Rain is falling in a constant drizzle today, sparkling off of the fresh, greenery in my yard. And while the sky is somewhat gray and heavy, my spirit fells light today. Perhaps it is the enjoyable morning with just my older two and the baby. We finished school quickly and watched a very interesting video expose on the early church  in Rome. The children drank in the lessons on the faith of the early Christians and pondered what trust in God's plan it must have taken so many to walk strong despite the persecution they almost were promised to endure. And while this was heavy subject matter, the fact that my children 'got' it really blessed me! I felt that we might actually make it in our school endeavors this year. The hope and joy I feel is tangible!


I promised that my next post would be about change...the change our precious little babe has brought upon our home and family. Jude. Our chunky, little bundle of joy. How can one so little and sweet impose so much change? I often wonder that myself. 


To indulge you in our back story for a bit...When Jesse and I married, we talked family. Size, priorities, child rearing...etc. One of our hearts desires was to have at least 5 children. Possibly 6. Jesse would say, " If we have five I will fell content, with 6 full." God blessed us with our sixth last year in November. His birth was beautiful. But I was very sick afterwards when he was three and a half weeks old. I had developed a Pulmonary Embolism. A blood clot, in my left lung. Very often fatal. This was my second near death experience with childbearing. You see, with the birth of our first child I developed a very extreme case of Toxemia. It left me on life support in ICU for several days. God healed me and it ended with me stronger than before.  So here I am...healthy once again. I have 6 wonderful children. Praise be to God! Our quiver is full now. We will be moving on into the next chapter of our family's story. I know that I will miss pregnancy and babies. Nursing and rocking. But I am also looking forward to big kids and new adventures. Thinking about this made me think about how long we have been in this stage...I conceived Emily right around our two month anniversary. So for the last 12years, 9 months I have been either pregnant, nursing, or both! Wow! What a change it will be to not be growing a little one in my womb or at my breast once Jude has weaned. What a wonderful new adventure we will be embarking on.  I am so grateful for the time I have had with my little ones and for the work it has done in my life and character. 


Here is to the future and the plans God has for us!

Wow! I am not sure where time has gone...


Okay...perhaps I do. 


What I mean to say is this...I am so busy that my time is just slipping through my fingers like sand at the beach...mmm...sand at the beach...I could really go for that right now...


Sorry for the rambling. 


Seriously, life is running full speed on me right now. It is baseball season. Enough said, but for you non-baseball families I will indulge... 


We have three ball players this year. Jeremiah is playing travel ball again. Joshua is in his last year of coach-pitch. Miss Bethany is playing her first year of baseball in our leagues T-Ball bracket. This keeps our evenings and Saturdays filled. And adds to the laundry pile...and makes meals impossible or crazy, or both! 


Emily has been such a help...since Jude joined the family she has more than carried her weight. It is awesome! 


School has been tough lately...a huge help is my mother-in-law. She has blessed me greatly by taking Bethany and Jonathan for their school every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The older kiddos have been able get loads of school done during this time. The hard thing has been a lack of motivation and enjoyment this year. We all agree that we are doing exactly what we feel led to do AND want to do. Our prayers are that God will pour out His Grace on our family and bless our efforts.


On that note...Jesse, Emily, Jude, and I attended the Midwest Homeschool Convention last Friday...we had a list and hit all the great booths. We viewed materials for hours and made decisions for next year. Our vision has stayed the same, but the process to get there has changed somewhat. There are still some things to decide on, but I feel much more prepared and ready to take them on.


Also this spring I began selling Tupperware. You see, I held a party last fall and fell in love with the dry storage, Modular Mates. They transformed my kitchen storage in such an amazing way. I decided that I would love to help mamas streamline their pantries! I still feel sort of cheesy saying that I am a Tupperware lady, but goodness are my evenings fun when I am hanging  out with other moms! If you want information, please contact me or view my site. 


The birth of Jude has brought many changes for our family...I will share that and some new pictures in my next post...SOON!

a new year

January is drawing to a close...

I have been enjoying the semi down time I have had to bask in the cuteness of my little man.

Jude is such a happy, sweet little boy.

He has captured every heart in our home.

I look forward to seeing his precious face, full of smiles and joy, each morning.

Jude's conception and birth has brought about so many changes.

The way our home runs.

The breaks Mama takes to nourish his little body.

The craziness that has multiplied with a distracted Mama!

This year is new...fresh...and full of promise.

We are learning to juggle another child added to our fold.

With that, each member of the household has new responsibilities to conquer.

Mom and Dad included!

Schedules are changing, chore reassigned, school work changed a bit.

Constant tweaking has ensued.

We are ironing out the wrinkles.

A wave of Peace rolls over our home more and more often.

Even with the changes and new responsibilities, giggles and laughter abound.

Daily I am encouraged to see just how wonderful adding

to our family again has been.

My children are so thankful for another baby to enjoy.

While this new year is in no way quieter or slower...

it is better.

We will be better because of it and what all the change has meant.

Thank you Jesus for knowing we needed Jude Aaron in our family!