Praise

My mom just called and said they got back the results from his bone marrow biopsy. He is in COMPLETE REMISSION. Praise the Lord. I have spent the whole morning crying out of happiness and a little pregancny homrones mixed in. It has been a rough 9 months but he is finally done and ready just to play with his grandkids again. Thank you all for praying for my family throughout all of this.

Prayer Requests

My mom called today with an update about my dad. He had his bone marrow biopsy today to determine if the leukemia is in remission. They will have the results next Wednesday. We are all walking around on pins and needles until the results get back. He was already told that if the results are not good that he may have to have the treatment all over again. I don't think his body can take it. Also be in prayer for my mom. She was told today that her lungs are working at 50% capacity. She was diagnosed with Respiratory Obstruction. Because of her lupus they can't put her on the normal medication for it. She may have to go on mega doses of steroids which is not fun. Be in prayer for my sister also. Her doctors want to wean her off her beta blockers. She has been on them for 16 years. It is the medication that stabilizes her blood pressure and keeps her from passing out. Pray her body adjusts well and she can come off them without any side effects. Wow! My family sure is weird. But at least they are all saved and we know we will all meet up in heaven one day. It definitely makes life interesting and causes reliance on God and lots of prayer. Love all of you guys and can't wait to see everyone in a couple weeks.

Thankful

This time of year always makes me feel like crying. I guess it must those pregnancy hormones kicking into high gear this year. I am just so overwhelmed at all the things the Lord has blessed me with this year. This year has been filled with ups and downs. When my dad was diagnosed in March with Leukemia I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. My mom and I just kept saying to each other that God is never surprised by the things in our lives. That has been my theme for this year. God is never surprised. Last night as I sat through our praise and worship service at church I just kept thinking of all the things I have been blessed with.
I am thankful for
*the doctors catching my dad's leukemia in the very early stages
*my dad's last chemotherapy treatment was last Friday (120 sessions and 9 months)
*a wonderful husband who treats me like a clean especially when I am throwing up
*wonderful parents and in-laws who love the Lord
*the job Carl has that provides for our family
*the awesome privilege to home school our six blessings
*paper to draw on and all the pictures I get that say "I love you mommy"
*a new life to be born this year
*six beautiful children who teach me patience everyday of my life
*the Word of God that we can freely read from
*a great church where I can fellowship with others without fear of persecution *soldiers who are willing to leave their families on holidays so I can live in a free country
*a house that we can afford
*gas prices going down
*Walmart and Aldi's
*books to read to my little ones
*Alex finally being convinced that "Yes, I can read"
*Nathan finally being able to hold a pencil and form letters and numbers
*William and his sensitive heart (his hugs warm my heart)
*Esther and her desire to be just like mommy
*Daniel and I dancing together in the kitchen
*Sam and his smiles and cuddles and giggle
*11 years with Carl

Oh, the list could go on and on. We are so blessed. I am just overwhelmed at how the Lord always provides and then blesses us above and beyond what we deserves(which is nothing). Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow. That says it all.

More Harvest Fest Pictures

Here are some more awesome pictures of my guys enjoying the Harvest Fest.

Harvest Fest 2008

Every year our church has a Halloween alternative. It is an amazing outreach program to give parents an alternative to trick or treating. This year we had an awesome time eating hot dogs and nachos and popcorn and snowcones (I know, real healthy.) We had games and a slide and a bounce house and a hay ride. It was awesome. The last two years we have all dressed up as Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia characters. This year I decided to make cowboy costumes. They were much easier to make than the other costumes last year. They all looked so cute.

Something New

I added something new to my blog. Can anyone find it? And no, it is not the recently changed layout.

FIREPROOF

I am absolutely amazed at the number of Christians who have not heard about this movie. It is the latest from the makers of Facing The Giants. Carl and I saw it last night on opening night. Almost every show in our area was sold out and it was awesome. The salvation message was very prevalent throughout the whole movie. We laughed and cried through the entire thing. I have never been in a movie like that. At the end everyone stood up and applauded loudly. I know we disturbed the people in the theaters next to us. They are encouraging everyone to try and go this weekend as the sales of this weekend determine if it going to be around in the theater for a while. It is not too often that Christians get to go see a movie in the theater that so preaches the name of God. And not only that it promotes a strong marriage relationship. The whole movie revolves around the relationship of one couple as they try to save their marriage. Please, please get a babysitter and go see this movie NOW. You will not regret it and your it will encourage you beyond words. You will desire to have a better marriage and relationship with God just by going. Just a note. Do not take kids. It does deal with issues that are very sensitive (pornography and infidelity.) There were several parents who brought children in the theater and I would not have wanted to answer the questions they had after watching the movie. It is very well done and so awesome. Please go.

www.fireproofthemovie.com

New Layout

I always thought my blog was too boring. I found this really cool site and messed around with different backgrounds and such. I had so much fun and now I actually like the look of my blog.

