Memories By Miranda

Oh Winter, Where Are You?

2012-02-06T22:06:00.001-05:00

The weather is beyond beautiful lately and we are taking advantage of it!

New Year Goals ~ January Review

2012-02-01T18:08:00.001-05:00

February is now upon us and January is history. We made a lot memories and a great 1st month of the year.

I would like to keep track of how well I am coming along with my New Years goals at the end of each month. Hopefully it will keep me motivated.

So lets see how well my first month went! Don't mind me just thinking out loud here...

Financially
~We are going to start keeping track of every penny we spend. Ive got my little red wallet from Dave Ramsey and I'm prepared to use it! ;)
We have been keeping track of what we spend with receipts but I have not done as great as I hoped. I need to start using only cash instead of my debit card.

~Move closer to work. This will save on money along with time. An hour drive is a bit much. A two hour winter drive is even worse.
Unfortunately no. We are still looking.

~Follow our budget to the T!
So far, so good. We have our budget written out and have actually done pretty well at sticking to it.

~Eat out less. A lot less. Like never.
We ate out 6 times this month. Oops.

~Freeze meals to warm up on days that I would normally order out.
Truthfully, I believe I forgot about this goal. I am headed to the grocery on Friday so I'm going to make this happen!

Spiritually
~Find a church to attend and become a part of ASAP.
We are still looking. I found one online that we are going to try this Sunday and I feel really good about it!

~Memorize scripture. I'm not sure how I am going to do this yet. I might just learn them along with the kids for school. I don't have a specific goal yet.
I have been memorizing right along with the kids. I still want to do some on my own but haven't started yet.
~Read my bible and have prayer time in the morning before the kids wake up.
Nope.

~Start Polished Cornerstones and Plants Grown Up character training with the kids.
Nope. I am starting to see a trend here. Ha!

Being Mrs. Brian Hupp aka Babe
~I want, want, WANT to get up with Brian in the morning and make him breakfast before he goes to work. We are still trying to work out the details because he gets up at 4:45am, I wake up with Taylor a lot at night and I am a night owl.
I got up 7 times! YAY! Ok so I would have loved to have gotten up EVERY day but this is a wonderful start.

~Plan a date night (at home because that is just where we are in our life right now and that's ok. At home can be pretty creative...he he) at least once a month. Oh how I would love for it to be more but I am shooting for once right now.
This did actually happen this month! We made wings and watched Courageous. It was a good time!

~Pray with Brian every night before bed.
Unfortunately, no. This is nice in theory but he goes to bed a lot sooner than I do because of his work hours. I told him that I wanted to start this every night so hopefully soon.

Being Momma
~Be soft. I have found myself becoming kind of harsh at times with the kids. I don't want that to be their memory of me.
This is so important to me and I have been very conscious of how I speak and react to the kids at all times.

~Play more. I seem to have gotten pretty caught up in getting everything done that sometimes I forget to PLAY!
Gotta love some play time. We have been playing games almost every night. I have incorporated more hands on activities into our school day too.

~Plan school sooner than the day before. LOL! I need to be more prepared.
Most days I have been planned out ahead of time. I have tried to set time aside on Saturday or Sunday to plan for the week. This is working great because Brian hangs with the kids so I can have peace and quiet. I need to make sure every evening I set out everything that is needed for the next day so I'm not scrambling to find everything right before we start our day.

~Add more field trips to help school come alive for the kids.
We have only taken trips to the library. Which the kids say that doesn't count. :)

Self Sufficiency
~Have a big garden and plant something new. I am thinking potatoes! Brian is thinking watermelon. Both sound good to me!
Obviously, this has to wait til spring but over the next day or two I am going to start planning. I love planning my garden!

~Bake bread from scratch. I want to do this more but not yet for all our bread. I just don't have time to do that!
I have made 4 loaves of apple bread. Zero regular bread.

~Get meat chickens
Not yet. We have to figure out the moving situation first.

~3 deer in the freezer by the end of hunting season. Come on baby. You can do it! :)
Brian has not made it out to hunt very much. He has been so busy around the house so I'm not complaining.

The biggest thing that I want to make sure happens in February, find a church and attend every single Sunday. Maybe even Wednesdays.

For everything else, Im just going to keep chugging along.

Project Life ~ Week Four

2012-01-31T12:29:00.001-05:00

I had a lot of fun putting PL together this week and I love the way it turned out!

I added some layers this week and I love it! I use the Design A right now and when I added the first layer, I just cut it in half. I also used just a regular page protector for the second layer. I try and add as much about our week.

I like the way it looks and feel to have the layers "in between" the regular week.

I enjoyed adding some of our school into this week. On the half page I put a picture of each of the kids and on the journal cards I wrote about what we did.

This little SHMILY note was on the table from Brian when I woke up one morning. Before PL this paper would have ended up getting thrown away. I may have put it up but it would have been forgotten.

Pizza Party and Living Room Campout

2012-01-31T11:39:00.003-05:00

Every Saturday evening we make homemade pizza and play games. It has become a tradition that we all look forward to.

This weekend we were needing some much needed family time so we add in a little extra to our evening. We let the kids make their own pizzas and played games. Then we headed to the living room for a movie and a camp out.

Alyssa puts more cheese in her mouth than on her pizza.

Taylor did her pizza completely by herself.

She kept sneaking pepperonis!

Sometimes messes are SO worth it!

I think we tuckered 'em out!

Project Life Tuesday ~ Week Three

2012-01-23T21:12:00.002-05:00

Each week that goes by, I love Project Life even more. It is helping me to notice and remember the little things. Its funny because I thought I already did that.

This week is pretty self explanatory. I tried to document even the little things that happened this week. Our chickens are still laying eggs, ordering out for pizza, our snow storm and planning school out for the week. On my "extra" journal card for the week I wrote the word Eucharisteo. Check out this wonderful website if you are not familiar with the word Eucharisteo! Under that I wrote a few different things I am thankful for this week.

I'm hoping to make a stop at the craft store this week to spice things up a little! Craft stores make me giddy. :o)

Game Night

2012-01-20T13:01:00.001-05:00

It has always been very important for Brian and I to spend a lot of time with the kids. We enjoy family read alouds, games, pizza night and have quite a few family traditions.

Tonight we enjoyed a ~~sweet, calm~~ competitive, laugh of loud game of Mexican Train Dominoes. Yes, we can even make a calm game a bit on the loud side. To think, Brian used to be a quiet person. Haha!

I wouldn't have any idea where the kids get their competitiveness from!

I love these times.

Interested in a Birthday Bash

2012-01-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

Esther over at Our Simple Country Life is a wonderful godly woman. I have followed her blog for some time and she is very encouraging.

Right now, she is having a Bithday Bash with lots of giveaways. I encourage you to go check out her website.

Project Life Tuesday, Week Two

2012-01-16T20:00:00.008-05:00

I just did a pretty basic layout this week. It wasn't a creative week. We were very busy with appointments.

I am just in love with the fact that no matter how busy I am, I can still complete this! Just snap a picture a day or a few here and there and.....TA DA!

I am hoping to continue to do the typical week layout plus add "a week in the life of...." to it over the next few weeks. Does that make sense?

I will probably start with daddy. Do one sheet layout of different things about him. Plus still do my original week. Maybe add tidbits about him. Where he works, what he likes to do, how he spends his time, when he gave his life to the Lord, his favorite color, etc.

For the kids I will add pictures of them waking up, going to bed, etc. Plus add their shoe size, height, weight, favorite things, etc.

I'm kind of excited about it because in my head it will be really neat. We'll see how it actually turns out though. Ha!

First real snow of 2012

2012-01-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

Snow!

Everyone loves snow! Well everyone except Taylor. Hehe....She is not a real big fan of snow.

The other kids however LOVE IT! Its hard to keep them inside if there is snow on the ground.

Truthfully, I am ready for a few FEET of snow! I love the big snowflakes and lots of it. Unless of course, I have to drive. Its not so bad when we lived in town but out here I will pass on driving in the snow. The other day I had Brian take us to the store. He loves being my protector. :o)

Hmm.....That's kind of like jars. I know I could open most of them but why when he is here to do it, right? Men love to help their woman! So we both benefit. ;)

Ok off my rabbit trail now, back to snow! Snow makes me want to bake! Is that weird? Yesterday I made apple bread. It doesn't last long around here. I believe the pan is empty as I type. I guess I'll need to make more. Brian likes to have homemade stuff to take in his lunch. So that means it needs to snow A LOT so I can have a baking day. :o)

The Winners!

