people were stranded in Florida or trying to get into Florida. Those storms are scary....the tornadoes that they spawn are the worse nightmare, not to mention the flooding and even the high winds. During Hurricane Charley in 2004, the palm trees in our front yard were literally flat on the ground during the intense winds...then they popped back up. Anyway, we didn't have much time but saw a few old haunts. We didn't get to see friends due to appts we had and the extreme lack of time. We did drive past Jesse's old buildings and eat at Cecil's barbeque for old times sake. He has the best beef brisket! I am so glad to be home!!!

fleas...ouch

Just last night I noticed Oliver biting his tail and hindquarters with excessive vehemence. I suspected fleas....but didn't look closely. Yep, today at the vet (supposed to be a $30 visit for rabies and one other shot and wormer), vet says he has fleas. So..... $40 bucks for 4 months worth of medicine. I suppose I shouldn't be griping...in Florida I would have to give him flea med and heartworm meds year round. He gets neutered in 3 weeks and shots again, so another $100 bucks out of pocket! Yikes! I cannot afford him and need to put him to work earning money somehow! How about a sled dog when winter hits? A seeing eye dog for the seeing? On the street corner with a bucket in his mouth saying will work for shots and food? Sell his poopy for fertilizer :P??

Olliver is getting big!

Notice what he is reading? He loves Dr. Suess!!

Homeschooler off to a start too....

Doesn't Colton look thrilled??!! He is studying Bible, Geometry, English 3, Chemistry, History and Spanish this year. Colton loves humorous books and is reading Dave Barry and Patrick McManus currently.

First Day of School...

School started one-half hour late this morning (8:45). Katie was up bright and early and anxious to go. I walked the girls to school and left them in the gym with their classes. I hope they have a good day!

Map

Some maps of Georgia, just in case you're planning a trip....when the region stabilizes of course!

World History Lesson...where is Georgia?

Georgia is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and partially in Southwest Asia in the Caucasus region. It is bordered to the north by the Russian Federation, to the east by Azerbaijan, to the west across the Black Sea by Ukraine, to the south by Armenia and to the southwest by Turkey.^[2] The territory of Georgia covers 69,700 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Georgia’s population is 4.4 million in the territories controlled by the central government of Georgia, nearly 84% of whom are ethnic Georgians.<sup>[3] Thanks Wikipedia!!

To put it simply, it is this little country south of Russia that used to be a part of the Mother country. Why is Russia so interested in Georgia? Some analysts say the oil pipelines, some say the ports, some say Russia just wants to expand her empire again?


On another note, did you know more Georgians live to the age of 100 than in any other country?</sup>

School begins...

I have a mix of students again this year. Alicia and Katie start public school tomorrow at the little Elementary school in town. Alicia is in 5th grade and Katie, 2nd. They are both extremely excited. We got to see their classrooms and meet their teachers tonight. Katie looked around at the desks with names on them to see if their were any other "Katies" in the class. She found 2 Kaitlyns and 2 Emilys but no other Katie. Her friend Maddie is also in her class. Garrett will start preschool on August 25th. He will go 3 days per week. The older students are home again this year. Colton is a junior, Carlina a freshman and Julia in 7th grade. We are going to start tomorrow too but with some interruptions, doctor, dentist appts that we didn't get done during the summer. The girls went swimming today for probably one of the last times. The pool does stay open in the evenings now until Aug 23rd.

On another note, I dropped out of the Bible study that I had signed up for at the church. I had only been one time but it was just too hard to leave in the evenings, esp with Jesse having to help Jim sometimes and Carlina not feeling good. I want to do AWANA this Fall and being out 2 nights might be too hard. I would have loved the study and fellowship but sometimes you just can't do it all.

Jesse is meeting with a home-health care provider tonight, along with his sister, to see if they can work something out for his dad. I hope he is cooperative, but he wasn't keen on anyone coming in to help.

Depression

I hate that evil word. Depression brought me so much pain but through that pain came so much gain. I actually felt the hand of the Lord so many times and learned so much about my identity in Him going through those terrible times. Now Carlina struggles with it. It seems to happen especially around her period. She gets very anxious, can't sleep and has bad thoughts. Carlina is an amazing person. She is so smart and funny, but so shy. She doesn't make friends easily because she is so quiet. I wish that people could see the real girl. Her stories are incredible, her sense of humor wonderful. I learned the importance of meditating on the truth during those times and have tried to help her. The Bondage Breaker for Teens is a wonderful book and I think has helped her. Joyce Meyer also has a good book for teens. Depression can seem like such a deep, dark, empty pit. I have never been through anything so difficult and I wish I could help her. All I can do is talk to her and pray for her. I am going to try to find her a Christian counselor. I am not sure about medication for teens; she was on an anti-depressant for awhile but not sure it helped. We will keep doing what we can do.

Names...

We are having a hard time with names. We had a boys name picked out as of late...Justice. Such a cool name, but alas, no boy, lol. Girls names are harder. Carlina's name was picked out a day after she was born, sort of on a whim. I wanted Katrina but Jesse vetoed it and Carlina was chosen. Julia was going to be Courtney almost right up until the end when I suddenly changed my mind. I had Alicia picked out for my firstborn (who happened to be a boy) but didn't use it again right away for some reason. That was the name of a childhood bestfriend. Katie was picked out by daddy...she is actually Katherine, but he wanted a Katie. So that nickname stuck.

