For Tara - Baby Feet

Oh Tara. I love baby feet too.

State Fair

This October is our annual state fair. It is one of the best and biggest in the nation. I went with my parents and Carl met us there during his lunch hour. It was great. We all got in free because we went on Military Day. People over 55 get in free every day so my parents were free too. The only thing we paid for was the food. And boy did we eat. We had not dogs and French fries for the kids. I ate an awesome steak sandwich and Carl had a chicken pita. We then had funnel cakes and fried oreos. Yes, you heard me right. The fair is known for frying anything you can think of. Last year they had fried coke (I know, I don't get it either.) I have seen fried cheesecake, Twinkies, ho Ho's, pickles, candy bars, and even cheesecake. Real healthy, I know. We also had a chocolate covered apple that was covered in crushed oreos and gummy worms. They are Alex's favorite. He gets them every year. The kids got to look at all the animals and the flowers. IT is a very agricultural fair. They only rode one ride each in the midway. They were having too much fun doing all the other things to be too concerned about the rides. Their favor tie thing was climbing the tree in the middle of the fair. There is the perfect climbing tree right near the big arena. It is real low and very wide. They spent about an hour climbing. They had a blast. It was a great day and the weather was perfect. We had a blast and look forward to next year.

Aunt Andi

I am not sure how to spell Didi so I just put this post to Aunt Andi. Esther is really eager to have you pick which dress she is to wear for the wedding. I took some picutres so you could see the options.
Option #1 A White Dress that my niece wore in a wedding



Option 2 A Yellow Dress that would go good with the blue


Option 3 A green dress I got at a yard

Let us know which one you like. She is very concerned about wearing the one that you like. Anyone else can vote too but Andi's vote wins.

Weird?

Isn't it weird sometimes what the Lord lays on our hearts? I have been reading this book again and last night I just got this overwhelming desire to introduce other women to this book. Our home school co-op has ladies Bible studies and I am thinking that the Lord might be leading me to teach a class next semester. Talk about scary. I just have really enjoyed this book and besides the Bible it is the one book I keep reading over and over. I plan on doing an in-depth study of it. By that I mean I want to dig into all the scripture references and really meditate on them. Unfortunately there is no companion study guide to go along with the book so I am on my own. Please pray as I try to determine if this is something the Lord really wants me to do. Also pray for other women who need the message this book talks about. The ideas are pretty radical for our day and age but it all comes from scripture so we should not fight against the ideas. One of the authors is a former feminist so she knows what she is talking about. Her story alone is worth the price of the book. Read the book if you have not already and pray for the Lord's direction for me in this matter.

Caleb Asher

I think that I have the cutest little boy in the world. He is so sweet (when he is being held).

AHHHHHH!

I opened the garage door this morning only to be met with an awful smell. It smelled like a sewer. I immediately knew what happened. Alex went to the freezer and got some meat out for a meal and left the door open to the freezer. That was Saturday night. The four hottest days of the year did a number on the very full freezer. We lost everything. I called my mom in tears. I knew there was no way I could get it all cleaned up by myself. She graciously came over to help me clean up the awful mess in the garage. We ended up throwing away three bags of food and three bags of clothes (donations that had been sitting next to the freezer.) I almost cried as I threw it all away. After my mom and I cleaned up the best we could we went to the grocery store. I still smell like bleach but at least I have food for the next couple days. Alex was afraid I would be upset with him but it was a complete accident. All of this happened on the day that Sam's speech coordinator was to come over the house. She arrived to kids eating lunch while watching a movie, Sam with his shirt off (chicken salad and yogurt do not mix well together), and a very frustrated mommy (this was all before my mom got there.) I wonder what the Lord wants me to learn from all this. Probably more patience and compassion for a very upset Alex (he felt so bad when I cried). Alex is getting real lessons in responsibility as this is the second time in a week that he has caused damage to property (he broke the side mirror on our van in a fit of anger.) At least this time I knew it was not done on purpose. I also think the Lord is trying to teach me that well laid plans sometimes need to be broken. This week we started school and today we only got through three subjects, one of them being Bible where we learned about compassion. Oh, well. At least my freezer is now clean and the garage floor has been bleached.