2012-01-16T13:15:00.002-05:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone that left me a comment. You all are so sweet! I also want to thank those that have started following my blog.

The kids and I had so much fun doing this giveaway. I am already looking forward to doing another one in a few months.
Winner #1.......The Allen Family!

Winner #2.......Maria!

Winners: I will be contacting each of you through email so be sure to look out for it. If you see this feel free to email me your address. I hope you enjoy your candle! :o)

Maria, The email in your comment appears to be wrong. It says it is not a valid email address. Please contact me within 3 days! Thanks.

My very first giveaway!

2012-01-13T14:09:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to be doing my first giveaway. I visit blogs that regularly have giveaways and I figured it was about time that I do my own.

I have been thinking about it for some time but I wasn't sure what to give away. Then it hit me! Candles! I make candles. What a great thing to give away. I would love to win candles and most women I know love candles so.....ITS PERFECT!

I am going to give away 2 handmade soy caramel scented candles to 2 lucky winners. (One for each winner) All you have to do is leave me a comment.

To get extra entries you can do the following:
~Follow me, I would love to be friends!
~Link to my giveaway

That's it! 3 chances to win a wonderful, delicious smelling candle. Have I mentioned I am super excited?!

Unfortunately, it will only be open to US residence this time.

I have seen many things floating around the web that pick the winner. Well after talking it over with the kids we decided to do it the old fashion way. Picking a name (2 in this case) from a hat. :o)

I will be picking the winners on Monday morning. Which will be January 16th. So all comments have to be received before midnight on Sunday, January 15th.

On a side note, we are having a crazy wintery, snowy, extremely windy and cold day here and I have a feeling that is why my computer will not let me download a picture. What fun is a giveaway without a picture, right?! I will have one up ASAP but if you want to see what these beautiful candles look like you can click HERE. I promise this isn't a cheesy way to get you to my website. As soon as I can get a picture to download I will take the link off of here.

Good Luck!

She amazes me

2012-01-11T15:56:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I wonder how she does it. These dizzy spells would have had me a mess. Does she look a mess to you? Nope.

Her symptoms have included dizzy to where she feels like the whole room is spinning, foggy eyes, green dots, hot flashes then cold chills, nausea, feelings of falling, blurry vision, crossed eyes and fever. At first she was just a little dizzy but over the last month the symptoms have gotten really bad.

The normal routine has become she gets these feelings, I hold her and hold her arms close to her body to help her feel secure, give her a drink and talk to her until she calms a bit.

A few weeks ago she woke up at about 2am screaming. Not yelling, literally screaming. She was terrified. I followed the normal routine and it only got worse. I was screaming over top of her so she could hear me and it did nothing except wake up the whole house. When the dizzy spells hit, her arms flare out, you can see more white of her eyes than color and her skin becomes pale. Scared would be is an understatement. This time nothing I did helped. It.Was.Horrible.

She said she could not see and she thought she was going blind.

Since then the episodes have only gotten worse. We have seen her eye doctor, neurologist and family doctor. Eye doctor said he is 100% positive it has nothing to do with her eyes. Neurologist has ordered a number of tests and everything has came up fine. Which is good in a way, I guess. On one hand its nothing serious (so far) but on the other hand what is going on??

Up this week is Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and follow up with Neurologist to get the results of her recent EEG.

I'm telling you what...this is hard. As I was sitting with Taylor for the EEG I could not get over how strong she is. When I took her picture she just smiled. A few times she has asked me whats going to happen if they can not find anything. What does that mean, mom? I just want to be back to normal, mom.

Normal? Her normal is not my normal. Her normal is struggling to feed herself. Her normal is having to have assistance with every aspect of her life. Her normal is having to ask for a drink when she is thirsty. Her normal is driving a wheelchair to get around. Her normal is at times being fed through a feeding tube. Her normal is not my normal. That's all she wants is to be back to normal.

I love that girl.

So for now we wait. We test. We wait some more. Have I ever mentioned how I hate waiting?

God seems to make me wait for a lot of things. Maybe he is trying to tell me something. Hmmm.......

Wordless Wednesday ~ January 11

2012-01-11T10:45:00.000-05:00

I have a hard time with "wordless". Does that mean I have too much to say? :o)

Carter spent hours working on his homemade quiver and arrows! As soon as he woke up the next morning he wanted to test them out. I love his determination!

Project Life 2012

2012-01-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

I am so extremely excited to have found Project Life! A friend of mine posted something on Facebook about this project and after looking into it, it is completely perfect for my life.

I am still working on the cover page. Its not quite right yet. I also need to have a nice day so that I can do our Winter family pictures for the upper right hand corner. The card in the middle is difficult to read so I am thinking of changing that too.

Here is our first week.

Each new month I am going to have a "Family Read Aloud" card to document all of our read alouds. Every night we together as a family. I'm not going to write every book we read for school just the family ones. I need to add our next book we started a few days ago, Ginger Pye.

I had Alyssa write out day 5. I even added the price of the pizza. Hehe... I love that the whole family can be involved! I love the idea of being able to look back and seeing their handwriting at this age, etc.

The other day, Carter left this envelope on the dinner table. "To everyone, From CJ".

This picture didn't turn out very well but inside the envelope were these little notes. Love it!

I cant say enough how much I love this project! It is so easy and personal! I can make it anything I want it to be. I have so many ideas running through my head! :)

Alyssa Nicole turns 12....

2012-01-07T16:33:00.001-05:00

like 2 months ago. Hehe...