Sam's First Steps

We had to run down to my mom's house on Tuesday night to pick up some things. The whole family went and had a good time. Carl decided to work on my parents computer to help them out. They are not computer savvy and have been having problems with it. Carl, myself, my mom, and dad were in the office looking at pictures while they were downloading. The kids were watching TV out in the front room. My parents have cable so it is a special treat for them to watch television over there. Sam was with me. I set Sam down and we were all trying to get him to walk. The most precious thing happened. He actually turned a step away from my mom and me and walked right into the arms of my father. My dad had tears in his eyes. When I think of all the times we have almost lost my dad it makes me rejoice that he is alive to enjoy his 12th grandchild. We did not think he would live to see Alex born and here he is almost 10 years later being the one who his grandchild first walks to. It was such a precious moment and one that I am so glad all of us were able to share. Things are still uncertain with my dad as he is still going through chemo. He has next month off and then goes back again for November. After that they will do the tests again to see if the leukemia is in remission. I just thank God for every day we have with him. To see him be able to enjoy all of his grandchildren is such joy and blessing. I can't get down there as much as I would like (about twice a month with gas prices like they are) but the times we do have together are such a joy. What a wonderful memory of Sam's first steps (even though I am a little jealous he did not first walk to me.)

I Do Have Five Other Children

It seems like my last few posts have all included pictures of Daniel. I do not have the others hidden away somewhere and just to prove it here are some pictures.

Just Like Daddy

Isn't imitation the best form of hero worship? Carl was cleaning out some of his old uniforms and Daniel decided he wanted to be just like his daddy.

Keith and Kristyn Getty

If you have never heard of these guys you are missing out. I got their CD a while ago and fell in love with their music. They are modern day hymn writers. I have never heard music that was so moving. The words are just so amazing. We went to their concert tonight at a local church near our home. It was awesome and it was free. I have never been to any church service of any kind that glorified God more. You probably have heard many of their songs and not realized that it was their music. God has definitely given them a gift to share with others. Please check them out and get some of their music. You will not be disappointed. And if they ever come in concert near you, GO! It is worth it.

Spilt Milk

Did you all know that a gallon of milk spilt on a driveway takes about 30 minutes to spray off with a hose? From now on I am going to take the milk in from the van. Oh yeah, and you can't clean up a milk spill in the driveway with all of the dish towels that you own. Boys can do a lot of damage in the time it takes a mom to put two children down for naps. Just thought you all might want to know those little facts about a $3.60 gallon of milk spilt on the driveway. I am now down one gallon of milk and two loads of laundry, but hey, the driveway is real clean.

The Dance

I love my new ipod that Carl got me for mother's day. My sister recently gave me an old set of speakers for it. The kids love it because we have been listening to Paws and Tales and Jonathan Park on it. I usually play music or an episode while I am fixing dinner. I came downstairs this afternoon to fix dinner and the house was a mess. We had to leave for church soon so I was flustered. Ever get that way ladies? I cannot stand for my house to be a mess. I know, it is something I am working on. The kids had drawing paper all over the place and markers and crayons too. I should have been happy with all the pictures they tried to show me. All I saw was a mess. The Lord caused something to happen that kind of put things in perspective. I was putting the hot dogs on to cook (yes I know hot dogs for dinner is not the healthiest.) I had just finished cutting up some fruit (see I did include something good for them to eat.) I had put some music on more to drown out the chaos than anything. It was country music (yes I know but it was Randy Travis so it was not all that bad.) I was kind of dancing around the kitchen when it happened. Daniel came over to me and looked up with his beautiful blue eyes. "Dance with me Mommy." My heart melted. I picked him up and held him close and we danced around the kitchen. His little head was tucked into my neck and he was hanging on with his little arms wrapped around my neck. I closed my eyes and savored the moment. What if I had been too busy or preoccupied and had missed this precious moment? As we twirled around he lifted his head up and yelled for all his sibling. "Look at me dancing with Mommy." In my own mind I knew that this small act had made him feel loved and accepted. As the song ended and I put him down he ran off to play with the rest of the kids. They were in the process of chasing each other with light sabers. A tear rolled down my cheek and I grieved for all the missed opportunities with each child. I remember all the times I told them I was too busy or made them feel unimportant by my actions or words. I made a commitment right there to let go of my pride in the fact that the house always has to be clean. Who cares if it is a mess right now? One day there will be no children to make it a mess. My relationship with my kids is more important that any thing or possession. Especially in a big family kids tend to feel left out. I need to make a concerted effort to make each child feel loved and accepted and special. I want my children to remember the times I twirled them around the kitchen. Not that my house was clean all the time. I want to pass on to them traditions of dances, special plates, and mommy and me time. I can make each meal and event of our lives special. It all starts with me and my attitude. So from this day forth I intend to dance more and clean less (and yes, Baptists do dance!)