It's Been A While

I am still here. Just busy. Having a newborn and 6 others to take care of is a 24 hour job. Caleb is sleeping through the night on his own now. For the first few weeks he slept snuggled right next to me (not that I minded having him close). Not Carl. Me. I had about 5 inches of bed with Caleb right next to me and Carl had the rest of our KING size bed.
I have been busy getting ready for the school year. Thanks to mom Trautman, who watched the kids for 2 weeks, my house is much more organized and less cluttered. I do intend on getting some pictures up and finish Caleb birth story. I just wanted people to know that I am still here. Tired but here.

Noah Miller

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. I got a shocking e-mail this morning. A young couple in our church woke Tuesday morning and found that their 18 month old son Noah had passed away sometime in the night. They have no idea what caused his death. Please pray for this young couple as they deal with this loss. They also have a newborn. Luke is about 2-3 months old. Please pray for this family, Brooke and John Miller. Hold your children a little longer and give them extra kisses today as we don't know what tomorrow holds. As I sit here holding Caleb as he sleeps peacefully I am thankful for each moment with him and each one of my children. Please pray for this young family that God would give them strength and peace.

Caleb's Story

I wanted to get this all down before I forgot the details. Some people may be wondering why I chose to have a c-section after six natural deliveries. I have already had some people question my decision. I wanted to give the details of his birth to explain what was going and so that I can look back later and know that the decision I made was from the Lord.
With all the flipping around that Caleb did from Thursday when I had the ultra sound until Monday when we went in the be induced I was tired and stressed. When we dropped the kids off on Sunday night I could tell that my mom was worn out already. She is getting weaker and weaker each day. I was extremely stressed over her watching the kids for a few days. When we went in for the induction I was a tight 2cm and the head was still floating (+3 station). That made me discouraged right from the start. The piton started and the contraction began in earnest about an hour later. I labored all day until about 10:00 when the midwife came in to check me. To her amazement and mine I was now an even tighter 2 cm and she could not even touch Caleb's head at all. He had moved back up away from my cervix. Needless to say I was extremely disappointed. I cried a lot. My midwife decided to turn off the pitocin and let me eat and rest. She put in a Foley Bulb to help put pressure on my cervix. She said it would probably fall out in the middle of the night as it is designed to come out when you reach 3-4 cm. I was given a sleeping pill and I was able to sleep for about 3 hours. Around 4:oo I woke up and could not get back to sleep. I had no peace about going back on the pitocin. I prayed for several hours and just felt the Lord leading me to have a c-section. That is very unusual for me as I have had six natural childbirths. I just could not get Sam's birth out of my head. I remember his blue face and the tone in the room going from its time to push him out to you need to push this child out RIGHT NOW! I remember Carl and Susan yelling at me to push. I know everything worked out in that case but I have been nervous this whole pregnancy. I just had a feeling that I was supposed to have a c-section this time. Well, Caleb is crying and needs to eat again. He is a champion nurser. I will post more of the story in a later post.

A new Member to the Family

Caleb Asher Trautman was born June 2, 2009 at 8:32 in the morning. Most of you probably already know this. He was 9 lbs. 3 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He has lots of black hair and looks like Carl. I will post the birth story later as I took two pain pills and they are kicking in. A c-section is much different than natural childbirth.

