My baby is coming home!

My baby is coming home!

8 days ago...my oldest baby...Miss Abigail left us for a journey of a lifetime. She, along w/ her church family, took off to Kingston Jamiaca for a Missionary Trip. They painted a Salvation Army school for the blind, they cleaned up their playground and found a handful of glass in the play yard. They taught the children how to play soccer, had VBS with them, got to enjoy the beach for a day, and attended their church service. I was very worried while she was gone, you always hear about never going off your resort when you go to visit places like that, but with trusting her leaders and the Lord, she made it and survived.

We are busy decorating the house for her arrival. Welcome Home signs, lighted up balloons, and her name spelled out for her in the airport (pure embrassment for her walking off the plane...of course!) for the littles to hold up to greet her. In 4 1/2 hours she will be back on Nebraska soil.

We have missed her!

The Youth Group before they left.  Abbie is front row of girls, on the right.

The Trash and leaves they collected from the school and playground 

The glass they found under the play equipment!

Miss Abbie washing out paint rollers after painting the school

Abbie (in the pink shorts on stage) leading the kids at VBS

The chicken farm located at the school

Abbie in the middle w/ the beautiful head tie :)

The kids totally wiped out from a long hot day

Mrs Know-It-All

Hey friends!

Have you ever felt like you really knew what you were doing .... to find out you have NO IDEA what so ever?  Well many moons ago...I started this blog.  I learned how to do some advance work, how to change templates and such, make pretty backgrounds, change font colors, etc. Well I wanted to get a new background, went to a different site (they are all pretty much the same right?) did the ol' copy and paste....and TOTALLY SCREWED UP MY PAGE!  Not only did I change the background, but somehow my title font is now in white and my main area was so wide, I couldnt even see the new pretty background!  I guess that is what I get for not being content with things.  I should have just left it like it was for you all to enjoy.  But nope!  So if it looks a bit wonky on your end...I am trying to get it fixed.

Sincerely,
Mrs Know-It-All

Im Back....and A little bit crunchy!

Back to Blogging!

Well its been a LOOOOONG time again from blogging...with this large of a family, I wonder why?!? Let's see....I am now breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing mama to a beautiful 8 mo old.  She is the light of our days....and such a mama's girl! 

I guess you can say we have turned a bit "crunchy"?  Crunchy....the hubby thought I was making up the term.  The things that make me "crunchy".....

• Having a garden
• Breastfeeding (never touching a drop of formula)
• Baby wearing as much as possible (no baby is a box as one of my friends call it)
• CLOTH DIAPERING (I think thats a big crunchy thing)  
• I have the tools to make my own baby food but yet have started but want to.
• We want to live on a farm and raise chickens - hoping to purchase a farm in the future 

Are you crunchy?  What makes you crunchy?  Do you like the term crunchy?

Hope to stay up with you all....and gain more visitors!

WOW!

I cant believe I totally forgot about this blog! Life has been so busy I haven't even thought about posting! Sorry if you check in from time to time to hear new updates! Let's see....quick rundown.

ODD Abbie is a HS cheerleader now! She is turning 15 on Thanksgiving. Enough said.

DD2 Molly is a 5th grader now and will be 11 in Dec! She plays violin, made all-city chorus (a traveling chorus that you have to tryout for), plays volleyball, and does tap, ballet and jazz. She is getting so big too fast.

ODS Nate is a 4th grader! He plays chess at school once a week, plays seasonal baseball and I think we are going to try out tennis. We are still trying to find "his thing" like the girls have theirs. Boys are so much different in so many ways!

DS2 Zach is ALL BOY and will be 3 in Jan! We are trying to kick all his bad habits...pacis, potty training, & sleeping w/ mom and dad, and learning to talk better. He is just so funny and adorable.

DS3 Sam....oh my sammy boy. He is 18 mos, wears his heart on his sleeve and is a CLIMBER. Anything he can flip over, turn upside down and use as a step he will. Anything and everything he isnt suppose to have...he wants. And when he doesnt get it..he will let you know what he really thinks.

As for mama and papa we are doing well! Papa works alot and has an hour commute to and from work. We have been on the TTC journey for over a year now w/ no success. I guess when God has decided to bless us again, we will be ready. I am still working part time on the weekends...my weekend getaway :) Somedays you just dread leaving them and heading into work....but then there are THOSE days when you just want to throw your hands in the air and say...GOOD LUCK! :)

I will try to keep up w/ this poor lonely blog! I'll be checking everyone elses here too so you better have something good for me to checkout!

Large Family Living

It seems that I have 2 groups of friends. One group is the baby makers, the other group is your normal, typical family. I have friends that have up to 17 kids, and then, I have friends that have 1, and that's it. Two far sides of the spectrum. My MIL thinks we are nuts, crazy, and do not need anymore kids. Its amazing when you have more than the standard 2-3 kids, that it seems to be EVERYONE'S business if you are having more, when your having more, if your trying for more, if we know how it happens, if we know what causes that, and is concerned on how many TVs we own. My typical family friends do not understand large family life at all. I get asked the questions that most of my large fam friends get, "how do you do it?", "glad its you and not me", "are you turning amish?"

I just do, me too, and ummmm NO.