It was freezing outside but she was a very good sport. She put on her favorite sweater and grabbed her favorite hat and we headed outside. She is a blast taking pictures of! A great subject!
~~~~~~~~

Alyssa Nicole...

This past year has been a good one for her. She has grown in so many areas. She is not only my daughter but my friend. I really enjoy being around her and laughing with her.

Although she is not, she has the personality of the first born and she has taken the role wonderfully. She is a wonderful help and a born leader.

She actually enjoys helping around the house. She will be such a wonderful wife and mother some day.

It has always been fun watching her grow and mature. She has gone from a little tot that was nervous around people to an outgoing, confident young lady. Just the other day we were at the library and she talked and talked to one of the librarians and then asked if she needed any help. Like I said, always wanting to help!

Her love of animals has only grown over the last year. She still says that she will have a house full of German Shepherds, along with any strays she can find. :)

I pray I will never forget her beautiful freckles. They way her eyes light up when she is happy. The way she laughs at her own jokes.

She is a natural beauty. No make up needed. No touchups. She is just perfect. Especially those beautiful moles that pepper her face.

She is so smart and learns very quickly. She has taught herself to crochet and knit. She can speed through her schoolwork. Although math frustrates her at times.

Mommy loves you my dear Alyssa.

A Bit More Christmas

2012-01-03T21:01:00.001-05:00

We wrapped up our celebrations for Christmas on New Years Eve. We spent the day with the Williamson clan. I love me some Williamson time!

Its a day filled with delicious food, family, laughter, the presence of God, teasing and of course presents!

This was our 4th year that we get together with my grandma before we celebrate Christmas. We go out to eat not once but twice! First for lunch then we shop and then we get ice cream!

The kids and I look forward to this every year. Time with my grandma has always been so special to me every since I was a little girl. I love that my kids get to experience it as well.

Grandpa smiles for every picture I take of him! I love it!

Taylor made a very special picture for Uncle Jason.

He could even balance it. haha...

Carter got a big surprise, his first gun!

He was one happy little boy.

This gun was passed down from Papa to Uncle Jason and then to Carter!

Sometimes I wonder if this girl (and her twin sister)

will ever know how much I love them!

I also wonder if this guy will ever grasp how much I love him!

Mushroom Head concerts make a boy tired!

Christmas can tucker a girl out!

2012, Here we come!

2012-01-01T20:00:00.001-05:00

2011 was quite a ride. Every year is quite a ride in this journey called life. At least for me it is. Here's a recap:
~Carter was diagnosed with vasovagal syndrome. Found this out the worst way possible. I'll never forget the night I thought he was going to die right there in front of me. He has not been sick since February and I am still waiting to see if he stops breathing the next time he gets sick. Makes me kind of sick thinking about it.
~Taylor became a teenager and a woman all in the same year. Hello chocolate.
~Took a road trip to Oklahoma.
~Became a clueless chicken owner. Thanks google!
~Carter played football for the first time. Hes a natural and loves it!
~I saw Michael Bolton and Journey in concert with my favorite step mom and sisters in the world. Gotta love the 80s!
~Alyssa taught herself to crochet and knit.
~Brian punched a guy at work. Didn't we grow out of that? Actually my knight in shining armor stuck up for his bride. Not so cool to get 3 days off work. Love ya though babe.
~Got a hunting dog from H E Double Hockey Sticks and learned the hard way that he likes to kill chickens.
~Morgan matured a lot this year. Her personality has really blossomed.
~Carter got his first gun. Passed down from Papa to Uncle Jason then to Carter!
~We learned to make and can pickles as a family.
~Taylor started having crazy dizzy spells.
~I taught myself to make soap, candles and lotion and did my first craft show!
~I started my home business, Farmgirl Naturals.

Yes, what a year indeed!

I am excited to start a new year. Ive never been real big on New Years Resolutions but this year I'm kind of excited about it. I have always written out goals for myself and the kids throughout the year. Mostly school goals. This year there are some really BIG changes I want to make so I'm going to make me some New Years Resolutions!

One of the biggest changes Brian and I want to make together is our finances.
~We are going to start keeping track of every penny we spend. Ive got my little red wallet from Dave Ramsey and I'm prepared to use it! ;)
~Move closer to work. This will save on money along with time. An hour drive is a bit much. A two hour winter drive is even worse.
~Follow our budget to the T!
~Eat out less. A lot less. Like never.
~Freeze meals to warm up on days that I would normally order out.

Spiritually
~Find a church to attend and become a part of ASAP.
~Memorize scripture. I'm not sure how I am going to do this yet. I might just learn them along with the kids for school. I don't have a specific goal yet.
~Read my bible and have prayer time in the morning before the kids wake up.
~Start Polished Cornerstones and Plants Grown Up character training with the kids.

Being Mrs. Brian Hupp aka Babe
~I want, want, WANT to get up with Brian in the morning and make him breakfast before he goes to work. We are still trying to work out the details because he gets up at 4:45am, I wake up with Taylor a lot at night and I am a night owl.
~Plan a date night (at home because that is just where we are in our life right now and that's ok. At home can be pretty creative...he he) at least once a month. Oh how I would love for it to be more but I am shooting for once right now.
~Pray with Brian every night before bed.

Being Momma
~Be soft. I have found myself becoming kind of harsh at times with the kids. I don't want that to be their memory of me.
~Play more. I seem to have gotten pretty caught up in getting everything done that sometimes I forget to PLAY!
~Plan school sooner than the day before. LOL! I need to be more prepared.
~Add more field trips to help school come alive for the kids.

Self Sufficiency
~Have a big garden and plant something new. I am thinking potatoes! Brian is thinking watermelon. Both sound good to me!
~Bake bread from scratch. I want to do this more but not yet for all our bread. I just don't have time to do that!
~Get meat chickens
~3 deer in the freezer by the end of hunting season. Come on baby. You can do it! :)

That is kind of a long list and obviously I will not be able to do them all at once but it is the things I hope to have done or be working towards by the time we ring in 2013. 2013?? Ok, lets get used to 2012 first. :)

"Mom, look at my black eye!"

Oh the pain!!! Haha.

Still my baby even at 12.

First snow.

Wasn't enough for the girls but Carter was out all day.

"Ummm..honey do you know your gloves don't match?"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T21:52:00.018-05:00

We finished up the last of our Christmas celebrations yesterday. I love Christmas..the presents, the family time, the baking, the smell of pine trees and cinnamon....all of it. Most of all, (although it can be difficult at times) teaching my children and celebrating the birth of our Saviour.

We celebrated on Christmas Eve with my mom, step dad and little sisters.

On our way home from my moms we had to make a quick stop at the store for a stocking stuffer I thought I forget to get but turns out I didn't actually forget! Brian ended up helping a man in the parking lot get his truck running and by the time we got home everyone was exhausted. It was worth it because who would ever want to be stuck somewhere on Christmas Eve!

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to open 2 presents, jammies and a game. This year we opened the presents but skipped playing the game. The kids were sound asleep as soon as their head hit their pillows! Like every year, Brian and I stayed up late wrapping presents and preparing for a wonderful Christmas morning.

Christmas morning everyone was up and running at about 7am. So that wasn't too bad. Alyssa wanted to set her alarm for 5am. I had to put my foot down about that one! ;)

We didn't go crazy this year with presents. Every single year I am convicted about presents. I have good intentions and then once I get shopping I go all out and forget about me original "plan". This year we did better though!

Daddy was very impressed by Alyssa's very first scarf! She has been learning to crochet and it doing wonderful. Hopefully soon she will teach me!

We stayed home all day on Christmas. It was really nice to be able to relax and enjoy the day with the kids. Sometimes I feel like through the hustle and bustle the kids kind of get "lost".

On Monday, we had Brian's family out. The kids enjoyed time with their cousins.

The fun of the day was not presents but chicken chasing! Haha....

We had the last of our celebrations yesterday with my family. Hopefully I will get those pictures up soon along with a New Years post!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

2011-12-20T15:17:00.001-05:00

This year we didn't cut down our own tree. Hopefully, next year we will. We really prefer to get it that way better. Maybe someday soon we can cut it down from our own woods!

We still had fun picking out the tree. The guys there were really nice and even gave the kids a small tree to plant.

Just pretend you don't so the half painted walls. Keeping it real...I started painting over the summer and didn't like the color so I got a different color and then didn't really like that. Then birthdays happened and school and well you know....life. Maybe soon I will actually find a color I like and finish it!

TA DA!! A beautiful tree!

Brian and I went shopping a few days ago and got most of our Christmas shopping done. We had a wonderful time because the day we went was also my birthday. We went out to eat and shopped! Maybe soon I will blog about our experience eating out. EEK!

I cant believe we only have 5 days till Christmas! I'm so excited! I love the Christmas Season. :)

My working boy

2011-12-13T13:07:00.000-05:00

This little guy holds a key to my heart!

His smile is contagious, his laugh is adorable. I just love him so much.