Update

Well, we had an answer to prayer. Caleb decided to flip into the proper position sometime between the ultrasound yesterday and the one today. They had me all ready for surgery. I had an IV put in and fluids and everything. It was about time for the surgery when they came in a did the ultrasound. His head was down and no c-section. Honestly, I lost it. I started crying uncontrollably. I had my heart all prepared for the surgery and I was at peace and then wham, more waiting. My induction was scheduled for Wednesday but they were trying to convince me to have it done today. They started listing all the risks if the baby turns again and I go into labor. They were scaring me a bit. My ever wise husband was there like a rock with gentle advice. He said that I was tired (from not sleeping last night), stressed (from my mom and being overdue), and very hungry (not eating since last night around midnight.) He suggested we just go home and rest and try to see what happens. We compromised and scheduled an induction on Monday morning. Caleb's heart rate and movement was fine while I was monitored this morning and the fluid levels were good so they agreed to wait until Monday. Carl and I went to the mall and walked around for about an hour and then picked up the kids. Daniel looked at me and said "Where is Asher Caleb? I want to see him." He is so cute when he says the name reversed. It just made my day to see all my little ones again. I missed them. Yes, I am disappointed to not be holding my newest little one but God is in control and his timing is perfect. I need to trust Caleb into God's capable arms knowing that he will protect him. My worry does nothing but lead to more worry which is sin. Carl has been great through the whole thing. He has made me laugh all day (especially about our anti-large family grumpy nurse who told us flat out that God has nothing to do with making babies)and cry sometimes too with his reassuring arms around me. He has been praying with me all day that the Lord would just ease my worries and give me peace. Pray that I will go into labor on my own and soon. But if not pray that the induction would be a quick one and not two days like Daniel's and Alex's. Pray for my mom too. She was not feeling well at all today. When we left her house around 7:00. She said she was going to take a bath and go to bed. Highly unusual for her as she and my dad like to stay up watching television. Thank you all for your prayers that you have lifted up on behalf of me and Caleb. I just can't wait to hold him and have you all meet him.

Worried Ramblings of An Overdue Mom

Okay, it is now 4:38 in the morning and I am wide awake and have been since about 3:00. I have gotten only about 2 hours of sleep. I am so tired right now but worry is getting the better of me. I am worried that I will go in tomorrow and have to have the C-section. I am also worried that I will go in tomorrow and not have it. Weird, I know. My fear is that something is wrong with the Caleb. I cannot stand another 6 days of waiting for my induction if he has turned and I don't have the c-section done tomorrow. I want to meet my baby now! I want him on the outside so I can touch and feel him. I am so worried that something is wrong with the cord. I don't know if it is Satan just attacking my thoughts or a mother's intuition that something is really wrong. It does not help that Caleb is moving non-stop tonight and I can't find a comfortable position. I have so many thoughts running through my head right now that I literally cannot relax enough to get to sleep. I am sitting in the floor of our loft because I want Carl to get some sleep. He needs it. My mom has the boys and Esther and that is another worry. She is getting weaker and weaker and I know having all the kids is a strain on her. I know the Lord is in control and I keep telling myself that his plan is perfect. I know that he will give me the strength to handle whatever happens tomorrow or the next day. I just am ready to meet this boy and can't stand the thought of going to the hospital and then coming home tomorrow and having to wait and worry for my induction on Wednesday. I know that Carl has work to do but I need him so much right now and I know that if I do not have the c-section tomorrow that he will need to go to work Friday and Saturday and also Monday and Tuesday. That leaves me with six kids, a messy house, and the worrying over Caleb. I cannot help the worrying. I know it is sin. I know God is in control but I still worry. It makes me want to cry because I just want to hold him so bad. All the things that could go wrong keep running through my head. I wish I could just shut off my brain and get some sleep. I wish I could just crawl into bed and relax but every time I do Caleb moves and I start to worry. Is everything okay in there? What if he stops moving? What if the cord is too short like Alex? What is it gets kinked or wrapped around his neck? The what ifs are winning the spiritual battle in my mind right now! I know Satan wants to have me fearful and discouraged. I know that it is his goal to take my joy away right now. I need to just cast all my cares upon the Lord but sometimes that is easier said than done. And right now is one of those times when ir is hard.