You ever have one of THOSE Mornings

Okay, Carl has been gone two weeks and one day. Only six days to go. Today was melt down day. I knew it was coming. I saw the warning signs. I tried to ignore it but it finally happened. Absolute sheer utter chaos all day long. I woke up late to begin with. Not a good start to a Sunday morning. I got my hair cut Friday so today was the first day I actually had to fix it. It was not so bad. I forgot to get out the kids clothes last night and that is not a good thing when you have six kids. Everyone was up lat last night. My fault entirely. I don't sleep well when Carl is gone so the four older ones ended up in my room last night for a popcorn movie night. That is why I keep stepping on popcorn kernels in my bedroom. Note to self, VACUUM master bedroom tomorrow. Well back to this morning. William was the first one up and he was a bear. I mean a full fledged, got up on the wrong side of the bed kind a bear. The pants I picked out for him were too short. Note to self, buy William some new pants. He finally found a pair that fit (Hallelujah) and he was ready, except for shoes (more about that later). Esther was next. She hated her dress even if did not have ties, which she REALLY hates. It is hard for girls in car seats if they have ties in the back. Note to Tara, buy dresses with no ties or CUT THEM OFF. I finally convinced her that her dress was good and then she put on her shoes. She had on a black dress and came out with white sandals that were too big. Note to self, HIDE all shoes that are too big. I told her to go put on her black shoes and then the melt down occurred. For twenty minutes she screamed at me about her shoes. They were a little too small but I could not find any other shoes for her to wear. Alex and Nathan were the last ones up and they continues in the manner of the bear. Alex at least liked his shirt I picked out for him. Thank you Lord for small miracles. I sent Nathan out of my room to get dressed. I got Daniel up and dressed, nursed and dressed Sam and headed downstairs. I was short on time so I decided to have the kids put cereal in a baggie for breakfast. Note to self, buy more cereal (Nathan dumped the cheerios last night and of course everyone wanted, you guessed it, CHEERIOS.) By the way don't you hate that feeling when you walk in the kitchen and you hear a crunch, especially when you have not put on your church shoes yet? Anyway, on my way downstairs to fix breakfast and rush out the door I discovered Alex sitting in his room, not dressed, and Nathan in his bed, SOUND ASLEEP. Not to self, buy an alarm clock for the boys room, a loud one. After not so calmly telling them to GET DRESSED I headed downstairs and got "breakfast" ready. I knew Esther and Daniel had shoes on because I had done it myself. Sam goes around with no socks on at this point so I knew I was okay there. William still did not have his shoes on so I sent him upstairs to find them and get me some diapers for the diaper bag. Note to self, buy more diapers. After five minutes I ran upstairs to tell them I was headed out to the van. Alex was putting his shoes on and guess what, Nathan was STILL ASLEEP. Do you know that moms are to big to fit under the bottom bunk. They will always hit their head. Note to self, buy Tylenol. William still had not found his other shoe. (Mom, You mean I actually have to lift up things to find my shoe. It just won't jump up and throw itself into my arms.) I walked out to the van and put Sam and Daniel into their car seat (thank goodness for five pint restraints that kids can't get out of.) At least two of them were ready to go. As I walked back into the house to get my three oldest children I heard Esther begin the Sunday morning "I can't get my car seat buckled because of my dress" blues. Oh the joys of little girls and their dresses. Alex was heading out to the car (Woo Hoo) and Nathan had his pants on (progress!) William was still standing in the middle of the loft with his one shoe. Note to self, clean loft. I walked into Esther room and low and behold the first thing I spotted was WILLIAM's missing shoe. I walked back out to the loft and gave him one of those "I can't believe you just put me through that"looks. I gave him his shoes only to discover that he had set the first down and could not remember where he put it. So here I am with one shoe in my hand, four children in the van, and Nathan completely dressed except for his shirt buttoned. I buttoned Nathan's shirt and told William to find his shoe or he was going to church shoeless. Note to self, buy lots of Tylenol. The missing shoe was found and all six children were in their seats. On the way out of the neighborhood William and Nathan reminded me that they did not get a baggie of cereal. TOO BAD!!!! I stopped at Wendy's and got breakfast for myself (no, I did not buy any for my children.) I pulled into the church parking lot and told the older ones to go to Sunday school. Miracles of Miracles, we were right on time. I love that my husband set my clock ten minutes fast. Thanks sweetie. Note to self, set clock to twenty minutes fast. I dropped the baby off at nursery after feeding him his baby food. Esther refused to go to Sunday School so she sat out while fed Sam. I told her that she could go to Sunday School or sit with me with her hands on her head. I sent her into to Sunday School ten minutes late with three has browns as a bribe. (Yes, I am not ashamed to say that I bribe my children.) As I stared up the church hallway to finally eat my cold, congealed bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and blueberry muffin (the hash browns had gone the way of sneaky little hands and the tea was sucked down by my darling three year old) I realized that I was pushing the stroller and there was no one in it. As I walked past the nursery check in station for the fortieth time the nursery coordinator just laughed. I parked my stroller and found a nice arm chair in the lobby to crash into. I ate my "breakfast" and opened up my Bible. It fell open to James 1. "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." God is so good to give us only what we can handle and only that which will build our faith. Satan tried to get me down this morning but I got all the kids to church on time (some with shoes on the wrong feet but at least they all had shoes on.) As I sat there praying I just gave thanks that the Lord has blessed me with these six children. Out of all the moms in the world God knew that the best place for them would be with Carl and myself. On mornings like this we have two choice, cry and fall into despair or laugh knowing that this too shall pass. There will come a day when all the kids will be able to pick out their own clothes and get dressed on time (including shoes that fit and are on the right feet) without any reminding from me. Time goes by fast and I need to cherish every moment of each of their lives (including mornings like this.) Thank you Lord for my six blessings that teach me so much every day. My mom used to say that I was not very patient and that God would send something in my life to teach it to me. Well, God has a sense of humor because I got sent six "somethings" to teach me patience every day. Note to self, give my mom a big hug next time I see her. Mornings like this one don't occur every Sunday but when they do I am thankful for nap times, Dr. Pepper, and G.I. Joe movies that keep three boys occupied while I rest upstairs. Oh and one More thing I had nursery this morning during the service. The two year old class. God definitely has a sense of humor. Note to self, ask Tana to not schedule me for nursery while Carl is away. More about THIS day in a later post.