Here are a few things that us large families deal with and will understand that most normal families dont and wont:

• The sock bucket or buckets
• Waiting a turn for the bathroom
• Hiding snacks and chocolate
• Enough food on the floor of your vehicle to feed a starving village
• Owning stock in the Rubbermaid company
• Confessions Board
• drooling over 8, 12, or 15 seater
• Sams Club & Costco
• Knowing what dtd, dh, ds, dd, opk, hpt, bfn, bfp, kup all mean

These are just a few that come to mind. You all know what I am talking about :)

Well some of you that is. Its almost like a secret club. You have to have more than X kids to find out the secret lingo us large families know. Its a special bond we have, you can spot a large family across the store, give a nod, see each other bob heads as you count each others herd, and move on with a smile and feel like you've instantly clicked and have known each other forever w/o speaking a word.

Large family life, wouldnt trade it for the world.

Long time no type! Family Updates!

Well if you still check in here, thank you for being such a good friend. We are all doing well, living our fast pace life, and sometimes i wish it wasnt that way, but with kids, and activities, and a family, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Abbie has been busy as usual. She is all signed up and ready to head to FL come June. She will be going on the 8th grade trip to FL and Disneyworld. She will be going w/ her best friends and the 4 of them will be rooming together. God bless those who take the kids on the trip. She will be doing Zoe again this year, and will be doing that right before the FL trip. She will be trying out for cheerleading in March, has been coaching gymnastics on Thursday nights, taking tumble in Omaha on Thursday nights after coaching, and will be attending DRIVERS ED, yes....DRIVERS ED in the summer. LORD. Again, help us.

Molly is now taking dance, so that takes up our Monday evenings. She is taking ballet/tap/jazz and hip hop. She LOVES the classes and told me "its the fun'est thing ever!". She is also trying out golf on Friday's after school and has been told she is a natural lol Doesnt hurt that she's went out w/ daddy a time or two.

Nate has been taking karate on Tuesdays, this is his first session. He seems to like it and I think its a good "sport" for him, something that he is to focus on.

Zach has been growing up so fast. He is working on potty training, and also speaking. I think he has a little lag, probably something to do w/ him being a tad early. All is OK though, and is working on his speech. Today we were watching the baby channel and the sign lady came on, and he signed MILK and said it. He's so stinkin cute. Everyday is something new with him.

Sam, mama's little Samlet. He is my lover. He loves to play, he loves to stand, he loves to talk. He doesnt care to crawl, just would rather hang out. He rolls when he wants to get somewhere. He's currently fighting off his 2nd ear infection and you couldnt tell he is sick at all. He loves to sit on the couch and bounce backwards into the cushions, lol, and for the first time this am, was found on his belly in the crib. He too is growing up way to fast.

As for daddy and I, we are doing well. Daddy has taken a new job in the big city, and has about an hour commute to and from work. He will have to work every 4th saturday, which is alot better than working every Saturday like he has in the past 5 years. We've had our ups and downs starting out 2010, but everything seems to be falling into place now. We believe God has a plan for all of us, everything is happening, or will happen for a reason, and we try to tell ourselves that often.

Another wee-one may appear in the future, but we are uncertain if and when. We, ok I, get asked often, if not on a daily basis when we are having another. I sometimes dont know how to answer that question? I guess when it happens, it happens. If we let it happen, it will happen.

I hear alot of, how do you afford it? Why do you want another? Your nuts/crazy! You know what causes that? Glad its you and not me! Isnt 5 enough? First off, I wonder why these people think its any of their business to tell me how many kids to have, or when to stop. If you want to have X kids, then you have X kids. If I want to have 6 kids, then let me have 6 kids and keep your comments to yourself. I dont go around telling people, you have ____ isnt that enough? Why do you need another ____. Just baffles the mind. Especially when I hear it from others that have had more than the "norm" of kids or came from a family that had more than the norm. You are one of 8, but you are telling me not to have 6? Seriously? We dont live off the state, we pay our taxes, we dont have more kids just so we can qualify for services, we have insurance, we dont ask for handouts, or hand me downs. We take care of our kids, we clothe, feed and love our children. We give them as much as we can, we budget, we take short-cuts, and we live the best life we can with what we have. We dont drive $30,000 vehicles, we dont live in a 7 bedroom mansion. We dont go out every weekend and party til the sunrise. We spend any extra time with our kids, not with friends. We shop at sales, we check the clearance racks. We buy for the next season, and box up outgrown clothes for the next sibling in line. We're thrifty, but, splurge when we want.

We live our life, and no one else can tell us how to do it.

No time for Choas

Hello there! Welcome back!

I have came to the conclusion that I am tired of the Chaos. As I sat here on a Friday afternoon with 5 kids (schools out for fall break), no vehicle, and utter chaos I came to the decision that enough is enough. I did some searching on the internet for Large Family blogs and I couldnt fathom what I found. Families of 12, 14, 16 or more kids blogging about how they do it and keep their homes running ship shape. And here I sit in total chaos, pillows and toys everywhere, papers and shoes and of course the TV constantly running and noise and concert decibles. Order needs to be restored in this home and guess what, this week is my last week of work and then things are changing drastically here. I am giving myself these last few days to bone up on my organization tips that I have found, ideas and tips on raising a large family, meal ideas and shopping tips. I am sure the kids will balk and I will have other family members tell me that I am not doing things right but things have got to change around here.

Kids will be given chores that will be done before anything else around here. Beds will be made before off to school, and no more of sleeping in til 715-730 and throwing clothes on and running out the door for school. Kids will be up promptly by 630 for breakfast and chores and will be ready for their rides when they arrive. These are just a few things that have popped into my little head of mine today and Im sure there will be more.

Keep coming back for more insight into my craziness. It should be a wild ride!