1) It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The tree is up and Christmas music plays most of the day. And we (actually Jacob) have only broken three ornaments so far this year! The kids are really excited about Christmas this year, so we're looking forward to a lot of funI'm thinking wrapped presents under the tree are going to be a challenge for the first time. Jacob, aka mini-destructor of all things, can tear up jack in two seconds flat. Seriously, the child's guardian angel works overtime....he might even have two or three.
2) My sister and I went shopping on Black Friday. Since we're both expecting in January, it was quite the sight to see. I thought we did pretty well.....we were at the stores at five in the morning and shopped until about two that afternoon. And if we had a dollar for all the comments....we could have paid for our Christmas purchases! I did manage to get over half of my shopping done, which was great for me considering I'm the most indecisive person I know. I think....well....no.....maybe my mom is.
3) We're counting down to January 2, 2010! That's the date we've scheduled for our new baby boy to arrive! It's hard to believe I'll have a newborn again....ooh, I can't wait! All the tinyness of an infant.....so sweet!
4) As of now we still haven't decided on a name for the baby! We've managed to narrow it down but nothing definite. We had Noah Jackson picked out last time, but after he was born we decided on Jacob Andrew. So maybe we'll wait to see what the baby looks like before we decide for certain! The kids are telling everyone we're naming him James, like the engine on Thomas and Friends. I'm pretty sure it won't be James, but you never know. I tell the kids it's going to be Sir Topham Hat, to which they wrinkle their nose and laugh hysterically. (Sorry if you're not familiar with the characters on Thomas....get you some three and four year olds and you'll know all about the Island of Sodor.)
5) I've had my fill of Pigeon Forge for the year! Last month we went for a few days with Austin's parents and had a wonderful time. Our cabin was nice and we had beautiful weather. We have season passes to Dollywood so that was fun. It's funny to experience the change from riding all the roller coasters and doing my own thing to standing outside the ride where the pigs go round and round at one mile an hour, snapping pictures with my camera. Or the fact I was a little scared on the ferris wheel thinking about how horrible it would be if the thing broke.
6) We came home from our mini-vacation on Monday and on Wednesday I left for Pigeon Forge (again....told you I'd had enough) with my mom and sister and the kids. We attempted shopping on Thursday, which didn't turn out so well with tired, grumpy children. (And a tired, sick-with-a-cold me.) We were getting ready to try it again on Friday morning when we heard a knock on our cabin door. Who could it be??? My wonderful husband! He had gotten up early and drove three hours to pick up the kids for me! Isn't he the greatest? He took the kids home with him and I had a relaxed day of shopping! It was such a wonderful treat for me and so incredibly thoughtful of him!
7) Looks like it's only gonna be Saturday Six today because I've gotta run and get ready to go shopping with my family! Pray for us...shopping on a Saturday with Christmas crowds...shot nerves are sure to come. :)
Freebie Friday
A few great freebies to share with you this week!
- Go to christianaudio.com to download a free copy of John Piper's book Desiring God.
- Need some new Thanksgiving recipes? Go here to access the October/November edition of Taste of Home magazine. I love this magazine! There are always tons of great recipes.
- Get 50 free photo cards, along with free shipping, at Freebies 4 Mom! The coupon code expires November 30, so you still have time to order. I can't wait to get some cute pics of the kids for our Christmas card!
- Although this offer isn't entirely free, you can go here to order return address labels for the holidays! You get 140 labels for free...just pay shipping and handling. (Click the red letter Holiday under the Home and Family Category) I've already received mine and they are too cute! It only cost me a little over $3 for shipping. Well worth it!
- Sign up for free samples of:
Dove Calming Night Body Wash and Body Lotion
Aveeno Nourish+ Hair Care
Huggies Little Movers
Kotex Overnight Pads with Wings
- Go to christianaudio.com to download a free copy of John Piper's book Desiring God.