You Know You Are A Homeschooler When ...

You know you are a homeschooler and also a mother of boys when you take out the trash and find a snake and instead of screaming you run inside and grab a camera and all the kids. It becomes an instant school lesson. Carl's comment when I told him we found a snake in the backyard was "Did you catch it?" I am not quite there yet but maybe someday. Nah!!!! I like my pillowcases snake free.

How Cute is This

No, my child is not neglected. He is at that stage where he is moving from two naps a day to one nap. Sometimes he just gets too tired. I put him in his high chair with some cheerios while I got lunch for the other kids. This is what I found when I looked over to check on him. Poor guy. He never woke up even when I took him upstairs to put him in his crib.

My Favorite Picture

I was looking through some old photos today. I have been trying to copy them from my mom. We recently lost all ours when my hard drive crashed (boo hoo). I found a picture that Carl and I have agreed is our favorite picture of Esther. I found it on Carl's laptop. For some reason some pictures were downloaded onto it before the hard drive crashed on the desktop. It is great to know we did not lose every pitcure. Lesson learned - always have a hard copy of pictures either on cd, print, or an external hard drive. Twenty years of poetry and most of our recent pictures were lost.

Grab a Tissue!

I found this today and cried through the whole thing. I am so blessed by God in the six wonderful, blessing He has given me. He has rewarded me many times over and I will spend my life praising him for the honor and privledge to raise these arrows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ
I hope it works and I mean it, grab some tissues.

I'm Still Here

I am still around. I have just been very busy. We went through the whole house and gave away a bunch of stuff to our new spanish ministry at our church. They were having a free flea market. We filled up our van (without the seats in). It was awesome to get rid of that stuff. My dad has also not been doing well. The latest developement is that his kidneys started to fail. The chemo requires him to have a lot of extra fluid. He could go into heart failure so they give him some medicine. That medicine caused his kidneys to fail. It is a delicate balancing act of finding medicine that works well together. They completely stopped chemo this week to let his kidneys start functioning well. They are going to start again next week but if his kidneys start failing again they will have to stop the chemo altogether. My mom is tired and my dad is too. The hospital where he is now (VA) has a hiring freeze on so they are very short staffed. They have never had someone who had all the problems my dad has in their oncology department. He is test case. All the complaining the staff does is getting to my mom and dad. He is home this weekend but goes back in next week. If the chemo goes well he has 160 more doses over the next year and half. Wow! One blessing is that my dad is a disabled veteran so all of this is covered by insurance. Praise the LORD! This has been on the forefront of my mind so much lately that I have just fallen into bed each night. My prayer life has gotten so much better because I have had to go the Lord almost every moment of everyday. I will try to get some pictures uploaded soon. Our one camera broke and the other one is missing in action. I love you all and pray for you all every day.

Sunshine Without Rain is a Desert

My mom and I were talking on the phone today and she sounded so tired. She said Dad is so discouraged right now. He has been in the hospital almost six weeks and he is so bored. The kids and I went to see him on Monday and luckily he was having a good day. Today though was a different story. They now have him on morphine and anti-nausea medicine and it makes him so sleepy. He just told my mom to go home because he was not in the mood to see anyone. My mom heard the phrase the other day that sunshine without rain is a desert and it is such a profound statement. Think about all the trials in our lives as rainy days. Without them no fruit will grow and everything dies. We will literally dry up. My mom says that right now it is downpour with my dad. I just keep telling her that we will al be stronger from all of this. We are all trying to encourage my dad and my sister, Jen, even camw down to visit. I am going to try to visit again this week but Sam has pink eye, again (more rain). I am going to write this phrase out and tape it where I can see it everyday. It is going to be my new motto.

Another ER Trip

The wonderful joy of having boys. I was in fixing dinner tonight (spaghetti) and talking to my neighbor who had stopped by when we heard that hurt kind of cry coming from a child. You know the kind of cry where you know that someting is wrong. William comes in and he is hysterical. Apparently Alex had thrown a scooter at him and hit his finger. It looked okay for a few minutes and then it started to swell and the tip turned blue. Well, I knew that was not a good sign. He would not let me come near it. I called my sister who is an athletic trainer and she said it was probably broken. Off to ER for the second time in a week. The x-ray confirmed a small chip in the tip of the finger on his left hand. William got to see the x-ray. Leave it to a homeschooler to ask the doctor if her child can examine the x-ray. William now wants to study anatomy. We stopped at Cold Stone Creamery for a snack. They are one of the few places open at 10:30 at night. It was yummy and William got to spend some one on one time with me (and Sam.) We need to follow up with the orthopedic doctor in a week. All in all the first experience with a broken bone (I don't count Sam's collar bone) went rather well. I don't mean that I want the other kids to go and break something. Carl said it was a wimpy bone to break. Leave to a man to say something like that. William's only complaint is that the metal splint makes it harder to ride a bike and play video games. Just like a boy!