Memorial Day

I know that some of you are going to be so jealous when you read this post. I found out about a picnic about 45 minutes from out house that I know all of you would love to attend. It is hosted by Scott Brown of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (ministry of Vision Forum). In fact it is on his farm. Carl and I decided that if he was feeling better today that we would try to go. He woke up feeling good so we all piled in the van and headed to their farm. It was am amazing day. When we first arrived they had a dad and his daughter greet us before we even drove all the way on the property. They were handing out free Cd's to every car. They were from Doug Phillips, Scott Brown, and two other men. Carl was quite impressed. We got to sit under the teachings of Doug Phillips himself who attended with his whole family. Talk about encouraging. The whole day was dedicated to raising real men and honoring those men who had served in our military. We got to hear from Ezra Hill who was a Tuskegee Airmen who fought in WW2. He has an amazing singing voice. We also got to hear Bill Brown and Bill Henderson be interviewed right before our eyes. If you don't know who they are you need to listen to Jonathan Park's episode entitled Return to Iwo Jima (Volume 4). Both men fought on Iwo Jima and Bill Brown was even shot down and had to be rescued by a submarine. It was amazing to hear these men speak about real manhood and how important it is to raise godly young men like those who fought during WW2. Lunch was provided (in the pouring rain) and after the rain stopped they had snow cones, balls, Frisbees, a pond to catch fish in, and hayrides and jeep rides (driven by Doug Phillips himself.) It was awesome to be around families of like mind. Everyone was so polite and friendly and we felt like we truly were a part of their family. It was incredible to walk and meet men who we have heard speak on CD from vision forum. I have also never seen that many large families in my life. For once I did not feel weird about being very pregnant with number 7. There were more 15 passenger vans than mini vans and it was awesome. Pregnant women and babies were everywhere. The kids had a great time and did not want to leave. William's favorite part of the day was actually meeting Bill Brown in person and shaking his hand. Alex loved fishing in one of the many ponds on the property. Nathan, Esther, and Daniel liked the hayride and jeep ride. Sam just liked running around. All in all it was a wonderful day, one I will cherish for a long time. I can't wait till next year. Next year will be their 10Th time having it and you can guarantee that Carl and I will be there again. Some of you guys should plan on coming down to visit our home school convention and then the picnic. They are always held the same weekend. I will post some of the awesome pictures and videos I took today on a later post. I am too tired right now to go get my camera.

More Prayer

Pray for Carl. He has caught whatever William had. He is feeling really bad right now and he can't take off any time this week because we are trying to save his leave for when Caleb is born. He is achy all over and tired and generally feels bad. Daniel caught pink eye from everyone else and Alex's asthma started acting up yesterday. He did not get much sleep last night due to coughing. He had to take an albuterol treatment for the first time in about six months. We stayed home from church due to all the sickness going around. Pray that everyone is healed in time for this baby to be born. I don't think I can do this without Carl's full support during labor. Also pray that I don't get sick. I cannot fathom having whatever is going around the kids and Carl while in labor and delivering let alone with a newborn. One good thing is our home school fair was this weekend. We took all the older kids to get their books for the year. I was able to get everything but the spelling program I want for the kids. I have been organizing all day today because it has been a movie day here. It is exciting to look at all the new books. It is good to have a little distraction during all the chaos of sick kids and Carl. He is not a good patient. He gets cranky when he does not feel well.

Update on Sick Kids

Well, William thankfully does not have the flu. Yeah! I need some good news. Nathan's eye is healing wonderfully but Esther's is worse. She has a swollen eye now and has a blood spot in her eye. They want to see her tomorrow just to check it out. William is worrying me. He has not eaten hardly anything since Monday. He keeps getting dizzy spells and really high fevers. He now says his legs hurt and his armpits (weird huh?) He has done nothing but lay around since Monday. The funny thing is he gets these spells where for about an hour or two he will be just fine. He will be up and running around and no fever or anything and then he like crashes. Fever goes back up and body aches and headaches. He just lays and moans sometimes. He is going back to the doctor tomorrow too. This is really wearing me out and my energy level is almost non existent. I am worried and tired and just basically in that wait mode. I really am hoping not to go soon because I am too busy taking care of sick kids right now to have this baby. God's timing truly is perfect because if I had delivered already I would be dealing with sick kids, a newborn, and trying to recover from delivery. God's timing truly is perfect!