- Need some new Thanksgiving recipes? Go here to access the October/November edition of Taste of Home magazine. I love this magazine! There are always tons of great recipes.
- Get 50 free photo cards, along with free shipping, at Freebies 4 Mom! The coupon code expires November 30, so you still have time to order. I can't wait to get some cute pics of the kids for our Christmas card!
- Although this offer isn't entirely free, you can go here to order return address labels for the holidays! You get 140 labels for free...just pay shipping and handling. (Click the red letter Holiday under the Home and Family Category) I've already received mine and they are too cute! It only cost me a little over $3 for shipping. Well worth it!
- Sign up for free samples of:
Dove Calming Night Body Wash and Body Lotion
Aveeno Nourish+ Hair Care
Huggies Little Movers
Kotex Overnight Pads with Wings
Easy Cooking Ideas
One simple thing I've started doing is, on the days we have pancakes, cook up the extra pancake batter and freeze the pancakes for another morning. Sometimes I double my recipe just to put extra in the freezer.
The same works with waffles. They freeze wonderfully and all you have to do is pop them in the microwave for a quick breakfast! And, since they're homemade with whole-wheat flour, it's relatively healthy! Much healthier than the frozen or boxed mixes.
Another great time saver is to buy meat in bulk, cook it up at one time, and divide it into portion sizes conducive to your recipes. It's even better when you can get meat reduced for quick sale at your local supermarket. Kroger is great about marking down their meat for quick sale.
Just last week I put two packs of chicken into the crock pot, added some seasonings, and cooked it on low all day. That evening I chunked up the chicken, divided it into several two cup portions, and stuck it in sandwich bags to freeze. Today I used the chicken broth to make homemade cream of chicken soup! How easy is that? It took me about ten minutes to get the chicken from the crock pot to the freezer and about fifteen minutes to make three cups of soup (about two can's worth)!
I also love to make up a batch of muffins to freeze for a quick breakfast or snack. One of our favorite is Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. Yum! Kroger usually has ripe bananas marked down to 29 cents a pound, so that makes for an inexpensive ingredient!
I recently found a recipe for Freezer Mashed Potatoes that looked delicious. Since I had some potatoes that needed to be used, I peeled and quartered the potatoes and threw them in the crock pot this afternoon. That took me less than ten minutes! Tonight, when the potatoes are through cooking and I finish the recipe, I'll have two 8x8 pans of potatoes ready for the freezer!
My plans are to have a major baking day (or two) before the baby gets here. That way, my freezer will be nice and full of meals or parts of meals so I can spend less time in kitchen and more time with my family! And since I'll have four littles five and under come January, I'm guessing I'll need all the time-saving help I can get!
*Image from Allposters.com
Belly Laughs
Today marks my 29th week of pregnancy with baby number four....only 11 more to go! I'm thinking it will go by fast due to the busyness of the holidays. I'll be 37 weeks at Christmas! Yikes!
So far this pregnancy has been great, other than the fact I've gained weight like crazy! I've gained #*&! pounds already. What? You couldn't see the numbers? Hmm....That's weird!
I went for my checkup last week and I am already measuring a week ahead. I'm guessing that means another eight pound baby! So far we've had 8 lbs. 10 oz. (Chloe), 8 lbs. 11 oz. (Jacob), and 8 lbs. 12 oz. (Luke). I'm curious to see if we have 8'9 or 8'13 this time.
Last week, a friend of mine told me about her conversation with her son's barber, who also happens to be a member of the church where my father pastors. Somehow they were talking about pregnant women when he made the comment that, "The preacher's daughter is the biggest pregnant lady I've ever seen. She gets way out there."
Yep. That would be me. Way out there.
It's no secret....I carry babies like I've got a beach ball under my shirt. I've had to buy XL shirts at the end of every pregnancy because all my other shirts were too short due to my protruding belly. Contrary to popular opinion, preggo bellies should NOT be shown! Not that bellies should be shown in general, but definitely not ones with babies in them.
Anyway, back to the point.
