Miscellany Monday

My daughter were bright pink/green striped undies under her dress. They were so bright that it showed through her skirt even with her wearing a slip.
I dropped my son off at a birthday party and left for the first time ever. WOW, when did he grow up.
This week I cooked for church. I love cooking for church. I made 2 bags of hash browns, 2 boxes of pancakes on a stick, 2 honey bun cakes, 6 egg casseroles, over 100 homemade biscuits, a GIANT pineapple upside down cake, a ton of sausage and it seems like something else I am forgetting.
I had to make biscuits homemade because when I went to get the grands biscuits out of the fridge in the garage they were gone. HMM, where did they go. Oh wait, they look like vegetable cans and were put away as such. I swear some of them half baked in the garage.
My friend returned from vacation and I was able to return her bird living and non living back to her. I felt so bad but she was super nice about it.
My husband is in the field right now, it kind of makes me mad because it is miserable hot. The first day they had a million (well not a million but more than a hundred) heat issues.
I am in love more and more each day, my love grows in ways I never dreamed it would. God has truly blessed me. There are hard days, emotional days but it is so worth it.
Jerry has started to walk, it is so amazing. First one step, then several steps and now he will just stand himself up and walk. It was funny because on the second day Hope said Jerry stand, Jerry walk. And he would do it, it was so cute.
My cat refuses to stay inside, it drives me batty. If she would just stay in the yard I would not care but she climbs the back fence and there is a major road behind my house. I wish I could put a shock collar or something on her.
My dog loves the fact that my hero was away, he loves sleeping on his pillow. For that matter my kids were excited too because they love to snuggle with me when dad is gone.
Anything new happening in your world, did you have a quiet weekend?
Pamela

Boyscout Camp

Last week my son was at boyscout camp. He loved it. I cannot wait to talk with his leaders and see how he did. He is already looking forward to going back. Actually he wants to work there next year. I do not know how I feel about that. He honestly asked to get a job when he turns 15 and I said NO. If he needed money for some reason I would say yes but I would prefer him focus on school and having fun.
Family night was fun. We did not stay long. Next year I plan on getting there earlier and staying much later.
Pamela
Hope would not leave his side, she missed him while he was gone and was not about to give away one minute with him.
He even had to walk her to the restroom which was not his favorite part of the day.
A friend let us borrow her wagon. The kids loved it and Grace felt like she was a big girl pulling them around.
We had potluck for dinner. I have not seen that much food in a long time.

A scout is reverant.

Mil Spouse fill in Friday

1. Facebook or Twitter?
I like both because both have a different set of friends. I did think last night, I do not think my facebook friends enjoy my talking as much as my twitter friends.
2. Hard Tacos or Soft Tacos?
I use to say I only like hard shells but in the last year I have moved to loving soft shells more than anything.
3. Gardening or crafting?
Crafting, something I can get instant results from. Although once the garden is going I really enjoy it and I love the look of a garden.
4. Fruit or vegetables?
hmm, fruit unless potatoes become a veggie and then veggie all the way. .
5. Motorcycle or bicycle? Neither, I would have to say bicycle for sure but honestly I would not ride both right now
Pamela

Fill in the blank Friday

1. My favorite color is purple is what I say but when I buy something I lean more towards that light green color or maroon. I am currently loving anything that is antique red white and blue.
2. My travel destination of choice is a amusement park with my husband alone where we can act silly and ride all the rides a million times, then spend our nights in a log cabin out in the woods. Now if we are talking about living I would love a big farm with land for my children to run and play and maybe some chickens and a beautiful garden.

3. My favorite food is KFC chicken and biscuits, my mother in laws mac-n-cheese and banana pudding.

4. My happy place is the kitchen when I can bake for friends and family. Sometimes it is the corner of my couch, I have a spot and my laptop is next to it so I can take a quick peek without setting all day.

5. My favorite saying is children are a blessing, debt is a curse.
6. My dirty little secret is that I only wash my hair like twice a week. Sometimes once. If it gets 3 washings, it's been a banner week. Dry shampoo is my secret weapon .
7. Something friends might say about me is that I love to help someone, am a good listener, is that I dislike laundry. Honestly, a friend said I was judging her this week and all I can say on that one is OUCH, I try so hard to not be judgmental so this was really hard especially with her.