How Much More Can I Take

Today we are dealing with two kids with pink eye and one case of suspected flu. I am due tomorrow and not feeling well myself. Carl had to stay home today because Sam had an evaluation for speech therapy. It was a home visit and went very well. He passed with flying colors on everything but expressive language (because he has none.) He rarely even says ma and has never said da. The normal range of scoring was between 85 and 115. He passed receptive language, fine and gross motor skills in the 90's. He expressive language was less than 55. Needless to say they want him to see a hearing and speech specialist soon. After that meeting I called our doctor to get some eye drops for the two with pink eye. When she heard that William had a high fever of 102, headache, chills, and an upset stomach they wanted to see him right away. So off to the doctor we go. They did a strep test (negative) and a flu test. Since all this nonsense with the swine flu they could not do a rapid test and had to send it to the lab. I got 3/4 of the way home when the nurse called and said there was a problem with his test and he would have to come back again and retake it. We live an hour away from the doctors. It took all the strength I had left to not start yelling. I was calm though and told them that I have an OB appointment tomorrow anyway and am driving right past the doctors office. So we are off again tomorrow for a nurse visit to get it done again. The joys of having children. On top of everything my mom is going downhill fast. She has no energy whatsoever and her headaches are lasting all day now. She is certain she had a seizure the other night so she is afraid to drive. All the doctors agree to wait a until the 8th to schedule the surgery but my mom is really not feeling well at all. In addition we now have a mouse problem in our house. Carl put poison out and one decided to die on our family room floor. The kids walked in the house after a visit to my mom and discovered it. I just walked right back out the door and called my wonderful husband to come home IMMEDIATELY. It was after 5:30 anyway so he was just finishing up work anyway. We all went to McDonald's drive Thur while daddy made the house safe. It has definitely been an interesting couple of days. Oh, Carl also had car trouble yesterday. Man, I am tired. I came home from the doctors today and took an hour nap (unintentional). It was a good thing that William was inside to watch Sam. The other kids and Carl were all outside working on the garden. I woke up and jumped up (well as much as a 9 month pregnant woman can jump up) and searched for Sam. He was contently playing in the play room. Thank goodness he did not walk outside the house with the kids running in and out getting drinks and tools for Carl. Our pastor made a comment during the sermon on Sunday that has really been on my heart this week. He said no event happens in our lives without first crossing the desk of God and getting his approval. Wow, I really needed that to reflect on this week. Oh, the funny thins is is that it is only Tuesday!!!!

Update on My Mom

My mom had her appointment with her neurosurgeon on Tuesday. She definitely needs surgery. It will not be till sometime in June so that is a praise. When I called her today she was out shopping for hats and scarves as they will need to shave her hair. I almost cried. She told me that the doctors now might think it is cancerous. They will not know until they do the surgery. My mom is so concerned right now about my dad. It is going to be a ten hour surgery with her in the hospital almost a week. My dad does not do well with waiting, especially in the hospital. Leave it to my mom to be more concerned about all the rest of us instead of dwelling on the fact that she is having major surgery on her brain! I guess if she dwells too much on it then she will get depressed. She just kept telling me on the phone that the Lord knows what he is doing and he will see us all through. She is ready for whatever happens and that is an encouragement to me. I have tried to explain to the kids about all this. The older ones understand and the boys actually think it is cool that they are going to be inside her head. I have yet to see my mom and dad since her appointment so I really don't know how they are handling everything. My dad is our main concern right now. He has such a hard time without my mom around and he can't stay with us because we have a two story house. His heart and lung condition causes him to not handle steps well. Be in prayer for my mom and dad and my two sisters. Kellie is in CO it is painful for her being so far away. Jen is in VA so it is a little easier for her to come down. Hopefully between the two of us we can make sure my dad is taken care of. I will have a very new baby right when the surgery happens so that is a concern too. Oh, does this post sound depressing. I thought I just posted like this about my dad and his leukemia. No wait, I did last year. I keep telling my parents that they are giving all of us girls gray hair or in my case white. After everything settles down I am banning all sickness for at least a year. Can I do that? At least it keeps us all on our knees and close to the Lord. I don't think I have grown so much in my relationship with God as I have these past few years with my parents medical issues. God has truly blessed us in how each circumstance has come to pass. If my dad had not had heart problems that day last spring then they never would have thought to check his blood levels and find the leukemia. If my mom had not fallen and hit her head that day last month they never would have done the 2nd MRI to find the brain tumor. God is good. He always gives us just enough strength for each day. No more and no less. There is no sense worrying about tomorrow because I have not been given the strength for that day yet. I need to paste that to my forehead as I have a lot on my plate these next few weeks.
On a lighter note, Carl finally came up with a name for this new little one.
CALEB ASHER TRAUTMAN
I think we have a theme going on with a few names. The initials CAT or KAT for four members of the family.
Alex wanted Reuben Asher because the initials would be RAT. He could be a CAT chasing a RAT. Carl did not think that was too funny. He has this thing about initials.
I think that is enough rambling for today. I think I am going to take a nap before our home school co-op family night event.