If I had a quarter for every time I've heard, "How many you got in there?" "Are you sure you're not having twins?" "You'll never make it to your due date. Your huge!" "You look like you're going to pop!" And so on and so forth. I'm already getting these types of comments and I've got two months plus to go!
While these comments don't exactly make me laugh, (Honestly...the thing people say to pregnant women! It's a wonder I didn't knock some of them in the head with my purse!) I've had a couple of incidents that were unforgettable.
Like the time I had to play the invitational hymn for church. The sermon had been very moving but was coming to a close. My dad had asked the musicians to come to the instruments so I waddled up to the piano. It was quiet and somber as people were soul-searching. I sat down on the piano bench and what should happen? Well, let's just say my depth perception was off somewhat and my largely pregnant belly hit the piano keys causing this awful sound. Snickers are heard throughout the audience. My dad turns to look at me with a half grin on his face like "What's going on?" I could have crawled under the piano; I was mortified!
And then there was the time I hit my dad in the back of the head with my belly while trying to get out of the pew to go sing in the choir. His head went flying forward, almost messing up his hair. And if you know my dad, his hair is his trademark. He turned around, while smoothing down his hair, and said, "Hey, watch that thing!"
However, that wasn't nearly as embarrassing as the time I hit a visiting preacher in the back of the head while trying to get out of the pew. It's one thing to hit your dad with your stomach, another thing to hit a semi-stranger. And a preacher, at that.
Then there was the time I got stuck on the subway in Washington, D.C. I was six months pregnant with Luke when Austin and I took a trip to the capitol. He had gotten on the subway and I was following suit except the doors were closing on me. Then the buzzer went off and the automated voice asked to please clear the doorway. Austin then decided we were on the wrong train, so he jumped back off. I swung around only to have the doors start to close on me again, catching my stomach, which caused the buzzer to go off, which caused the automated voice to come on again. People were staring. Austin was laughing hysterically. Fun times.
I'm curious to see what the next couple of months hold for me in the way of memorable stories. The comments and stares I can't do much about. Just grin and bear it, I suppose.
But you can bet your life I'll fake contractions or my water breaking or something major before I attempt to play another invitational hymn!
So far this pregnancy has been great, other than the fact I've gained weight like crazy! I've gained #*&! pounds already. What? You couldn't see the numbers? Hmm....That's weird!
I went for my checkup last week and I am already measuring a week ahead. I'm guessing that means another eight pound baby! So far we've had 8 lbs. 10 oz. (Chloe), 8 lbs. 11 oz. (Jacob), and 8 lbs. 12 oz. (Luke). I'm curious to see if we have 8'9 or 8'13 this time.
Last week, a friend of mine told me about her conversation with her son's barber, who also happens to be a member of the church where my father pastors. Somehow they were talking about pregnant women when he made the comment that, "The preacher's daughter is the biggest pregnant lady I've ever seen. She gets way out there."
Yep. That would be me. Way out there.
It's no secret....I carry babies like I've got a beach ball under my shirt. I've had to buy XL shirts at the end of every pregnancy because all my other shirts were too short due to my protruding belly. Contrary to popular opinion, preggo bellies should NOT be shown! Not that bellies should be shown in general, but definitely not ones with babies in them.
Anyway, back to the point.
If I had a quarter for every time I've heard, "How many you got in there?" "Are you sure you're not having twins?" "You'll never make it to your due date. Your huge!" "You look like you're going to pop!" And so on and so forth. I'm already getting these types of comments and I've got two months plus to go!
While these comments don't exactly make me laugh, (Honestly...the thing people say to pregnant women! It's a wonder I didn't knock some of them in the head with my purse!) I've had a couple of incidents that were unforgettable.