For the last 2 weeks, he has been making himself a lunch box full of food along with his daddy. He gets up in the morning and as soon as he is allowed, he is outside "working".

One day "worked" where his daddy works. One day, he sold Christmas Trees. I'm not real sure where he worked the other days.

Even at 9 years old, he has a working mentality that blows me away. He will be a wonderful provider some day.

He has the perfect balance of a sensitive heart and a tough attitude.

I love this journey so much! I love watching him grow into a wonderful young man.

On a New Adventure

2011-12-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

So I'm pretty excited about this. I have been thinking about doing it for awhile now. I worried about time and money. What if I didn't succeed? You know, stuff like that.

BUT I did it. I started a business. I am now a business owner with a name and everything!Yippee for me. ;)

My heart strives to be a Proverbs 31 woman. I may not be able to buy land and sell it but this is close right?!

Anyway, I am selling homemade, all natural soap. I am doing my first craft show tomorrow! I am kind of nervous. For the craft show I have soy candles, soap, cards, fabric necklaces and yo yo hair barrettes. The kids are going to be my little helpers. We'll see how that goes. They are wonderful but I'm not sure they will do with such a long day of sitting behind a table.

If you want to learn more about my soap you can visit my website.
www.farmgirlsoap.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T13:36:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! Its second to Christmas, of course.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We only did one meal this year. It actually made that time much nicer and easier on the kids. When we are lugging everyone from place to place, I feel like we miss out on each place because we are in a hurry.

I got to see so many people that I don't get to see very often. Some I haven't seen in years!

I have so much to be thankful for.
~ A wonderful supportive family
~ A beautiful little family of my own
~ A husband that loves me and supports me
~ 4 really great kids that become more special to me everyday

I could go on forever. God has entrusted me with much!

Here are some pictures of our fun!

One Day At a Time

2011-11-16T23:50:00.002-05:00

It is 11:37 on Wednesday night. Taylor has been in bed since 9:30. Over those 2 hours she has had 2 dizzy spells, needed her shirt changed, asked to be "made comfortable" 6 times, asked to have her socks on her knees (socks with the toes cut out to fit over her knees to help relieve the pain) and needed a drink twice because she couldn't get rid of the tickle in her throat.

Its a normal night. This will all continue through the night. I have become used to it. Its a good thing God made me to be able to survive on little sleep. I wonder though sometimes if Taylor can hear the exhaustion in my voice. Once tonight, she must have because she said "I'm sorry, mommy. This will be the last time I will call for you". I laid with her and told her it was fine but she knows better. No matter how many times I tell her differently, she feels like she is a burden.

It was much easier when she was little. She didn't ask me the hard questions.
"Mommy, will I be able to have a baby?"
"Will I be able to get married?"
"Will a boy even think I am pretty?"
"Mommy, can they tell that I am still in a diaper?"
"Where will I go when you die?"

Its heart wrenching. How do I even answer those questions? Is there a right answer? I pray. A lot. I pray God will give me the right answers as these questions arise. I pray God will give me strength because I know I could not do this with out Him. It would be impossible.

Ever since she was a baby she has suffered from separation anxiety. Its prejudice though. Its only from me. She has been going through a lot of medical things lately and it has made this much worse.

I remembered a quote earlier today from Mother Teresa...it is something like....I know God will not give me more than I can handle, I just wish He didn't trust me so much.

Ain't that the truth! He trusts me a lot more than I trust myself. I worry that I do not do enough for her or that I do too much. I worry that I can not care for her like I should. I worry that I do not give her enough emotional support. Worry, worry, worry.....the list could go on for miles.

I ran across this poem today....

God Chooses Mom for Disabled Child
Written by Erma Bombeck

Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.
"Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity.
" Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says "Momma" for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations." "I will permit her to see clearly the things I see---ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.
God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Obviously, that made me cry.
I get asked a lot of questions. One of the most famous is "How do you do it"? I ask myself this a lot but its not towards me, its about Taylor. How does she do it? How does she watch her siblings run and play and be ok to stay in the house with me? How does she hear me complain about my back hurting when every muscle in her body is so tight and painful? How does she feel safe with me when I am so poor at this parenting thing? How does she hear people ask me questions and talk about her as if she is not sitting right beside me? How does she trust God like she does when He has the ability to heal and she struggles so much to do anything? How does she wait patiently to be fed or given a drink because she physically can not do it herself? How can she hear siblings talk about the cars they will drive someday and instead of feeling self pity tease them that her wheelchair will always be able to beat them in a race?

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." - Heather Cortez

I am the world to her in more ways than one. My prayer is that I make this journey as fun, exciting, loving and safe for her as possible.

A Monday To Remember....

2011-11-15T14:55:00.001-05:00

This year we are using Weaver for our main curriculum. I can not express how much I love it. I actually looked into it when I first started schooling Taylor. I didn't end up using it then. We used Five In a Row which I also highly recommend. We have used Five In a Row for the last 7 years. We still use it along with the Weaver.

Between Five In a Row and Weaver, schooling is not a chore for the kids. They love it! We make so many memories and I love it as much as the kids do.

We have been studying language and communication this week. We made a cuneiform out of homemade clay. The kids then used toothpicks to write their names on them. They said they would much rather write in English than have to ever write their names in symbols again!

I sprayed them with hairspray and when they dry out we are going to hang them up.

Although it would appear otherwise, Taylor really did enjoy herself. Haha....

If she is not doing school, chores or helping me, you can usually find Alyssa like this.

Taylor pulling books out of the bookshelf. :o)

Carter left this note on the bathroom mirror for Alyssa. I love how much my kids love each other. Carter will make a wonderful husband someday. I found a similar note on the printer.

I made apple bread for dessert after dinner. The loaf didn't last a day!

A Lazy Sunday

2011-11-13T21:50:00.001-05:00

We had a lazy Sunday today. We had homemade pancakes for breakfast. We sat together and listened to a sermon by Doug Phillips. We just hung out around the house and we listened to the Browns lose a game they should have won.

We are big Cleveland Browns fans and will stay loyal but man, I think they get worse every year! Its pitiful. We just listen to the games on the radio because we do not have cable. In the case of today's game, I definitely prefer it that way so we don't have to see them fumble the ball more than once and miss a field goal in color!

My external hard drive is broken so my posts have been far and few between lately. I have this phobia of posting with no pictures.

Recently, we made applesauce for the first time. Everyone enjoyed making it but only Brian, Taylor and I enjoy eating it. That's alright, more for us. They don't like store bought applesauce either. Silly kids, applesauce is like a staple to most kids growing up! They would much rather go to the fridge and pull out a whole apple and eat it to the core.

Carters football season is over. I will miss watching the practices and games. I am so proud of my boy! This was his first year playing and you would never know it! He is a natural at sports. He is like his daddy.

Over the years, I have received my share of criticism for homeschooling. Especially, the socialization debate. I have to say, watching Carter walk out on that field the first day and seeing him over the last 6 weeks, proves that those people have no clue what they are talking about. No offense if you are one of them. ;)

He made friends right off the bat. Everyone on the team talked to him. He talked to the coach with respect but with no intimidation. He wasn't afraid to speak up and ask questions. He laughed and joked with the boys. He fit in just fine.

We did the team photo but we didn't pay for personal pictures. I just took those myself. When he went up for his personal picture the lady only had to take one. He smiled his big smile right away. She laughed and was very impressed. Brian told her "his mom has him very trained when it comes to pictures". Ha!

This is my favorite!

I got this urge to drag out my snowman decorations. We have not had any snow yet but I just couldn't help it. I resisted the urge to bring out the official Christmas decorations. Although, while I was taking down the Fall decorations the kids found our Christmas music! I think I start with the Christmas excitement sooner every year and the kids are right along with me!

I can't wait to visit with family this year for the holidays. I have some homemade gifts I really need to start on! Maybe I will just give them all applesauce. ;)

Fall Pictures 2011

2011-11-08T15:53:00.001-05:00

I had so much fun doing Fall pictures with the kids. We spent the day hiking and taking pictures along the way. It was a beautiful day and I loved spending the relaxing time with the kids. Taking pictures is very therapeutic for me.

I did not plan to be in any of the pictures. I was still getting over being sick as you can see from my eyes. Alyssa caught a couple pictures of Taylor and I sitting on the bench.