Pneumonia

I can never remember how to spell that word, so if it is wrong I apologize. Sam had a high fever on thursday so I ended up taking him to ER. His fever was 102 and his breathing was shallow and very fast. We were there till 3:30 in the morning. He was diagnosed with very early pneumonia and put on antibiotics. Friday he was very sick but Saturday he started to perk up. He is still very tired and is not eating well. That is uncomfortable for me. He is on albuterol to keep his lungs open. One of the side effects of albuterol is decrease in appetite. He has just been snacking for four days. He still has a bad cough so be praying that he gets better. He has a follow up appointment tomorrow to see if the medicine is working.

Unnamed

We live in a society where we want our name remembered. We aim at making our name known. Some people even want their name remembered so bad that they go through extraordinary lengths to do so. They become infamous. People do crazy things to get in record books all to be remembered. Their focus is all wrong. The only place out name needs to be remembered is in the Lambs Book of Life. Our name needs to be there or we will spend eternity in hell. I think of the man on the cross to the side of Jesus. He is known to generations of Bible readers and non Bible readers alike. He is simple known as a thief, yet his name is recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. He is in heaven as we speak. His name is not known except to Jesus. It does not matter if our name is known to many. Fame is fleeting and comes with many problems. As long as Jesus knows our name all else fades away. Generations from now people will probably not know my name. But I will be in heaven with Jesus and He will call me by name. I will also be able to find out the name of the unnamed thief on the cross. Being known as mom, wife, and child of God is enough for me here in this life I have on earth.

A Little Experiment this Week

Did anyone see Supernanny this week? I don't normally watch it but the family this week had seven kids so I was curious. I ended up crying. Their son Daniel has ADHD. It was like I was watching Alex and Nathan. I could not believe. Carl was watching with me and he just kept saying "That is Alex." Their daughter is our William. HE is my helper, the one I always ask to do things. So I have been convicted of some things. First of all I need to give William a break. Second, our schooling. It breaks my heart to have to fight with Alex everyday. He yells "I hate school." It is pure torture for him to sit still or read. He loves to move and take things apart and draw. Oh, how that kid loves to draw. So I have decided to give up on my idea of school. I guess having a teaching background I have been trying to do homeschooling like a school. It is not a fit for Alex. I love the My Father's World curriulum but it is designed for kids like William and like, well, me. It is not designed for kids like Nathan and Alex who HAVE to move. I am tired of having Nathan and Alex on top of the table all the time. So I am giving up and trying something new. I have been coming back to this curriculum many times but everyone has told me that it is too much work. I found a cheap copy of Volume 1 of the KONOS curriculum at our homeschool store. I figured I would try it for a week and see how it goes. I only paid $20 for it so it is not much of a loss if it does not work. I also bought the tapes of Jessica and Carol explaining the curriculum. Listening to the tapes and looking at the curriculum I could kick myself. This is exactly what Alex and Nathan need. A good character curriculum that allows them to learn by moving and doing. Planning this week has gotten me excited about schooling for the first time in a while and the kids are excited. The first character quality is attentiveness. One of the games they suggest playing is called "In grandma's trunk." You go through each letter of the alphabet and name something that is in grandmas trunk. When it is your turn you have to name everything that the people ahead of you put in the trunk and then add the next letter. We were at a restaruant waiting for our food and the kids were getting impatient. I started this game and it was a riot. We had the whole place laughing as we had elephants, zebras, jingle bells and lots of silly stuff in the trunk. The kids had fun and did not want to stop even when their food came. We ended up on z at the car when we were leaving. Each kid remembered everything we listed. I then explained to them the idea of attentiveness and told them that we had just done a school activity. You should have seen Alex's eyes light up. He just looked at me and said "COOL." I could have cried. I will have to let you all know how it goes this week. I am excited and nervous as it is a lot more planning as I can't just sit and let them do a worksheet. It is good for me though as this is going to be good for my movers in the bunch. Math and English are not a problem as the kids love the Saxon Matha and the First Language lessons. Even Alex has memorized every poem in the book so far and that is really saying something. I'll keep everyone posted on my little experiment.

