Learning on the "Fly"

Homeschooling has been a wonderful way to bring our family closer together while learning and growing as a family. Our children also partner with the local Christian school for a full one day program where homeschooling children are welcomed and receive instruction in gym, art, chorus, and band. 

At the end of each school year the homeschoolers are invited to participate in the school's end of the year field trip!

Wednesday we gathered the family and headed out to Cape Elizabeth, Maine

 to join the kids and staff of the school.

We had a great day discovering the wonders of Maine's rocky coast

 and the lighthouse of Portland Headlight.

There is so much beauty to behold here on the coast of Maine!

There's lots of wind up on the hill at Ft. Williams!

It makes for a great kite flying day!

I thought our smallest daughter might get carried away by her kite!

There is history to be discovered here too!

We visited the old Goddard Mansion on the Ft. Williams property.

We tried to imagine it in all its glory, bustling with military personnel who later lived here after it was acquired by the military in 1899. We were intrigued to learn how Ft. Williams played an integral role in protecting the shore line of Cape Elizabeth and the harbor of Portland during World War II.

We had a fantastic day! We were praying that God would push back the skies and make for a beautiful day, and boy did He ever deliver! The weather turned warm and sunny after four LONG days of flooding rains.

  It was the perfect day to head to the ocean!

We love to put down our books and study history hands-on!

Our kids are truly getting an amazing education. I mean, just look at this little guy smiling here. He's quite a contrast to the homeschool books stacked behind him! Our kids will learn far more from loving on this little guy than from any textbook, I'm sure! There's always something crazy interesting going on at our house! With so many kids and so many interests we just never know where each day may take us! 

(Hint: look behind the baby.)

Welcome "Jake" and "Jeb"!

Our 14 year old son bought these parakeets on Thursday with his own money he earned. The lady in the pet store made sure my son knew what kind of a commitment this was going to require. "These birds can live about 20 years. This isn't a short term commitment, you know."  He knew. He had done a ton of research and was ready to commit. He plopped down over $90 for a wonderful cage, toys, and food, (and the birds, of course)! He has spent a good portion of the day getting to know the birds and trying to earn their trust. I'm so proud of my son and his new interest. The birds are really pretty. I guess I always wanted a bird, but never wanted to actually go so far and BUY one. Now we have birds. He named one Jake. He says it's because he wants to train it to talk to him so when he says, "Hi Jake!" the bird will talk back and say hi to him, "Hi, Jake!" I can't stand it this kid is so funny!

So, there you have it, learning on the fly has taken over and we have officially gone to "the birds"!

What adventures have your kids taken you on lately?! 

1 Peter Allume Bible Study

I'm excited to begin this study on 1 Peter with the Allume ladies.

It is written by Katie Orr and you can join me too by downloading the study guide here.

Let's strengthen our Bible studying muscles! Will you join me?

Smudge Marks

I was checking on my blog stats this morning and found someone had actually found my blog by Googling "smudge marks"! Of all things, it was "smudge marks"? Really?!  How interesting!
Here they are!

They were left behind one afternoon of finger (and toe) painting with my little girls.

It got me thinking about how it's those little smudge marks in our life that often build and yet also reveal our character. We are all covered in the "smudge marks" of life.
It is these marks that make us who we are after all.

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We are all different and fashioned for a purpose. But should I then say to God, "I am not worthy to be called to this tremendous task of homeschooling these six children!! Someone ought to do a better job than me?"

But I am really only clay in the Potter's hands.

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"You turn things upside down,

    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! 

Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,

    “You did not make me”?

Can the pot say to the potter, 

    “You know nothing”?

Isaiah 29:16 NIV

Father, help me to remember that You are doing a good work in us. Even through the smudge marks of life you are shaping us into the people you are designing us to be! 

Precious Days and Pizza

These are precious days we are living. My family loves it when I make homemade pizza. I make it about once a week. I take a simple dough recipe and double it.

5 tsp. yeast

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

4 TB vegetable oil

2 cups warm water

I mix all the above ingredients in my Kitchen-Aid with my wisk.

Then I use my dough attachment and add

2 cups wheat flour

3 cups white unbleached flour

Blend on med-high to high until dough forms into a ball around the blade.

I turn this out onto a greased silicon mat and cut into four balls.

Most nights I have eager little hands that want to help roll out the dough! I can't get enough of these little hands!

I top the dough with pizza sauce. I usually make it homemade as well using tomato paste and spices. A little apple cider vinegar gives it an extra special kick we all love. Then comes the cheese. I usually have lots of hands wanting to help spread the cheese because it means hungry mouths get to sample the cheese before it hits the pizza!

For the bread sticks I press the dough into my small toaster oven pan. I cut it into bread sticks. Then drizzle 2 TB melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the melted butter, then sprinkle sugar over the cinnamon to coat the sticks. Bake all these in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 min.

This recipe makes three pizzas and one batch of cinnamon bread sticks.

Happiness!!!

This girl makes my heart melt!

Sometimes in these moments we call life I stop and my heart lingers here on the fact that if I hadn't pursued having my tubal ligation reversal surgery, I would never have gotten to know this amazing little girl. She's one of a kind and we all lover her soooo much! She wakes up every morning with a smile on her face, and wants to play "I Spy", but you have to go first!

God has blessed us more than I could ever imagine! Pizza nights are all the more special with little hands who run to help. I hope my kids will want to make this a tradition for their own families one day. My oldest son at 16 can make this recipe just as well as I can and sometimes will fill in and take over. Yes, these are really precious days.