She loves when I smother her with kisses. Can you tell?

I try to get as many pictures as I can just natural. The kids playing or laughing. I love when they say "Hey mom! Take a picture of me" or they pose like this picture.

The background almost looks fake. I assure you it is not. :o)

Alyssa has had her eye on this hat for a very long time. She originally wanted in in green. When we went to get it they only had white. She looks so grow up.

I was afraid I missed the "good" leaves for our pictures but it actually turned out to be perfect.

Carter is always jumping or running. Even for pictures!

Morgan found a caterpillar. I think she is a magnet for animals.

Taylor just loves sitting in the leaves. Most of the pictures she would not look at me because she was trying to get her leaves in a pile or throw them up.

Carter was my helper for Taylors pictures.

Morgan was off running and exploring most of the time. I tried to capture pictures as she went.

Winter is just around the corner! I can't wait for snow to get some good winter pictures. Maybe this time Brian will not be working and I will not be sick.

Ultimate Blog Bash 2011

2011-10-26T14:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Memories By Miranda!

My name is Miranda. I am a 31 year old wife and momma.

My husband and I will be married 14 years on November 1!

We have been blessed with 4 little ones and hope to be blessed with more in the future.

Taylor

Alyssa

Morgan

Carter

I try to blog once or twice a week but with a busy household sometimes that does not happen. My blog is basically my open journal. I love to create memories and record them through photography and this blog!

I blog about life. Which usually includes homeschooling tid bits, raising a daughter with a disibility, my interest in becoming self sufficient, becoming a godly wife and mother and my love of photography.

I have started to include information on canning and recipes. I hope to do more with that in the future. I am in no way an expert on any of the things I blog about. I'm learning as I go. :o)

2011-10-24T12:42:00.053-04:00

I have been up to my eyeballs in grapes and apples. Not that I am complaining but I definitely have not had time for anything else but canning.

Last time I posted I was sick. I did make it to Carters game. I am so glad that I rested most of the day and was feeling pretty good by afternoon. He played wonderful! He got one touch down, one 2 point conversion and while playing QB he threw a touchdown! I'm so proud of him.

On Sunday, I still wasn't feeling very good but it was our last chance to go grape picking. We picked 2 bushels. I couldn't remember how many we picked last year. I need to write this stuff down. That's on my to-do list...start a garden and canning journal.

Daddy and Carter playing "chicken" with my carts full of grapes!

We ended up canning almost 100 jars of grape juice this year! This stuff is absolutely delicious and way better than anything you can buy in the store.

I do not have the time to smash all the grapes and make grape juice the way most people do. I found a much easier way. I call it, Easy Peasy Grape Juice!

All you do is sterile your quart jars, fill jars with 2 cups of grapes (whole, clean, no mess, just the grapes!), add 1/4 cup of sugar and then fill jars with boiling water. Thats it! Then I process them for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to drink, I use a sieve to strain the juice from the grapes. I use a spoon to smash the grapes a bit. To get all the "grapeness" I can. Strain them again and drink! I promise you will never buy grape juice from the store again. Its that good!

We also have spent the week making everything apples! Applesauce, apple butter, plain canned apples and apple pie in a jar.

I am finally done canning. For now, anyway. This week, beside cleaning up apples splashed on the ceiling and in crevices I never knew existed, we will be focusing on school.

A good read and a birthday party!

2011-10-15T12:31:00.000-04:00

Its cold and windy today, I am sick and we have a game today. Not a good combination! It's not good when this momma is sick. Ok, its not good when any momma is sick. My dishes are stacking up and my laundry pile is becoming a mountain.

Some days I feel like I'm always starting over and never getting anywhere. When I was a kid my mom used to say "Cleaning the house when your children are growing up is like shoveling the walk when its still snowing"...I love that. It is so true.

I love a clean and orderly house but somethings are just much more important. Like today, Carters game is more important. The dishes can wait while I rest up for this afternoon.

A few weeks ago I picked up the book Tuckets Travels at the library. We were in a hurry and I picked it based on the cover. I thought Carter would enjoy. Turns out we all enjoy it! Every night we read it aloud as a family. We can not get enough. Last weekend we read 15 chapters! I highly recommend it to anyone.

The kids wanted to read by candlelight the other night. So we lit the candles and all sat around the table. It was fun.

After we read we had a birthday party for Bobo! He turned 3. We even made him a cake. Yes, a real one. We wanted some cake too. Hehe...

We sat Taylor on the floor beside him and put the cake on her lap. On the plate, of course! Bobo literally took the whole piece in one bite. He didn't even chew the bone! Silly puppy.

Well I am off to rest some more before the big game. Oh yeah and wash whites! I'm assuming the family would like to wear socks today. :o)

We are lovin us some football..

2011-10-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

I just love watching Carter play football.

He played his second game on Saturday. I am so impressed with how well he has improved!

I think he enjoyed that "fake"!

Along with enjoying to watch the boys play, Brian is a lot of fun to watch too! His faces totally crack me up! I think he wants to jump out there and play too!

He isn't like one of those loud screaming parents. Nope, not Brian. He keeps it all inside. Too funny!

I love my boys!

I never get away with it!!

2011-10-13T12:07:00.003-04:00

In a little over 2 weeks, Brian and I will celebrate our 14 year anniversary! It's hard to believe it has been this long. Somedays it feels like we just started this family yesterday and somedays it feels like it been way longer than 14 years. Hehe....

On our first official date, we went out for ice cream. It ended in an ice cream fight!

We are not real sure who started the ice cream fight but we still laugh about it today.

Our kids are very accustomed to food fights, water fights, wrestling, etc. The one thing I have learned over the years is that I will NEVER win. It doesn't matter how "good" I get Brian, I will never win.

This would be me begging for mercy!

It didn't work.

Pictures courtesy of Alyssa! :o)

Are you ready for some football!

2011-09-28T12:36:00.000-04:00

Carter started football this month. This is his first year playing but I have a feeling we will have many more years ahead of us.

He wanted to play flag football this year to get the hang of it. Next year, we will venture into tackle.

Right now, his favorite position is quarter back.

The other kids and I have really enjoyed watching him play. Daddy even took the position of assistant coach.

We had our first game on Saturday.

I must say, I am really enjoying these cool evenings of practice.

I worried at first that it would be too much. That we wouldn't have time for practice 2xs a week and games on Saturday. It seems like we are always trying to fit everything in our schedule before we ever added football. But the opposite has actually happened. We all look forward to practice evenings because its so much more relaxed. I'm glad it has worked out that way.

And she walks.....

2011-09-27T12:21:00.000-04:00

Some EGD fun

2011-09-25T13:16:00.000-04:00

Taylor has had some medical stuff going on lately.

She has been dizzy, choking when she eats, headaches, cranky, crossing her eyes and a bit more sleepy but having trouble sleeping.

We have seen her neurologist and gastroenerologist. We have to keep a diary of all her symptoms as they happen plus we have a few tests over the next few weeks.

Taylor is such a good sport. She actually loves doctors and hospitals. Right now a few of the kids are fighting off bronchitis and Tay actually smiled when I said she was next. Silly girl. She loves attention.

We had to get a EGD done this week. That is a test where they send a little camera down her throat and into her stomach. She even gets a cool picture of her insides to take home. Hello, Health class! Hehe....

Although Tay loves doctors, hospitals and even medicine (She recently started taking these by mouth instead of through her tube. Funny the little things I take for granted.) she absolutely hates being put to sleep.

So the night before the test, Taylor and I got about an hour of sleep.

She did really well though once we got to the hospital. She loves all the attention and the pulse ox. Really, I think that is why her favorite color is red. :o)

Alyssa, Carter and Morgan are used to going to all these appointments. In the past I have felt guilty that they have to do this all the time. Therapy, appointment, etc. I don't anymore. It has taught them patience and they understand what Taylor is going through more since they are there to experience it all.

We usually read or just talk together. We actually have a lot of memories that we talk or laugh about that revolve around a hospital.

I told Taylor to give me her best I'm sad face and this is what I got. Hehe...

We are waiting for the biopsy results to see what is going on. Unfortunately, the doctor did find some inflammation.

Happy September!

2011-09-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

I can not believe that August has come and gone. I have to say, I am looking forward to cooler temps, fall festivals, apple butter and all the other fun things that Fall has in store for us!

Here is a glimpse into our last month of summer.....

We love our annual blackberry picking!

This is what happens when you give Taylor the bucket to hold. :o)

It got so hot that day. I had everyone is jeans because of all the thorns on the blackberry bushes. We had to take a break and sit in the shade for awhile.

Daddy was very tired after working all day. I told him he didn't have to go this year but he said "I wouldn't miss it for the world".

Wild Wednesday