Humor in the Storm

My dad is doing okay. He had some trouble breathing yesterday so he had to go get a ct scan. I think my mother is purposfully not telling us everything. She doesn't want to worry anyone.I have yet to see my dad or talk to him yet as the kids have been sick. They don't want him around anyone who is sick and my mom is afraid of picking up something from the kids. Maybe sometime next week I will finally be able to see him. My sister in VA has threatened to come down but my mom says it is pretty boring in the hospital. The chemo is making him very sick. He is supposed to start another medication on Monday. They can't do the normal medication with him because of his heart condition. They are putting him on arsenic. I know that sounds silly. My mom and I just laugh everytime we talk about it. I mean gosh, we could have taken care of that at home with some rat poison. HE HE. We are trying to find humor wherever we can find it. Be in prayer as he has to come off of his heart medication in order to take the arsenic. This heart medication is what has kept him alive for the past eight years. He has not misssed a dose in those eight years so the doctors are nervous as are all us girls. I can't till the retreat next weekend. I am going to need some time just to relax and not think about this all. Pray for my mom as ahe has been to the hospital every day. She has lupus and stress causes it to flare up. She would not tell us if it was though. She is such a strong woman. I do appreciate all your prayers. I cannot imagine going through this without all the support from the churches and people who have prayed for us all. It makes me appreciate even more the Chrisitan faith that my parents have and how they raised us girls. We know that whatever happens we will see our dad in heaven some day. We have hope in this storm.

The Lord Guides Our Every Step

I got a call from my mom this evening. The first thing she asked me was if Carl was home. I knew something was up. They had just recieved a call from the doctor's office. He was supposed to have an appointment next week to get back the test results of the bone marrow biopsy. The blood tests came back fine. The doctor got the results back today and it is confirmed that he has leukemia. They caught it so early that the leukemia is not in his blood stream. I am in shock right now not really believing this is happening. They asked him to come in right away. He went to Duke within an hour of the phone call and has already had his first dose of chemo. HE is supposed to get it twice a day and he has to stay in the hospital for 6 weeks. He can have very well vistitors so I cannot go for a while. All the kids are getting sick with some coughing upper respiratory thing. At least they are not throwing up. Ic don't think I could handle that. I spent the entire evening with a huge migrane just trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he has leukemia. The doctors are very opptimistic as it is rare for it to be caught this early. They say that it is just in his bone marrow and not in his blood so they have a good chance of killing it all. We are all just praising God that he had those chest pains last week or it might have been found a lot later and maybe too late to do anything about it. It is amazing how much prayer has been happening over my father. I know he is right where the Lord needs him to be. A lady out in Colorado who is an aqquaitnace of my brother in law has been praying for my dad for a while. She told my brother-in-law Eric that two weeks ago she was led that Kellie's father needed prayer. This was even before my dad had the chest pains that sent him to the hospital. Isn't the Lord amazing? He prepares us for what lies ahead even before it occurs and covers us with prayers from beleivers all over the country. Thank you all for lifting up my dad in your prayers. Continue to do so as it is going to be tough sitting in a hosptial room for 6 weeks. Pray for my mom also as they have never been apart this long in 36 years of marriage.

PRAISE

My dad is home. The doctors said all the tests came back normal. NO CANCER! They think he just had a really bad virus. The heart doctor also gave him the all clear. No blockage. What an awesome answer to prayer. His white blood cell count even came up from yesterday. He has been commanded by all us girls to never do this to us again. I think I have about 100 more gray hairs now. Thanks for all your prayers. The Lord is good.

I Need Some Prayer Warriors

Okay guys. I need some prayer warriors right now. My mother just called me and the first thing she said was I was not allowed to cry or get upset. i immediately knew the news was not going to be good. My dad has been in the hospital since Tuesday morning. He was out of breath and tired which normally indicates a blocked artery. He has had several stints put in already so we just thought that was happening again. They did all the normal tests (blood work, stress test). They discovered his white blood count was extremely low. They immediately put him in a private room and he can have no visitors. He can't even have fruit or flowers in his room. They say his immune system is very weak right now. He was over the house Monday and luckily none of my guys were sick. We should have some test results back tomorrow. They asked a ton of questions and told my parents that he either has a very serious infection he just can't get rid of or Leukemia. I am trying not to absolutely freak out about this but I am scared out of mind. I did not cry on the phone to my mom but I called Carl and just broke down. I know that whatever happens is the Lord's will and that he will give us all strength to get through this trial. It is just a scary thought. Please pray for my sisters as they are in Colorado and Virginia and can't be here physically right now. I am going down to see my mom tomorrow so I should have some more information then. She is going to watch the boys while Esther gets her hair cut. She decided it was too long and found a pair of scissors resulting in a much needed trip to the salon. Isn't it amazing that the Lord gives us something to laugh about in the midst of a storm? I will update you all about my dad as soon as we know something. Just pray for my dad and mom right now. I just thought the more people that know about this the better. Send out the word and get my dad covered in prayer. As I was typing this William, my tender one, came in the room and was reading over my shoulder. He looked at me and did not say a word but gave the biggest hug in the world. Isn't it awesome that God knows when we need a hug?