Now for number 8....the girls and I loved Charlotte but daddy did not. He likes Elizabeth and Anna. Julia and Alicia desperately want me to name her Emma Rose. Which is very pretty. I personally love Josephine and would call her Josie, but noone else except for Carlina seems to like that.......more deliberating!

Exhaustion...

Jesse and his siblings spent the day discussing options with their dad. They were able to take his keys away and lock the vehicles in the shed so he will not be driving anymore. He wasn't too happy about anything that was going on. So far he is going to be able to stay in the house and hire someone to help him part-time. Jesse and Deb will stop morning (Jesse) and evening (Deb) to give him his meds. Truthfully, I don't know how long this arrangement will last. We are taking him to his church tomorrow and then for lunch. Jesse was so beat when he came home. He rested for awhile and then we decided to take the kids bowling. Everyone had a great time. Garrett loves to bowl and does a victory dance after each set. His ball was bubblegum pink (the lightest one) and he looked so cute in his fancy bowling shoes. The kids had soda and are still up, so that is why I am still up, lol. Taking care of Jim really brings home the lesson of turning the other cheek and loving your "enemy". Why I refer to him as that is a long story. It is easy to love someone who is good to you but to help and love someone who has done great evil to you is all up to the Holy Spirit. Jesse is a good example and trying really hard to do what is right for his father.

A depressing post...

Yesterday was the day from H###! Some days you wish you could just rewind and start again....It began with a horrible case of cause of effect. I went to start the Suburban to take some paperwork over to the school and it was dead, someone had left the lighted mirror open. So we decided to walk...it isn't far. I got the wagon out, Thomas climbed in and the others walked. We walked past our neighbor's house and their little black dog was running around without a leash. I didn't think too much about it, he seemed like he was going to stay in his yard. We cross the busy highway, semi's are zooming through there so fast, and here he comes across the road. He is super fast and super hyper...there is no catching him. He ran toward us and then back and got hit by a semi. It was so tramautic to see it! I ran across while the kids were waiting and picked him up and took him to his house. I wasn't even sure anyone was home. She said she was going to take him to the vet. I talked to her later and she said he had died before she could go. She was devastated. I guess her little boy had let the dog out and she didn't know he was outside. On another note that is the place where the kids are supposed to get across for school....so I will be driving them or walking them across everyday. There is no crossing guard in the town or even a school zone that I know of...insane!

Next, Jesse's dad is suffering from Parkinson's disease and has been having hallucinations, which are par for the course with the disease. He is living by himself right now, doesn't want to go back in to the nursing home. On Wed. he thought someone was in his car and trying to take it. He also sees people in his house constantly. I don't know how long he will be able to live by himself. Debbie took him to the doctor yesterday to make sure he was still on his meds. Jesse stopped there after work and checked on him. Jesse thinks he can do okay for awhile as he is still lucid and can pretty much do what he is supposed to, he doesn't want to force him to move back into the home right now. They instructed him not to drive anywhere at night. That has been very stressful for Jesse. They always talk about the crossroads of raising children and taking care of ailing parents; looks like we are smack in that zone.

Ultrasound yesterday!!!!

Yay! We're so excited!! It has been over 7 years since I've had a little girl!!! All the big sisters are over the moon, too!!

Baby

I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday. I am slow to get to a doctor due to the move and other factors, so it was such a sweet sound at 31 weeks. I can't wait to meet this new little person. I was browsing for baby things on the web and found some neat and weird things. If I had lots of dough I would have this for baby "Gazmo" (Garrett's name for him/her). Pretty different but cool. Also found organic hemp sneakers for baby....huh? The byline said if you can't smoke it anymore you can wear it!!!

Pie

Summertime is a good time for pie....any kind of pie with lots of ice cream. I made a cherry pie yesterday with nice tart cherries. I am not a crust making whiz...I know the purists use lard, for nice and flaky crusts. I used a jiffy mix. Unfortunately the picture is not my pie. Mine looks like it has been thrown up in the air against the ceiling and then dangled from the light fixture for a while. It still tastes good...I just need to work on appearance. I love those beautiful pies where people use tiny cookie cutters to cut out pieces of crust and decorate the top. That is beyond my abilities. I found a recipe in a cook book that I checked out from the library for a gorgeous pie called Rasberry Ribbon pie. I haven't tried it yet but want to for the holidays.

2 pkg (3oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confect sugar
dash salt
1 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 pastry shell, baked
1 pkg rasp gelatin
1 1/4 c boiling water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pkg frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Fold in cream. Spread half in pie shell and chill for 30 min.

Dissolve gelatin in water; add lemon juice and raspberries. Spoon half over cream cheese. Chill for 30 min or until set.

Set aside remaining gelatin mixture at room temp. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over top of pie. Chill for 30 min. Top with remaining gelatin and chill until firm.

More from our outing....

Ollie had fun on the drive, too. Colton decided to stay home...he had blisters from a long walk with bad shoes. Ollie has eaten out both of Colton's insoles...yumyum. We found an old park with a see-saw; those are rare in modern parks. The one room schoolhouse was neat, too. The best part was chowing down on icecream. Jesse had $5 in his pocket and was able to get a half gallon of soft serve at an old-timey dairy queen. She also threw in a bowl of hot fudge for free. We poured it over the icecream and all dug in!

Fun with the kids

The vacation is officially over for Jesse who started work today. The kids will start school next Wednesday...where did the summer go???!!! Here are some pictures of the fun we had going to Preparation Canyon, Loess Hills visitor center and other fun places recently. The hike about killed me, they way back was all up hill. It is so gorgeous there, I can't wait to go back in the Fall when the leaves have changed color.