2011-08-24T13:05:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday, we had a bit of a rough morning. Nothing seemed to be running smoothly so we packed up and drove to the Wilderness Center about 15 minutes away. We did school there in the pavilion and then we hiked all afternoon. We also started our nature study for the new school year.

It was exactly what we needed. We got school done and still managed to have loads of fun!

My computer is being funky today so you get all the pictures with no captions. I think they are pretty self explanatory though. :o)

The kids appropriately named the day Wild Wednesday. We hope to have more Wild Wednesdays in the near future!

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ August 21

2011-08-22T10:06:00.001-04:00

Oh Baby...

2011-08-17T18:16:00.000-04:00

My step-niece :) had a beautiful little boy a few weeks ago and I got the chance to take some pictures of him.

I was so excited to do this. Although, a little nervous because I've never taken pictures of someone else's baby. Maddie (momma) was great at helping me and made me feel very comfortable about handling her new bundle of joy.

Tristan Lee was a great sport. He had a couple moments where he didn't want to be messed with but overall he was great!

Summer update

2011-08-16T19:04:00.000-04:00

Its been almost a month since I have blogged. We have been having all kinds of summer fun. Swimming, hiking, gardening, canning.

Since I blog as a journal of sorts, I figured it was time for an update.

We have spent a lot of afternoons at the lake. In past summers, we fished a lot. This year, we swam a lot. Brian would call me after work and say, "It's a lake day". The kids and I loved that call!

We found this perfect spot at the lake. The water was always nice and cool. It was not crowded. Which is always a plus because I hate crowded swimming places. Always being stressed trying to keep my ducks in a row is not my idea of fun!

Our lil hobby farm is growing.

We got a puppy.

The kids had a dog when they were younger but they just did not spend enough time with her. We had someone interested in her so we went ahead and gave her a better home. Now that the kids are older and more responsible, we gave them the go ahead.

Brian has a rule though. Any animal at our home has to have a purpose. Not just a pet. So we got a hunting dog. He is a Red Bone, Blue Heeler mix. He looks like a full blooded Red Bone, we named him Red and he barks. A lot.

After we got him, I read that Red Bones have a special bark. One that travels. Lovely. Good thing he is cute. ;)

I have learned a lot about my camera this summer. I have spent the last month learning how to shoot in manual and I've had a lot of fun with that!

I also got the chance to take senior picture for my little sisters and a newborn shoot. They were both awesome experiences!

I didn't get to spend nearly enough time in my garden this year as I would have liked. At one point it was mostly weeds. Whoops!

Next year, it is going to be a priority. Let's just hope I don't step on a toothpick and that get infected, slice my hand and have to get stitches, that then bust open or have a tetanus shot have me down for days. At least I can be sure of the latter because that's good for years, right. :o)

We have harvested lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and jalapenos. Our corn and beans are not quite ready.

I made pickles for the first time! We had fun with that but I can't keep a jar longer than 5 minutes because the kids eat them as soon as they are cold. I'm not complaining though!

For the first time ever, Taylor picked me a flower! I saw her at the edge of the field and I figured she was just taking Bobo for a walk. I will never forget the look on her face when she brought that flower to me. She picked it and brought it to me all by herself!!

Our summer has not totally came to an end but we did start school last week. My plan was to school through the summer but we just enjoyed our summer too much! I prayed about it and came to the conclusion that they will only be kids once and I want to spend as much time as I can just having fun!

The kids have fallen into our routine well and school is going wonderfully. I couldn't ask for a better start. Except for maybe the cut hand and stitches thing. :o)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T12:29:00.000-04:00

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ July 17

2011-07-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

My sweet Morgan praying while daddy is praying for dinner.

Foto Friday

2011-07-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to do the photo challenge this week. I had a few ideas I wanted to play around with but I never did get around to doing them.

So I'm just going to give you a favorite of my week. This one was in a post a did the other day. I'm not even real sure why I like it so much but I do!

Carter is attempting to make a trap for the skunk that has been hanging around our house. Boys I tell ya...they are always up to something. :o)

A Tuesday Evening at Home

2011-07-13T18:22:00.001-04:00

Last night was so beautiful.

There is not much better than a summer evening at home.

This little guy has been hanging around our house. We spotted him last weekend.

He is so small. He must have lost his momma. :( He is confused. He runs around the yard in the daytime and sleeps at night.

If he didn't stink so bad, I would be tempted to keep him.

He feel asleep while I was taking his picture. So sweet.

I adore being married to this gorgeous man!

I also adore taking pictures of anything and everything. Hehe...

I'm not sure what Carter was doing.

My guess would be making a trap to catch the skunk.

Really though, who knows?
He could be making a homemade bomb or an invention for the chickens to feed and water themselves.

I hurt my back so I have been pretty lazy (as lazy as I can be with 4 kids and a house to run) this week.

Luckily a hurt back does not hinder taking pictures!

Ok, I guess it kind of did when I was trying to climb up on the counter to take a picture of the birds on the wire. Maybe stuff like that is why its been a week and I still have extreme pain when I move or bend!

A day on the lake

2011-07-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

My little brother came home from Chicago this weekend. We miss him when he is gone. Even if I don't see him everyday, its just nice knowing he is right there. But a few months ago he got a job offer in Chicago.

It was so nice spending time with him while he was home this weekend. Brian ended up having Friday off work and my family just happened to be going out on the boat on Friday. Awesome that it worked out that way because I got to spend the day with them. At the same time, Brian was at home getting much needed work done around the house. It was a win/win for me! :o)

This handsome man aka my lil brother was our Captain for the day.

My beautiful sister, Kassy!

It was so nice and relaxing sitting, talking and laughing on the edge of the boat.

My other beautiful sister, Krissie!

Kassy and her boyfriend, Bryan. They really do love all my pictures! Hehe...

Captain fishing but not catching anything.

I told em them should have used chicken liver but no one listens to me. :o)

Bailey getting ready to jump in!

Going out on the tube was a blast!

Dad and Kassy went first.

When we woke up on Friday, it was pouring. Everyone decided we were still going to go and it turned out to be absolutely beautiful.

I'm so glad I got the chance to go!

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ July 10th

2011-07-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

I got this picture at the zoo a few weeks ago.

I have a hard time giving my struggles to God. I sometimes have the attitude that I need to handle this problem or situation. Maybe it is I don't trust God. Maybe it is that I'm scared of what He is going to ask of me.

Either way, when I look at this picture I am reminded that God is just plain amazing. If He can create this creature, then I think my problems are a piece of cake to Him. I can trust Him to guide me in the direction that is best.

4th of July Party!

2011-07-06T17:52:00.006-04:00

Our party was a hit! We had a blast crafting, decorating, baking and of course eating! We spent some much needed family time all weekend.

We bought everything on Friday, made the decorations and baked on Saturday, decorated and had the party on Sunday. It was a lot of work but totally worth it.
Next year, I will definitely start planning sooner. We were a little rushed trying to get everything done. I will start weeks before the party on making the decorations. The food will probably still have to be the day before because I had the hardest time keeping hands out. (Especially, big hands!)

Everyone was such a wonderful help. The kids loved doing all of it. Brian even became my mixer because half way through cooking mine died. Completely, ca put! So he stepped in as my mixer. :o)

We made old fashioned button candy (thanks to http://zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com/), red, white and blue cupcakes, strawberry cheesecake, fruit salad and dip and star sugar cookies.

These drinks looked better than they tasted! So we stuck with drinking homemade lemonade. ;)

The kids and I had fun making the decorations. We dyed rice, made stars, made fireworks with glitter (the kids enjoyed glitter way more than mommy) and blew up lots of balloons!

The food was good, the time was well spent and the memories will last a lifetime!

Want to learn a few things about me......

2011-07-02T18:41:00.001-04:00

We have spent the whole day working on a 4th of July party that the kids and I planned for tomorrow. We have been baking and making decorations. Aside from a few set backs everything is starting to come together.

Im pretty excited about some of the things that I made for the first time. I'll have pictures up next week of our fun!

I am taking a little break before I make supper and start on cupcakes. I visited Jess' blog and she had a linky for this fun little meme. The instructions with this are to bold the ones you've done, leave the others in normal type. So here goes.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (I've wanted to a few times but haven't just yet)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (For the first time last night! We took the kids to see Cars 2. What a blast!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Husband killed, I prepared..team effort!)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I always like learning these kinds of little things about other people. If you do this one let me know I'd love to read it! :o)