Nesting and Other Miscellaneous Stuff

I have finally hit the nesting stage of this pregnancy. I am 36 weeks today. I have spent the past three days throwing things out and reorganizing the kids rooms. I am just about done upstairs but I am worn out. I have a huge pile of stuff to give away. The kids have been great through it all. They even have done it without the use of the TV as a babysitter. I have banned the television for the next month. We have been three days without the television and they have not really missed it. William built a K-Nex roller coaster set that I bought two years ago and was about to get rid of because no one had put it together. The last time I checked on them they were pretending to be in heaven and they were describing what their mansions looked like. I could not help laughing at that one. I get a break tomorrow as we have SEEK in the morning and then my mom is going to watch the kids. Carl and I are going to a Dave Ramsey web event being held at our church. Poor Carl is on day 5 of his 10 day cleanse so we can't even go out to dinner. I am so proud of him though. last night was tough because he went and bought me a steak sub and cheese fries (I know real nice when your husband is on a cleanse). He had to leave the room because the smell was wonderful. I will have to update you all on how the entire cleanse is going. He is really committed to a better lifestyle for us. He is int he process of planning our garden for the summer. He is so good to me and the kids.\
I do have a prayer request that is really causing stress on me right now. My mom was supposed to watch the kids this week so I could get some stuff done. I was on my way to meet her when she called me and told me she was at the doctors. She had to have some routine blood work done (monitor her magnesium levels) and immediately her mouth and tongue and lips went numb. She went right to the hospital. She fell and hit her head last week and they were afraid she was having some bleeding in her brain. They did an CAT scan and then an MRI because they found something they did not like. They did another MRI with dye and sent her home. This morning she found out that she has a brain tumor. I know it sounds scary but it is not the cancerous kind. They explained it as more of a hamangeoma (like Daniel has on his wrist). The problem is that it is pressing on certain parts of her brain. That is why she has been having the muscle twitches and the memory loss and the loss of balance and the other symptoms that the neurologist could not explain. The MRI she had a month ago showed the tumor but somehow they missed it. SO here I am due in a few weeks having to deal with the possibility of my mom (and babysitter when I deliver) having brain surgery. I know the Lord is in control but the timing, in my eyes, stinks. I know everything will work out but my hormones are telling me something different. Just pray for my mom and praise God that her mouth went numb or we might not have been able to catch the tumor. Oh, her mouth issues ended up being a latex allergy which she developed all of a sudden. I think that is enoough rambling from me for now.

A Three Man Sling Shot, A Tool Set, And a Skateboard

I found out while enjoying the beautiful weather this week that it does not take much to keep 8 boys occupied. All the kids were outside playing the other day and my neighbors two boys came over with a friend. Now you need to take into account that my neighbors one son is a teenager and so was his friend. The boys had a blast playing nerf guns, sling shot (using rocks to try and hit our stream), skateboards, and a tool set. The results were hilarious as Alex and Daniel took a part our cozy coupe and then had to reassemble it. Samuel had a blast on the skateboard and yes he tried to do it the right way. The other boys had a great time flinging rocks to the backyard with our three man sling shot (a great investment by the way from Vision Forum.) The yard looked like a huge nerf gun battle had taken place, no wait, that is exactly what happened. There were darts everywhere. We are still finding them as some ended up on the roof and the wind today blew them down. We all had a great time. Even Esther who got involved as much as the boys would let her. I love being outside and the people who drive or walk by always enjoy watching the kids play. Although I always see them counting the number of kids playing. Isn't it amazing that kids will always gravitate towards where there are adults around? I sometimes end up with 10 or 15 kids playing in and around our yard. Half of them are over the age of 11. I don't mind though. That is how I grew up. Everyone always came over our house because they knew that Miss Judy (my mom) was always home and would welcome them in. She was the secondary emergency contact for a lot of our friends because they knew she would always be around. I don't mind the kids of the neighborhood knowing that I am always home.