Pamela

Homeschool Journal

In my life this week…
My friend came home from her month long vacation. Which means a trip to the airport at 11pm with a 1,3 and 5 year old. It also means she took her bird home. While I am glad I will not be worrying about its fragile little body I will miss seeing it fly around my bedroom or all the little noises it makes. It really is a pretty little bird.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Keep activities for the little kids to do around that are only for school hours. So that way while you are working with the bigger kids they have something special to do.
My favorite thing this week was…
Was bringing my son home from boy-scout camp. I missed him and while I know he had a great time he was missed at home. I do not think the kids have stopped hugging him.
I’m grateful for…
Six amazing children that will be with me this year. Six little minds to encourage, six little hearts to watch open, six little bodies to love on.
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…


Pamela

5 Question Friday

1. Vow renewal ceremonies-yay or nay? This is one of my biggest dreams in life. You see my hero never officially proposed (my fault not his) and I had all those good words like “obey” taken out of my vows. I would give anything to re do our wedding especially our vows.

2. What sound/s annoy you the most? Video games, MUTE or do not play around me. Oh and my dog cleaning his ummmm…. No way go outside and do it.

3. If you had to pick, would you have only all boys, or only all girls for kids? Boys are wild and running and excited. Girls squeal and scream and have hormones. Hmmm, I think they are both about perfect and I would have 100 if I could.

4. Do you believe in alternative medicine? I do, although honestly I am too lazy to use it. I say lazy because unless someone does the research and says take this I would never know what to use.

5. Would you take family members children and raise them if they needed it? In a heartbeat, in a nana second, have you read my blog? My brother passed away when his baby boy was 17 months old. His mom never needed us to take him but I remember praying that she would know it was always possible. At that time I did not know her well and did not know how amazing strong she was. I have always felt like if someone needed help I would do it. I have also known if I needed it my family would be there for me.
Pamela

Art Work

I am so sorry this is not a better picture. I do not think I could explain the detail work in this picture. The picture is of a flag but everything you see is our name. She did a amazing job. I gave it to my hero for father's day.
I recieved this beautiful picture from Personalized Sketches
I think these would be amazing going away gifts or gifts for volunteers. I was looking around her Etsy Shop tonight and noticed she does all kinds of pictures not just military pictures. You can find her on facebook here.
Pamela

Wordless Wednesday

How do you know Hope has been around. When you walk outside and see the toys in a row all facing the same way. If you invite Hope over for any amount of time you can expect your childs room to be organized.
Pamela

Gratitude Tuesday

Gratitude
I am trying so hard to feel grateful. A friend and I had words yesterday. I cannot tell you how aweful it makes me feel. I rarely ever get upset with other people.
So today I am grateful for
1. A friend who has talked to me for hours when I was upset.
2. A friend who was like clockwork on when I would hear from her.
3. I am grateful for friends who are willing to fly across country to have a couple of days with a friend.
4. I am grateful for friends who will drop by without notice and not laugh because you have 2 bags of trash in your kitchen.
5. I am thankful for friends who will bring you dinner or let you borrow a wagon.
6. I am thankful for friends who know just what to say and when to say it.
7. I am grateful for friends who do not judge our lifestyle.
8. I am grateful for friends who will go out to coffee for no reason, even though they know I do not drink coffee.
9. I am grateful for friends who understand military life or the differences between a military child and a child whose father has never gone away.
10. I am grateful for friends who tell me like it is even when I do not want to hear it.
Pamela
Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers

Strawberry Pie

This is the easiest recipe.
1 box of strawberry pudding, made according to package
1/2 container of cool whip
1 pre made grahm cracker crust

1. make pudding and pour into pie crust
2. refridgerate for 2 hours
3. cover with cool-whip and enjoy
Pamela

Homemaking Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Hot, I am scared to look at the temperature. Okay, I looked it says it is only 81 degrees. WOW that is almost a perfect day.


Things that make me happy:
My hero home, someone calling me mommy, when a child says I love you.


Book I'm reading:
The bible, seriously it is all I can get in right now.

What's on my TV today:
nothing, N O T H I N G , I am so TV’d out, I seriously wish we could just pull the plug.


On the menu for dinner:
spaghetti, with homemade garlic bread.