Like the time I had to play the invitational hymn for church. The sermon had been very moving but was coming to a close. My dad had asked the musicians to come to the instruments so I waddled up to the piano. It was quiet and somber as people were soul-searching. I sat down on the piano bench and what should happen? Well, let's just say my depth perception was off somewhat and my largely pregnant belly hit the piano keys causing this awful sound. Snickers are heard throughout the audience. My dad turns to look at me with a half grin on his face like "What's going on?" I could have crawled under the piano; I was mortified!
And then there was the time I hit my dad in the back of the head with my belly while trying to get out of the pew to go sing in the choir. His head went flying forward, almost messing up his hair. And if you know my dad, his hair is his trademark. He turned around, while smoothing down his hair, and said, "Hey, watch that thing!"
However, that wasn't nearly as embarrassing as the time I hit a visiting preacher in the back of the head while trying to get out of the pew. It's one thing to hit your dad with your stomach, another thing to hit a semi-stranger. And a preacher, at that.
Then there was the time I got stuck on the subway in Washington, D.C. I was six months pregnant with Luke when Austin and I took a trip to the capitol. He had gotten on the subway and I was following suit except the doors were closing on me. Then the buzzer went off and the automated voice asked to please clear the doorway. Austin then decided we were on the wrong train, so he jumped back off. I swung around only to have the doors start to close on me again, catching my stomach, which caused the buzzer to go off, which caused the automated voice to come on again. People were staring. Austin was laughing hysterically. Fun times.
I'm curious to see what the next couple of months hold for me in the way of memorable stories. The comments and stares I can't do much about. Just grin and bear it, I suppose.
But you can bet your life I'll fake contractions or my water breaking or something major before I attempt to play another invitational hymn!
Psalm 30:5
"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5
Remember back in March when I posted this tribute for William Charlie? He went to be with Jesus just weeks before his due date. This was the fourth child in a row this precious mama had lost.
I cried when I read of her loss and I cried when I read of her gain.
God has placed in her arms two beautiful baby girls by the way of adoption! He has turned her sorrow into joy! What a mighty God we serve!
School Days
Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart! How I am finding that out! There are so many curriculum choices and ideas on different styles of teaching. The possibilities are endless. While this is exciting in some ways, it can also be very overwhelming! Especially for a girl who was not home schooled and hasn't had much exposure to what's out there.
This year, after much deliberation and hours spent reading and searching the Internet, we decided to go with the Pre-K curriculum from Rod and Staff. They have two levels of curriculum so we bought the About Three set for Chloe and the ABC Series for Luke. I also ordered an extra Bible coloring book for Chloe, which was part of Luke's set, and a memory verse coloring book for each of them.
Chloe coloring her Bible story picture
They were SO excited when the books came. They couldn't wait to get started! They have both already completed their first books and are working on the next level. Luke especially loves it. He wakes up every morning asking "When are we going to do school?"
We start by reading a Bible story and they color the corresponding page in their coloring book. Then we complete our workbook pages. It takes about thirty minutes of our time.
Luke carefully cutting-He sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating!
I also read aloud several books a day to the kids; something we all look forward to. I have found they enjoy a variety of books, even chapter books with no pictures; not just the "twaddle" books that we tend to offer our children.
We are having a lot of fun learning together and I am so thankful for this precious time with our children. So while our journey is just beginning, and there are many decisions to be made and ideas explored, I am very excited about our future in homeschooling!
This year, after much deliberation and hours spent reading and searching the Internet, we decided to go with the Pre-K curriculum from Rod and Staff. They have two levels of curriculum so we bought the About Three set for Chloe and the ABC Series for Luke. I also ordered an extra Bible coloring book for Chloe, which was part of Luke's set, and a memory verse coloring book for each of them.
Chloe coloring her Bible story pictureWe start by reading a Bible story and they color the corresponding page in their coloring book. Then we complete our workbook pages. It takes about thirty minutes of our time.
Luke carefully cutting-He sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating!We are having a lot of fun learning together and I am so thankful for this precious time with our children. So while our journey is just beginning, and there are many decisions to be made and ideas explored, I am very excited about our future in homeschooling!
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