Happy Birthday Alex

For Alex's 10th birthday we took him to Florida. It just worked out that we got great tickets and Carl had to be down there for the Army anyway so they paid for the hotel. He got a five day pass free for the military. He was able to buy up to 5 other 5 day passes for only $99 each. That is a great deal for Disney. We ended up paying a little bit more for the fun package which enabled us to go to the Disney Quest at Downtown Disney. It is a five story arcade. It was Alex's favorite place to go so I am glad we paid a little extra. While Carl was at meetings all day Alex and I explored all the parks. This was a great week because it was just time with Alex and we were able to work on some things he had been struggling with. One of his problems is a fear of new situations. He was really out of his comfort zone on this trip because everything was new. He did a great job and only had two really bad outbursts. One of the places I made him go (after three tries) was the T_Rex restaurant at Downtown Disney. Imagine the Rain forest Cafe only with dinosaurs and much louder. It was very loud with animatronic dinosaurs everywhere. We sat in the ice cave where it was not so loud and he fell in love with it. He even did okay when the meteor shower began and all the dinosaurs started being really loud and the ice cave went from blue to red with lots of thunder and lightening. We ended up going back again with Carl because he was unable to join us the first time. It was great. I will write about more of our adventures in Florida in another blog.

SNOW!

Finally some snow down here. It is still snowing as I type and we already have about 5 or 6 inches on the ground. The govenor has declared a state of emergency (Ha!). They have so many accidents on the road right now that the police can't keep up. They are encouraging everyone to just stay home. The kids have already played outside for about an hour. Esther cried because her hands hurt when they started to warm up. A couple of neighborhood kids had some sleds and in our backyard is a great hill. It ends in a stream at the bottom so mean mom made Carl stand at the bottom to catch fast sledders from landing in the water. I stayed inside and cooked up a lunch of cinnamon rolls and pancakes. Carl made some scrambled eggs with veggies and we had hot chocolate to drink. The kids are now playing the WII we got for Christmas and enjoying a day of daddy not going to work. Although he does have one crazy coworker who went in to work and keeps calling him with questions. Carl took a bunch of videos and some will make you laugh. Here are my favorite.

We Are Supposed to Get Snow!

The weather this year in NC has been weird. Cold one week and then warm the next. This past week it has been freezing, and I do mean the coldest weather that NC has seen in ten years. We have had flurries already for several days but nothing has stayed. Tomorrow we are expecting 2 to 4 inches. That is big deal down here. Everyone is freaking out. The grocery stores are packed and so are the gas stations. The last snow we had was a surprise storm that came in the middle of the day. Schools freaked and let kids out. Buses got stranded on the road because no one knew how to drive in snow or ice. There were abandoned cars on the side of the road for a week. People were trapped at work and the some kids were trapped at school. Everyone is being very cuatious this time around. Luckily the storm is suppopsed to come overnight so the schools should be okay. I need to go out and buy hats and gloves for the kids. It is not something we use a lot down here. I know I have some but I can't find them. The kids have probably outgrown them anyway. Last night Carl and Alex stood back to back and Alex comes up almost to Carl's shoulder. Wow! Time flies. Just wanted to let you all know about our white forecast. I will take pictures for everyone if it really does snow.

Cd I Highly Recommend

I bought this CD at the home school fair this past May. I like to listen to it every couple months because it is just so good. It is Doug Philips A Wise Woman's Guide to Blessing Her Husbands Vision. Talk about a kick in the pants. It is absolutely fabulous and very convicting. One of the things that struck me this time I was listening to it was the fact about the bricks. He said that our husbands have bricks on them from their jobs, church, family, other people and circumstances around them. It is our job as wives to try and ease some of the pressure from these bricks. The one thing that he said that really made me think was that as wives we sometimes add more bricks to his pile without even realizing that we are doing it. It could be just a passing comment to our husbands but in their mind it is another brick added to their pile. Wow! How many bricks have I unintentionally put on Carl? I decided that I am really going to try to not add any more bricks to Carl. I am going to put a note on my bathroom mirror that simply says NO MORE BRICKS. I hope that it serves as a reminder to build up my husband and not tear him down. I highly recommend buying the CD or trying to get a copy from someone else. If you have it already, listen to it again.