On my To Do List:
My house needs vacuumed. I need to order curriculum. I need to post a couple of reviews and thank you’s on my blog.


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Added fruit to store bought ice cream. Oh so yummy. We had oranges going bad so I added them to vanilla ice cream. It was a HUGE hit



In the craft basket:
I tried making the girls a blue jean skirt out of old blue jeans. It seems easy except They were too snug around the knees, any suggestions


Looking forward to this week:
just relaxing, we only have one appointment. I am keeping a friends kids on Thursday so it will be nice to have company.


Tips and Tricks:
Do you have knats? Mix a half a cup of apple cider vinegar with a tablespoon of dish soap and leave setting out.




My favorite blog post this week:
HMMM, I cannot think of any right now.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
I have not found one particular. I did find several new homeschooling blogs that seem like a great encouragement.



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):


Lesson learned the past few days:
That children are blessings and that they thrive so much more when you take the time to just love on them and encourage there good behavior.


On my mind: my hero is going away for a week and I am going to miss him. The other thing I am thinking about is how can I sneak Oreos without sharing with my kids.

Military Monday

Wow, I am about to face my first time with all 6 kids while the Army takes my hero. It is only for a week. I do not doubt that I can handle it. What I worry about is Tom. He cried several times last week because Michael was not here. He tells me all the time he is going to be a boyscout so he can go to camp.
Every morning he wakes up and asks where Robert is. I need to remember to pull out my Elmo video. My hero should be able to call often which will help. It will also help prepare him for when he goes away in February.
How did you prepare your children for times your spouse went away?
You would think with four other children that this would not be a worry. But he deployed when they were very young. It was just part of life. I just want him to feel safe and secure.
What are your suggestions?
Pamela

Miscellany Monday

1. First, I love miscellany Monday because it gives me a chance to just talk.
2. We had a good weekend, a quiet weekend. A much needed restful weekend.
3. I have now officially been married for 16 years. I love my husband more than I can explain. We are in a much different/better place than we have been in a long time.
4. I made a gluten free cake this weekend and it was not bad. I received it months ago to try and never did.
5. My son is home from boyscout camp. I missed him so much. I love looking in his room and seeing him in his bed.
6. I had a scentsy party a couple of weeks ago and today I get to order $66 worth of free stuff. I am so excited.
7. Yesterday, I found cereal for $1.05 a box, so I bought 60 boxes. I am wishing I had bought more.
8. I love to pack cereal up in Ziplocs and eat it as a snack for the kids.
9. My hero leaves in the morning to go to the field for a week. I am hoping he uses his sleep apnea machine like he should.
10. I feel so blessed to have my life. Every time I get tired or down, I remind myself how blessed I am.
Pamela

A day at the zoo

The other day we went to the zoo. Can you tell which child did not want to go. We had a great time. The weather was perfect. I do not think it hit 80 degrees before we left. I did not get very many pictures of the animals because we have so many from previous trips. I love how they have educational stops throughout the zoo. I have to admit that I was impressed with how much my children knew when they were being asked questions.










Pamela

Dear Sitter

Dear sitter,
You were so so sweet to let my husband and I go out for our anniversary.
Grand total you had a 5 month old, 1, 2,3,5,8 and 11 year old here. You fed them dinner. You Got them dressed for bed. Kept them alive. Changed a million diapers.
You chased my dog down the street, well made your husband chase the dog. That was after he came to rescue your kids.
You told the strays (your words not mine) to go back to bed a million times.
You were patient with the child who climbed on the table and refused to get dressed for bed.
You sang to my children, you hugged them.
You did not even loose it when you caught my 8 year old videotaping you nursing your precious child.
You did not call me to come home early. You kindly told me that keeping 5 of my blessings was an adventure.
You even loaded my dishwasher.
You did not laugh when I came home in pain with a bright red from a massage gone bad.
And to beat all you still talked to me this morning and still love me.
Pamela

Bird watching

My friend is out of town for a month. I volunteered to care for her birds while she was gone. They are so fun to watch. Sadly, that beautiful blue one passed away the other day. I cried. I cried because he was fun to watch. I cried because I knew I needed to e-mail my friend and tell her that he had passed. UGG, I hated telling her while she was on vacation. In the end she knew it was a possibility. This precious bird was thought to be a boy for many years and then he started laying eggs. So many eggs that he almost died of calcium deficiency.
Pamela