Sam's Appointment

Sam had his early intervention appointment today. He did not get into the program. He did too well on all the tests they gave him. THat is a good thing. They did say that he did have a significant difference in the left arm than the right. The doctor who came examined him and gave me an answer though as to why there is the problem with the left arm. She is convinced that he broke his collor bone during delivery. She said she could feel where it broke and healed. She said there is nothing they can do about it. We just need to exercise and work at making the left arm stronger. She could not believe that no one picked up on that before. He was such a big baby and he did get stuck that she said a broken collar bone should have been the first thing they checked for. Oh, well. So it was a good appointment in that he is normal and we got an answer as to why the arm is weaker. It was disappointing though that now the exercises and strengthening fall on my already slumped shoulders. I need to figure out how to do speech therapy with Esther and Nathan (Esther has problems with her r's), occupational therapy with Nathan and now physical therapy with Sam. That is on top of homeschooling and reteaching Alex how to read (he does not get phonics). My life would definately be very boring if I did not have children. I keep telling Carl that I am going to go back and get my masters in speech therapy and cater only to homeschoolers. It is hard to get services when you have a kid that has special needs. I know the Lord is allowing this all to happen to make me stronger and to prepare me for the something special. Each thing that happens serves only to draw us closer to him.

Prayer Group

Have you guys ever heard of Moms In Touch International? My prayer group on Thursday mornings use their material. They are a group of moms who get together and pray for their kids schools and teachers. As homeschoolers we adjust things a bit but it is an awesome group. Today we started praying and prayed for an hour! I have never done that before. It was amazing! We jsut kept taking turns praying for our children, our homes and husbands, the SEEK co-op. Everything we felt the Lord place on our heart. It was an amazing time of fellowship. The Lord is really blessing those in the group and I highly recommend starting a prayer group with others homeschoolers. It is also convicting me to be more diligent with my prayer life personally. It is just an amzing time of prayer with God and starts me day of great. How many times have I used the word amazing in this post but that is the only word to describe it. I guess I need to get out a thesaurus. Anyway, just wanted to encourage you guys in your prayer life. It is so important.

Samuel's Well Check

Sam had his well check yesterday. I fully expected it to be like any other well check that any of the kids had. I was a little concerned about Sam not moving around as much as I thought he should but I thought nothing of it. When I watched Saige reaching for her toy in the video my heart skipped a beat. I sat down and thought about it. Same has never really reaches for anything, ever. His hands are always clenched in a fist at his sides. If you do dangle something in front of him all he does is flail his arms. He never reaches for the item. He also really is not rolling over yet. His legs and arms are always so stiff. I mentionesd this to the doctor after she examined Sam. She put him on his belly and we discovered that his left arm is much weaker than the right. It just is limp like. She saw his fists clenched and she got real concerned. She tried to get him to reach for a toy and could not. I tried, the murse tried, the attending doctor tried. All to no avail. By this time I am getting concerned. I guess having him be number six I just thought he was developing fine. I never really paid much attention. Now I feel like such a bad mom. They brought an occupational/physical therapist down to examine him. She specializes in infants. She that his mobility is on the low end of low. She also said that the way his chest is it is causing him to slump over and we need to get it fixed. She said he has an indented chest that makes the rib cages flare out and it makes him slump over. Again I noticed but never thought it was abmormal. As I am writing this Sam is in my lap slumped over and his left arm is limp on mine. He also has a mild case of torticollus which is when the head leans to one side and the muscles in the neck are tight. So much for a mormal well check. We were there three hours being seen by three doctors and the therapist. Bottom line is he needs immediate physical therapy and maybe some neurologial testing and my solution of lots of prayer. I have been so stressed since yesterday kicking myself for not noticing this before, but thankful that I mentioned something to the docotr. Carl and my mom both said they noticed something but thought nothing of it like I did. I am putting Sam in the Lord's hands realizing that he is just on loan anyway. He is really God's and He knows exactly what he is doing. I am just reading my Bible and praying through this whole ordeal. In the next couple days I need to find out where we can get him seen and evaluated. He is such a happy baby and he laughs all the time. Socially he is above where he should be. The doctors and therapist just fell in love with him. I am glad there are people who can help Sam.

Homeschool Co-op

I don't know if any of you participate in a co-op but it is wonderful. We had our first meeting today. I ws nervous as Alex and Nathan do not do well in new situations. We got there at 9:00. There were about 150 kids there from newborn to high school. The worship team consisted of all teens and they were really good. We sang songs and then all the nursery kids were dismissed. I had to leave the three older boys there to find their teachers. Luckily Carl came with me to get the kids off to the right classroom. The church where it is at is huge and I am not exagerating. It is Open Bible times about five. It has four wings, a chapel, and worship center, two libraries, a store and even a little coffee bar area. I got lost the first time going to registraion meeting. The kids all got off to their rooms great. I went to my first hour bible study. I signed up for a Moms in Touch prayer group. It is definately out of my comfort zone as I do not like to pray out loud. It was great just having a time of prayer for our kids. Everyone prayed that Alex would not get upset and freak out like he normally does in new situations. It felt like the hand of God just reaching down and giving me and Alex peace about the whole morning. We prayed for about 45 minutes and it was my favorite part of the morning. After the first hour was up I had my service hour. I signed up to assist in Nathan's class because he can be a handful sometimes. The younger kids in that group kind of sat all together so I just sat at their table and helped them. Nathan ended up being bored and laid down on the floor. I guess I need to talk to the head teacher about his SPD, how he constantly need to be moving. After the second hour was up I had 15 minutes to run all over the church to pick up all six kids. I was exhausted but the smiles on the kids faces was worth it all. Alex especially. Alex was given an assignment by Carl to find the names of two new people. When I went to pick him up the first words out of his mouth were "Mommy, Sterling and Clay." I felt like I was going to cry. What a breakthrough for my shy guy. I just wanted to shout praises to the Lord. I had worried and when I finally placed Alex and his fear in the Lord's hands I had peace and the situation was great. One of the ladies in the prayer group asked that the Lord would bind the spirit of fear in Alex and I guess I had never thought of it that way. It was just so great to see all the kids smiling and having fun with other kids. I am looking forward to every Thursday this semester. The kids are already talking about what classes they want to be offered for the fall. It was nice to have some time to myself and know that the kids were getting educated and having fun. Here are the classes that each of the boys are taking.