Busy Week!

2011-06-27T11:56:00.003-04:00

It has been a busy, full week but we got a lot done and made memories as we went!

My garden is finally coming around. My jalapenos, tomatoes and peppers are taking off. My lettuce and carrots are not doing too shabby. Corn and beans are lagging behind because I started them a bit late.

I still get giddy when I see my veggies growing!

This little guy came for a visit. Alyssa walked off the back porch and he was hanging out in the bush. If only I could have seen her face!

After this last week, the kids wanted to keep him for a pet. By the time daddy got home (momma isn't into catching snakes!) we couldn't find him.

I am trying something a little new starting this week. At least once a week I am going to make something DIFFERENT! Brian and I are getting so tired of the same meals. Obviously, the kids don't mind but we needed some change.

I made this chicken casserole last night. It was delicious and everyone liked it!

The picture didn't turn out the best. I had a hungry crew waiting!

Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 1/2 cups of white rice

2 cups of water

1 can cream of chicken soup

4 chicken breast

In 13x9 pan cover the bottom with rice. In a bowl mix water and soup. Pour that over the rice. Place chicken on top of rice. Bake at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours.

I made two pans of this. On one, I sprinkled onion soup mix on the top. I figured the kids would like it better without and they did. I also cut the chicken into strips instead of putting the whole chicken on top. Like I said, I had a hungry crew. ;)

I also get giddy about new to me dishes! I went to my favorite second hand store the other day and found some adorable dishes. I had fun mixing and matching and I only spent about 10 dollars on the dishes and the glasses! Love that!

Brian, Alyssa and Carter ran down to the creek to grab some flowers for the table. I missed him the first time so I asked him to go back out so I could get a picture of him. :o)

This is the best I could get. He said he was not a good poser. Haha...

It is so important to me to take a few extra moments and be intentional about making my family feel loved. Setting the table nice is one of those extra things that I *try* to do.
I have noticed that if I have the table set with flowers or a candle lit all the children seem to be extra careful and polite. Funny how that works!

Sunday afternoon was a great time. We all sat around the table and made salsa. I love having my family around me. It makes the tasks so much faster and way more fun. I love making salsa anyway but listening to the kids and Brian tell stories all while helping me cut peppers and tomatoes is wonderful!

Brian even offered to cut all the jalapenos and onions. Love that man!

We only had time and ingredients for one batch so I only canned 6 jars. This week I am hoping to make more. We go through a lot of salsa and I would like to have enough to last us all winter so I need to make it a priority to get that done soon.

This will be the first year that I will have everything from MY OWN garden to make our salsa. I cant wait! I feel like a real country girl! ;)

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ June 26th

2011-06-26T10:40:00.001-04:00

You know you are a homeschool momma when.....

2011-06-23T14:09:00.000-04:00

you are strawberry picking and you are all done and you load everyone up in the van and go in to pay while hubby and the children wait and as you are walking out you see a sign that they are having a hands-on reptile show and you excitedly get everyone back out of the van to go check it out! (Whew....)

Especially, since we are rowing When I Was Young in the Mountains and learning about snakes! So cool. I love it when things work out like that.

Morgan was the first to step up! The girl is afraid of nothing.

Taylor and I were a little apprehensive but this snake was pretty awesome to hold.

Carter was excited to hold this little guy after we were there for a few minutes. He now wants to catch every snake he sees.

Daddy and Alyssa wanted nothing to do with the snakes. They enjoyed seeing them but that was as close as they wanted to get.

Outtakes!

2011-06-21T16:02:00.000-04:00

I wanted to do something really special for Brian for Fathers Day. He has been working so hard and giving a lot to his family. The kids and I had already planned a special dinner for Sunday evening. We also wanted to give him something that would show him how much we love him!

We are trying to be very frugal and attempting to become "simple" so I had to be creative!

So the kids and I got up on Saturday morning and did a little photo shoot. After "hours of pictures" (really only about 45 minutes) we got a perfect one!

I'm not sure what is better, the perfect picture or all the others!

I love this picture. I was so happy with the outcome! The kids were very good and cooperative. I even surprised them with an Icee when we were all done!

This and That

2011-06-20T17:57:00.011-04:00

I have decided I need to make a garden journal. I have this little problem with planting flowers and then forgetting where I planted them. So they either end up getting pulled up as weeds or the hubby sprays them with Round Up.

Not only is that a complete waste of money, it is just plain silly!

The flowers that didn't get pulled or sprayed are blooming and just beautiful.

Our chickens are growing like weeds! The kids are having a blast with them.

We purchased 2 different breeds. Black sex links (aka black stars, I believe) and Buff Orpingtons.

We will definitely be sticking with the Orpingtons in the future. They are friendly, will follow the kids around and easy to please. The Black Stars are cranky and timid.

Last week, we went strawberry picking for the first time. That was blast!

We had a busy week but I finally got to making the jam. I had a few helpers which always makes it more fun (and interesting)!

I have made blackberry and raspberry jam but this was my first attempt with strawberries. It turned out a little runnier than I like but Brian said it tastes wonderful! He has been eating it on ice cream. :)

I think I just needed to add a little more pectin. One book I have said that strawberries have less natural pectin than other berries. So I'm guessing that is where I went wrong.

I froze a batch of mashed berries so I just might have to pull that out this week to try again.

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ June 19

2011-06-19T14:58:00.000-04:00

Foto Friday ~ Favorite Shoes!

2011-06-19T14:23:00.001-04:00

What a fun challenge! I had a few favorite shoes to choose from. Usually I am walking around bare foot but I do love me some cute shoes!

I adore flip flops. Especially in cool colors.

I adore tennis shoes. So comfy and easy. What is cuter than jeans, a tshirt and cute tennis shoes!

I adore dress shoes. Especially flirty little high heels. Which reminds me I have the cutest pair that I have not worn in ages! They have this cute little buckle on the side....Ahhh...so cute.

I adore muck boots. Ya know, those cute ones that are covered in flowers or stripes or John Deere logos. Oh my!

But my favorite is definitely boots!

These are my kinda sorta cowgirl boots. Someday I would love to have a REAL pair but for now these are my on sale Kohls bargain buy!

Where did the time go?

2011-06-19T08:47:00.003-04:00

My babies are nine.

I remember so well the night the ultrasound tech told Brian and I we were going to have twins. I had been so sick and was put in the hospital. This was nothing new because I was always sick when I was pregnant. But even after IVs of fluids nothing was getting any better. Our doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to rule out any problems.

I was 8 weeks along and a nervous wreck. What if there was something wrong? The tech had Brian wait in the hall at first, got me all ready and looked at the screen for awhile. Then she told me she needed to tell me something and asked if I wanted Brian with me when she told me the news. I was shaking and told her yes.

She broke the news to us together................ I was "double" sick.

Morgan Danielle was born 12 minutes before her brother.

She is an amazing little girl. She reminds me so much of myself, its kind of scary. She is afraid of nothing. She is the first to hold snakes or climb anything.

She loves animals and her heart breaks if they get hurt. She is so sensitive. Her feelings get hurt so easily but that sensitivity makes her easy to discipline.

One minute I can look at her and she is dressed in muddy jeans, no shoes and a tshirt and the next she will have on her fanciest dress.

She loves crafts and making things. She loves giving gifts. Especially homemade ones. She is sweet and bright. She loves the be held and receive lots of hugs and kisses.

Carter James is the baby of the family.

He is the only "man" around when daddy is at work so he loves the opportunity to help. He has such a tender heart but at the same time he can be as tough as they come.

He is the first to hold the door or play a game with Taylor. He loves his sisters but gets a kick out of picking on them too!

He loves building and creating. He loves to snuggle. He loves tearing things down. He loves math. He can do math problems in his head with ease.

Together they are Double Blessings more than Double Trouble.

Strawberry pickin'

2011-06-17T21:29:00.001-04:00

For years I have wanted to go strawberry picking. The last few years we have gone apple picking and last year we picked grapes, blackberries and raspberries.

This year we finally made it to the strawberry patch. It was so much fun. I got around 25 pounds of strawberries. The plan is to make jam, freeze some for later use and a try my hand at a few desserts.

The weather was absolutely perfect! I think it only got to about 73 degrees.

I have this thing with "firsts". Call me weird, but I get a bit giddy about doing things for the first time. So this week not only did we go strawberry picking I also held a boa! Hopefully, those pictures will follow soon. :o)

Splish Splash

2011-06-16T11:19:00.009-04:00

Carter and Morgan decided to go in on this Dual Action Competitive Slip and Slide with some of their birthday money.

As soon as they saw it was for 2 people, competitive and it involved water they were hooked.

Brian helped them get it ready.

Then turned to me and said "I give it a week". :o)