Mil Spouse fill in Friday

1. Do you eat raw cookie dough?
Yes, but do not tell anyone. I love it. And you know when you scoop it onto the pan it gets on your hand. What is a girl to do.
2. When you get online for the first time of the day… what site do you immediately head to?
Swagbucks, I love it, I love how quickly my numbers go up. If you do not have a swagbucks I encourage you to click my link and get one.
3. What was your favorite pet as a child and why?
We had a million and one cats. I did not have a favorite (did I mom, do you remember). But my big sister from big sisters/big brothers sister had one of those wrinkly dogs. He was so stinking cute.
4. If you had a snail that could magically grant wishes, what would you name it?
Sir Snails alot
5. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. Okay I am a nerd and looked it up. It is 252 licks. I so am going to make this a homeschool project this year.
Pamela

Fill in the blank Friday

1. One of my happiest moments ever was taking my baby girl home from the hospital, after weeks of wondering if she would even be born and live and then weeks in the hospital it seemed she would never be able to come home and be MINE, watching my children accept Christ, the light in their eyes. When the understanding hits them and the lights come on it is amazing.
2. Summer is wedding season and weddings are on my mind. Last night my husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. Weddings are beautiful, refreshing, encouraging.

3. This summer Has been life changing and there is not much I would change about it. This summer is H O T hot!

4. My summer food of choice has been McDonald’s ice cream cone, I am kind of majorly addicted.

5. My summer uniform has been typical long skirts and a t-shirt or polo, not much different than my winter uniform. Although I am wearing more Capri’s .

6. If I could spend the entire summer in one location I would choose The beach, with my hubby. Just relaxing and watching the kids play with my hero .
7. My summer anthem is enjoying each day and what it brings, start fresh each day. Let love guide your path and do not hang onto anger.
Pamela

5 Question Friday

1. If your husband had the BIG V and you got pregnant what would your first reaction be? For the dudes, what would your first reaction be if your wife told you she was pregnant after the Big V? Well since there are no plans for that I will tell you a funny story. My friend’s hubby had the big V and a week later they got a phone call from the DR saying “just wanted to let you pathology came back and we got the right tube”. WHAT, what if they would have said oops, we need a re do because we got the wrong tube.

2. Best memory about this summer so far. Watching Tom play in the water after being scared of the ocean. He kept saying the sharks will eat you. By the end of the day he cried because it was time to leave.

3. How often do you change your sheets? Your kids sheets? Oh man, my kids sheets are constantly. Someone spills something (they should not have had in there room) or oops a accident happens. Our sheets are about once a week unless someone has a accident in our bed. Now there are a couple of kids in the house that I totally forget about and need to put on our schedule.

4. Having just gone through TSA, would you rather have a full-body scan or a pat-down? Full body scan, the older I get the harder it is to let someone else touch me other than my husband.

5. Since it is fair time...what's your favorite fair (county or state) memory? Hmmm, I do not think I have any. How weird is that, I have gone to a couple. Last year we saw deep fried Oreos being advertised so we came home and made them. I think I need to tell my hero that I have no fair memories and he needs to take me.
Pamela

The beach

Last week we decided to go to the beach for the day. I love it once we are there. Tom did not like the ocean and was not happy at the begining. But then my hero took him out and played with him. He cried when it was time to leave.
The funniest thing happened. On the way to the beach we had to stop for a potty break. As soon as the kids walked into the gas station (with my hero)they were told they could not enter because they had on swim suits. Now here is my problem. My girls wear more fabric in there swim suits then most women entering the gas station. Two of my girls have t-shirt tops for swim tops.
We did have a great time at the beach, I love watching everyone play.
I loved holding Jerry as he slept in my arms at the beach.
Pamela

Family Pictures

A friend took family pictures recently. The plan was to take them outside. That was until the storm hit. I was so excited to have them taken. In a couple of weeks we are going to try to take outside pictures. I am really excited. But I am also now on the hunt for matching outfits for us. HMMMM, decisions are hard.




Blogger is not letting me update the rest so I guess I will have to post part 2 later
Pam