Alex - Digging Up history
Character Sketches
William - Animals in Literature
A Pocket Full of Books
Nathan - Animals in Literature
Missionary Adventures
They hire a preshcool teacher to work in Esther's classroom so even she is learning. I praise the Lord for the women who put this all together and keep it running.

NCHE Conference

For anyone interested our annual homeschool conference is the end of May. It is absolutely awesome. This year I heard that Paul David Tripp is coming to be the main speaker. Two years ago we had Mark Hamby from Lamplighter. The first year I attended we heard Ted Tripp speak. It is one of the best homeschool conferences around. If anyone wants to come down and visit let me know. Grandparents get in free by the way.

A Drink of Water

I recently had one of the ladies that help out in Esther's cubbie class come to me with the funniest story. The boys and I have been studying deserts and somehow we got on the topic of how long you can live without water and food. We did research to find the answers. Well I did not know that Esther was listening upstairs in her room. That night at Awana they had story time. They had already taken a potty and drink break but Esther was still thristy. She kept insisting that she needed a drink. The one lady who helps out kept telling her to wait until after story time. Esther looked up at her and with all seriousness informed her "Well my mommy told me that you will die if you did not drink water." The lady just could not help but laugh. It is amazing what our children hear when we don't think they are listening.

Ergo

I love my new ergo carrier. Carl was so wonderful to get me one for our anniversary. I have been using it everywhere and everyone is always asking me about it. We were in an outdoors store looking at hiking backpacks for Carl and the kids and several people stopped and asked what it was. The infant insert is so wonderful. I just wrap him up in it and off we go. He loves it and falls asleep almost every time. I just put the little hood up over his head and he is just so content. Last Thursday I was at the kids exchange (imagine a yard sale with only kids items times about 100). It is absolutely awesome. I had Sam in the carrier and everyone was asking about it. There was another lady there who had one too. Sam and her baby were about the same age. I had Sam lying one way and she had her baby in a totally differnt postion with the infant insert. People kept asking us how one carrier could hold an infant so many ways. People were quite inmpressed and I think we convinced almost everyone in line to go to the website. It was so much fun and my back did not hurt one bit even though I had him in the carrier for almost two hours. I could kick myself for not buying one before. By the way, Tara, mine is black with the camel and the infant insert is the camel color too. I think the insert is worth it but someone said that you could do the same thing with a towel or blanket. I just use the insert because my wonderful husband was so thoughtful.

For Those Who Are Wondering

I did get my hair cut. I cut off about nine inches. It was time for a change. I love it and it is actually easier to deal with than all that long, thick hair. It also is easier because I have hit that post partum stage where the hair falls out. It is nice not dealing with the long strands everywhere.

Anyone for New Years Resolutions

Alright. Here we go with listing all the things we want to get done this year. Anyone for losing weight? I have an extra 50 pounds I'd like to see go away. I guess six pregnancies in eight years will do that to a woman. I'd also like to get my whole house painted. I am tired of the artwork from my dear children decorating the walls. Carl and I would also like to make our garage a more useful space, like maybe for all the toys and school things. Our family room looks like a preschool right now. I wish we had a basement. Oh well. That is one drawback to NC. Most houses don't have them. I do have some resolutions that I really want to stick with. Our pastor this year has challenged the church to read through the Bible. He had everyone who has read through it before stand up one Sunday. I was astonished at the low, low number that stood. Carl has never even read through it before. This year will be about my 8th time doing, even though the last time was 2 years ago. I am excited especially since William wants to do it too. We went out and bought Bibles that are one year Bibles and Carl and I are doing it together. They even have a One Year Bible for kids. I will keep you all posted on how it is going. Anyone up to doing the challenge with us? You can print out all kinds of Bible reading plans online.
This year I am also doing the Created to Be His Helpmeet Journey Journal. Have any of you ladies ever done it? Anyone interested in doing it with me? I bought my journal on ebay and with shipping it was only $10.50. I got it today and I am so excited. I don't know about you but after 10 years of marriage I need a little refresher on how to treat my husband and encourage him. Sometimes I feel as though I am in a rut. Anyone else feel just like a housekeeper and nanny sometimes? Maybe it is just me. Oh well. I am doing it so I can be a better wife to my darling husband.
Anyone have any resolutions or challenges?