Fall at Last!

Enjoying one of the first few truly cool mornings of fall. Got the pumpkin spice latte and the flannel pjs and really just revelling in the quiet stillness. Where I live there is a HUGE transition in the weather between summer and fall. If you blink you will miss it as mother nature does her magic seemingly overnight.

This is the time of year where my domestic instincts take over. Comfort food bubbles on the stove and I dig out the yarn and needles and settle down by the fire. I also venture out in the yard to do some much needed work. I know I am SO SQUARE! But I love this time of year, how it rolls naturally into the holiday season, where, in spite of whatever problems there are in my life, a feeling of peace, joy and hope wash over everything, making it feel sparkly and new.

Hubby is the opposite, he's prone to stress and it really gets to him over the fall and winter season. I always feel bad that he can't just give in to all the good things and overlook the bad :(

Sundays with the kiddos and what I am reading...

Over the last two months I have made a date of Sundays with one of the kids.  After church we come home, change out of our church clothes and have lunch.  I then pick one of the kids (we rotate according to age) to take to the library and run any errands that need to need be done for the week.  It give me a chance to do any shopping that needs to be done for the week, study up on the homeschool lessons and get any books that we need, and spend some time with one of the kids one on one. 

The kids and I all look forward to Sundays!  It's nice to go to the library and be focused on helping the little ones find a book that they are REALLY going to love or discovering a new series for the older kids that we can all read together and talk about afterward.  It also gives me more insight into their interests.  The kids choose  differently when they aren't being influenced by a sibling.  Then they bring home their books and it's interesting to see them share what they like with the other kids.  I think it opens doors that might not be discovered, otherwise.

Picked this up at the library on Sunday and could not put it down! Kurt and Brenda are awesome and I am inspired by the way they put their family first in spite of their unique circumstances.  If you are ever wondering what life is like from a christian perspective with seven kids, I highly recommend this book!

Grandma

My father was one of thirteen children.  Growing up, I never thought about how hard things must have been for my grandmother.  Times were hard and just surviving was a constant struggle.  She was an expert at making things stretch, organizing, and multitasking and she often did all of this with at least one baby on her hip.

In the last year I have thought about her quite a bit.  Faced with my own trials, I have had to push forward in faith more than ever before.  I have had to put on a smile and keep a positive attitude while one bad thing after another came flying at us at the speed of light.  I learned to think outside the box, scrimp, save and make old things new again.  Above all I learned how important sacrifice and compromise are. 

Grandma mastered all of these skills and without the added benefit of the technology and medical adavances we have today.  She was amazing!

My family on Mother's Day 2010

Grandma and just a few of her kids.

So I draw from her strength through these troubled times.  I feel her over my shoulder, nodding in approval at the choices I make.  I hope I make her proud.

The Baby Bug

I've got it bad! Lately it seems like A LOT of women I know are about to or have recently given birth.  I am ecstatic for them (really I am), but each time I say congratulations, there's a little voice in my heart that reminds me, that will never be me again.  I know a lot of people would say that I am crazy for feeling that way, and seven years ago when I agreed to shutting down the baby factory I probably would have agreed with them.  But I had no idea that I would ache to hold another newborn. I beat myself up for this, because I know there are women out there who would give their right arm for one child, let alone the seven beautiful, healthy babies that I have been blessed with. 

Dh reminds me that someday I have grandchildren to look forward to (please GOD let that be a loooong way off!) so until they come along I am just gonna baby my kids, whether they like it or not!

I Am Empowered!

I remember as a child I truly thought I could change the world. Of course, back then, I romaticized being an adult and assumed that adults could control everything more effectively than a child could. It didn't take me long to realize how wrong I was. Over the years I learned that you can't control your circumstances at all. Things happen! Jobs get lost, money gets tight, people get sick, couples break up. Theses are the times when we feel most helpless.

It's easy to huff and puff and blame the world for how it wronged you. But if you do that you never grow. True power is facing difficult situations with a positive attitude! This is when you truly grow. I have been witnessing some "growth" going on around me lately and it has caused me to take a step back and realize that, though I can't control what happens to me, I can control how I respond to it.

I am going to put this into practice. My hope is that by approaching tough situations with a positive outlook, I can help at least one person do that same, and it will have a ripple effect down the line.

In other words, I am still trying to change the world!

Mi Vida Loca!

As I sit here with my cup of coffee, I am pondering how Chad and I went from no work at all to so much work between us that we are constantly juggling our time. God apparently had a lesson to teach us! I have been working non stop for the last couple of weeks, as hard as the work is, I am really grateful for it. I clean fryers and other restaurant equipment, most hasn't been touched in a few years, so it's really gross and grimy.

A little secret though, I am actually enjoying it! It's a great outlet for my obsessive nature. It's time that I can think and contemplate while I am accomplishing something. I go to bed and wake up early now, as I have people counting on me to get the work done. And the money is nice too. I actually see a light at the end of the tunnel of our finances.

The main drawback is the aches and pains. I have been dealing with some sort of nerve issue in my arm for the last couple of months. My arm falls asleep ALL THE TIME! No rhyme or reason I could just be walking along and I get that uncomfortable pins and needles feeling. There are very few positions my arm can be in without falling asleep. Been to the doctor a few times but it didn't help so now I am just waiting for Chad's new benefits so that I can head to the chiropractor's office and see if he can straighten me out. Until then I'll just grit my teeth and bear it.

Yesterday proved to be a long day, The man I am working for decided to take my hubby out golfing. of course he also decided to give me a whole bunch of work to finish too. So I was a bit grumpy as my hubby loaded those blasted golf clubs into the car as I was slaving away. I told him the the cleaner the equipment was when he got home, the more he was going to have to make it up to me! He came home with prime rib! My husband knows me well!

So today I have tons to do, the equipment I worked on yesterday all got moved out to put in restaurants so I need to get a head start to stock up for next week and I am sitting here procrastinating!

Love and hugs,

Mary

I swear I didn't forget my blog!

Things have been absolutely nuts around here! I guess I will start where I left off.

As it turned out, being an over the road truck driver was not for us! Chad had sort of a falling out with his boss. Long story short, he's been jobless since about two weeks before Christmas. His boss added insult to injury by cutting the pay he already owed him making us a few hundred short for Christmas. It was very upsetting but once again, GOD provided and the kids still had a decent holiday.

Since then he has been diligently seeking employment. He's been really working hard to get on at one company. They are a big company with great benefits and a lot of room for growth. They took forever! But after two months of jumping through hoops and praying like crazy, we got the call yesterday that the job was his. I can''t even tell you what a relief this is!

While he has been pounding the pavement, I have been working on finding some work that I can do from home. As it turns out a friend of ours is really overloaded at work and offered me the excess work. I can do it from my garage and I can squeeze it in as I am available. So for the last few weeks I have been schooling in the morning, working in the afternoons and even fiting in some time in the evenings to crochet or work on jigsaw puzzles with the kids.

It really feels like things are finally starting to fall into place. After two very rough years, it 's great to see a light at the end of the tunnel. hopefully, by this time next year we will have firmer ground under our feet.

The kids are all doing great. They are all working very hard with their schoolwork and making progress. We've had a lot of rain lately so there has been a lot of study time. They all can wait until the weather dries out a bit so they can be outdoors more.

That is all for now, I will try to update more often, now that I am getting a bit of a routine together.

Love and hugs,

Mary