He was a little off with his calculation.

It took 20 minutes.
I kid you not....20 minutes.

They both jumped on the water filled middle that seperated the lanes. They didn't realize that would pop it.

It sure was a fun 20 minutes though! :o)

Scripture and a snapshot ~ June 12

2011-06-13T09:01:00.001-04:00

Foto Friday ~ Self Portrait!

2011-06-12T22:25:00.002-04:00

This week Rebecca's theme was Self Portrait.

I didn't have much time this week to play around with this theme. I'm not real big on self portraits anyway but I wanted to participate.

So after a LONG day of strawberry picking, birthday dinner for Carter and Morgan (that had to end up being take out pizza instead of homemade), broken stove and a handful of sleepy cranky kids I took a quick picture to post. :o)

Scripture and a Snapshot ~ June 5th

2011-06-05T14:29:00.001-04:00

This rose bush has a interesting story behind it.

My husband surprised me with it for my 3rd Mothers Day. It was a beautiful yellow rose bush. The first year it had 5 or 6 yellow roses on it. The second year it was still yellow and full of blooms. The third year it bloomed this reddish pink and has ever since. :o)

Foto Friday ~ WIND

2011-06-04T10:31:00.000-04:00

This week the photo challenge was wind.

Now you may be wondering what this picture has to do with wind, right?

My dad brought my aunt and uncle from Las Vegas to visit us for the afternoon while they were in town.

The kids had gotten a kite stuck in the tree and Papa and Uncle Craig got it out of the tree. It was a windy day but we didn't have any kite string. So they used a fishing pole. :o)

So my dad and Carter are flying a kite in this picture. Very intently, I might add. Hehe....

Memorial Weekend 2011

2011-06-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we planned on getting our garden tilled and planted. Then I stepped on a toothpick. Then it got infected. (within 6 hours!) Then I couldn't walk.

So the garden got put on hold. As did the laundry, school and most everything else.

I didn't mind my mode of transportation. :o)

So we took advantage of the long Memorial Weekend.

We had originally planned to go camping for the weekend but we had so much to do around the house. So I planned out a fun weekend at home. While also getting things done.

Saturday, we spent most of the day outside. Weeding, tilling, weeding, tilling. We went in early for our pizza night that we also made into a Wii party. That was fun and we camped out in the living room.

Sunday, we finished up everything but the planting. We had a lot of help from the kids!

I think the sun may have started to get to them. :)

On Monday, we decided to take the day off of housework and gardening to take the kid fishing.

We were only there an hour before Taylor got stung. Within 15 minutes her hand looked like this. Poor thing.

The next day her whole hand was swollen. The swelling is gone now. I couldn't believe it didn't itch or hurt. I'm glad though. The only reason she knew it happened was because her finger "felt funny".

Morgan wears these boots everywhere we go.

Carter is die hard. He doesn't ever get get bored or tired of fishing. He could sit there all day.

Mommy and Taylor caught the biggest fish of the day.

This little fish was wicked. He wouldn't stay still and was splashing the girls. Haha.

"Did you see that fish jump? It was this big!!!"

Maybe this was more like it!

The day was long and hot. We were all ready to head home and rest up for the week to come.

Wonderful memories were made all weekend.

On a side note....Most of my flowers are blooming and they are so lovely.

We have chickens!

2011-05-23T17:48:00.000-04:00

In my attempt at becoming self-sufficient, we decided to get chickens. I have never even been around chickens so this is completely new to me.

I spent time online reading everything I could about raising and taking care of them. I learned it is better to buy chickens from a farm than somewhere like Tractor Supply Company. I read on a few different sites that if they are bought from TSC more than likely half of them will die.

So we bought 6, thinking that a few would die off. Well its been 4 weeks and they are all still kicking! Its ok though I'm excited to give away eggs. Who knows maybe we will use them all!

We have a few months before they are going to start laying. We started them in the sunroom under a heat lamp. Then we moved them outside to their box.

Over the weekend the weather was perfect so Brian and Carter made a run for them to be able to get outside. They are enjoying the fresh air and fertilizing my garden!

I'm excited about this journey. I was clueless about anything concerning country life a few years ago. I surely don't know everything but I'm learning.

Here's my girls....at least I think they are all girls. :P

I cant believe how fast they grow.

When we got them they were a week old and so tiny!

Now they are big girls.

When we put them in their run for the first time the cat thought he was going to have a free lunch. Little did he know that it was going to just be torture for him.

Way To Go!

2011-05-19T17:32:00.000-04:00

About a year ago, Taylor saw her orthopedic doctor. He was not impressed with her feet. He wanted to do surgery because she was starting to not even be able to bear weight on her feet. Taylor loves to walk with our help and when she was unable to bear weight anymore it was really hard on her. She didn't understand why.

He told us to give her about 6 months to see if her feet at least stayed the same. We got AFO's (braces) and some really cool shoes. Fast forward 6 months and things were a bit worse but not too much. After some discussions, we agreed to try more aggressive physical therapy than she had been receiving. Tay REALLY did not want surgery and has been more than cooperative.

The therapist and I laid out a plan of action and if after 6 weeks there was no improvement we would have to move forward with surgery. So 3 times a day I do a stretching regime with her and she sees her physical therapy weekly.

Well I am happy to report that after 6 weeks we are seeing improvement! She has been able to bear weight on her legs using a lite gait. She is such a trooper.

Family Reunion

2011-05-16T13:24:00.000-04:00

Sunday we had a family reunion to attend. It was a long day and we were late but we did make it!

The kids were a bit nervous about not knowing anyone but once they got there they were fine.

Its always nice to learn about where you came from. The people that you don't see very often but still make up your heritage.

This is my beautiful grandma. I wouldn't be who I am today with out her. She is the most patient and loving person I have ever met and I love her to pieces.

Taylor getting lovin from grandpa.

Taylor loves attention. :) She talks to everyone and could talk their ear off if they let her.

All the girls! Morgan and Alyssa enjoyed playing with her cousins and family that they didn't even know they had!

Carter loved having another boy to play with!

Taylor played Papa in a game of Guess Who. Papa had beginners luck. I couldn't believe he actually won. Taylor beats me all the time!

I laugh every time I see this picture. That was one heck of an intense game of Guess Who!

I love these ladies! I always fun when I am around them.

This would be our second annual kissy face picture. :P

Poor Brian looked like this all day. His allergies are horrible right now. He was a trooper though and still so good lookin! Hehe....

Foto Friday

2011-05-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

I am in love with this picture and the man in it for that matter. :o)

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

When I woke up this morning and took a look a my house I had to laugh! There were fish guts in my sink, clothes all over the floor in just about every room, dishes on the table (I think a few even still had food on them), coolers leaking on my kitchen floor and a hand full of hungry kids.

I laughed even harder when I got on facebook and read how relaxing everyone elses Mothers Day was! ;)

Mothers Day morning was a typical Sunday, I made a big breakfast. Then I got lots of cards and I love yous. Brian and I sat outside for about an hour and discussed what we were going to do for the day. He had planned on going fishing but he didn't know if that is what I wanted to do this year.

A day at the lake sounded good to me! After getting a van loaded, 4 kids ready and a whole refrigerator packed we were on our way. Then of course we have to stop at the store for ice and essentials like candy and pop!

So at 3:30 we arrived at the lake! :o)

Taylor and Bobo chillin!

They tried and tried to get into this tree. They ended up rolling over a huge rock but still were not high enough. Daddy came to the rescue!

What is it about my kids and trees!

Morgan searching for grasshoppers.

"The grasshopper has green blood"
I'm not sure if she was grossed out or intrigued!

I believe this is an are you done taking my picture yet look.
(If he only knew!)

The kids only managed to get one pole stuck in the tree!

"Mom watch it will explode"
I love the excitement on his face. Just love it!

Taking pictures of the sky is always fun for me.

It was so beautiful!

Between finding grasshoppers, baiting hooks, looking at this or that (a million times I might add) making sandwiches and settling arguments I would not say my Mothers Day was relaxing but it suits me just fine. :)

Foto Friday - Easter

2011-05-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

I hope you will forgive me for posting Foto Friday on Monday. It is Monday, right? :P

My days are all kind of running together the last 2 weeks.

We took a very special road trip to Oklahoma last week. (Lots of pictures and blog post to follow soon.) We drove from Ohio to Oklahoma and back over 5 days. We had a blast! With 4 children and a service dog the trip definitely had its moments of craziness added in.

This week the theme was "a glimpse into our Easter". This year for Easter was a little different for us. Usually we have a wonderful family dinner at my grandmas. I hated to miss it but it just didn't work out for us to make the much needed trip and make it to dinner.

So this year it was just us. Sunday morning we woke up and basically toured Indiana. We found all kind of neat things to do, including this covered bridge and about 12 more!

This is *one* of my favorite pictures from our trip.

Morgan is always riding her pretend horse. This time she thought it was pretty exciting to ride him through an old covered bridge!