Road to Fitness- Checking In!

When my doctor gave me the go ahead to start exercising after my 6 week check up, I didn't hesitate to get started. I was anxious to get MOVING again! This was my sixth pregancy though! I didn't even know where to BEGIN! I cried out to God asking Him to help me get motivated to get moving again. His answer came in the most unexpected ways!
I was sitting at my lovely Moms group when this mom I didn't know really well boldy stood up and shared her testimony of this dvd exercise program she had started. It was called Prayfit. I decided to order it at Amazon.

It arrived in about four days and I began the video with my kids!


Here I am before starting the video:

And here is my progress so far:

January 5, 2012 Delivery Day! 196 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh! The biggest I've ever been in my life!!!!!


February 15, 2012 6 week post-partum check-up  174 lbs!!!! Down 22 lbs!!! Just dropping the baby's weight, fluids, and breastfeeding

March 6th, 2012 Started Prayfit

After 3 weeks (around day 21) I began to feel stronger and was getting a little bored with the video, quite honestly. So when my husband invited my son to go along with him running and he refused, I said, "yes". So I began running. You can read my journey here.

I began adding running a mile and a half in between using my ellipitical in addition to keeping up with the Pray fit dvd.

After only 3 weeks I had dropped 6 lbs and was gaining so much energy!

On April 1, 2012 I weighed in at 168.

By the end of April, on April 28th, 2012 I checked in at 163.

At the end of May, on May 27, 2012 I checked in at my lowest weight so far, 158!!! ****

I am pretty well near where I started when I got pregnant with little Super Wy. You can read about his story here

And here I am now! Down 38 lbs!!!!!


My husband and I are working toward doing some sort of physical activity each day, whether it is the PrayFit dvd or going for a run. It is a lot of fun to do this together! By the way, he has also lost about 13 pounds himself!
We give all the praise and glory to God for our health, and our fitness, for the very breath in our lungs!

As Jimmy Pena says, "In Jesus' name, we train!"

Thoughts on Memorial Day

War is real. Today we set aside this day called, "Memorial Day" to pause and remember and HONOR all those who have gone before us, who proudly served our country and paid the highest price.

It was originally called, "Decoration Day", as a way of honoring those brave souls who laid down their lives in service for our country. In 1873, New York became the first state to recognize this as a National holiday. Soon other states followed. Eventually Congress enacted a law, The National Holiday Act of 1971, which placed this holiday on the last Monday in May.

Here is my own hero. I got to pin his new badge on his uniform. We were so young. This was taken in 1995 I believe. I'm so proud of my Marine. God has truly blessed me with a great man to walk out this life with.

(We have six kids now,--giggle and giddy smile here--I can hardly believe it!)

So many of the fallen heroes we honor today were so young. Many left behind wives and small children while still many others never got a chance to get married and have children. Their lives were cut short. So young. What a great sacrifice! Freedom for our country! 

But Freedom isn't FREE.

It comes at a price.

It takes hard work and dedication and sacrifice.

Here are my guys at Parris Island watching recruits learn how to march.

As we raise these sons, who are we putting before them to look to? As mothers of sons, we need to do the hard things, stay dedicated to our families, and sacrifice our time and lives for our families.

Let's not live lives defeated. Let's live in Victory Lane!

There is a man who went before us, a God man. He came to not only show us how to live in relationship with others, he came to set us FREE.

Freedom from all that drags us down, torments our souls, and wages war in our hearts! Freedom from depression, anxiety, wrong teachings, addictions, powerlessness, shame, hurt, FEAR, rejection, sickness, unforgiveness, torment...

You name it, Jesus came to claim it...

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and set our hearts and souls free!

For there is a war raging in every one of us. A war for our hearts and souls. 

War is real.

 The enemy doesn't create, he plagiarizes. He uses all the fancy stuff, maybe some grand, flashing lights. I know you've seen him. He is never far away. Pleasure Island is always ready to entice us to a life of fun, fancy, and fullfillment. Acts so seemingly innocent at first but enticing us away to commit larger offences, all in the face of no recrimination. Pinocchio knew this place. 

Where are we allowing our boys to wander today?

Russell Moore wrote a great article on this very topic. Titled, "Fake Love, Fake War" he gives his thoughts on the book, The Demise of Guys and lays hold of the truths of the war that our enemy is really waging. 

God calls us to do His will. What is His will concerning our sanctification?

 Paul writes to us in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, "It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit."

I urge all you mothers of sons to learn more about these areas that are being put before our sons. Be watchful, be ever on guard. Remember that the enemy is out to destroy all of us. He is not your friend.

Freedom is at hand. We know who wins the battle. Go and live today and remember all those who sacrificed their lives for our country. Remember too HE who sacrificed his own Life and Blood for our souls.

Grab your kids, find a parade. Clap and be thankful for those who march today in memory of the fallen. My son will be among the marching feet. He is a good boy. 

with a long history of family who served our country before him.

Here is his great-grandfather on my husband's side.

Here is his great-grandfather on my father's side.

Here is his great-grandfather on my mother's side.

Here is his grandfather on my husband's side

Here is his grandfather on my side

Here is his father-my husband

We thank them all for their service!

But even he, my son, is at war. I pray a mother's prayer that my son would never have to fight in battle for our country, even knowing he was born into a war that was started in a beautiful Garden. We will be victorious!

Happy Memorial Day! Thank a Veteran today!

Baby Boy is Here! The Birth of Little Warrior, Our 6th Baby

Here we are on delivery day, January 5th, 2012!
Our 6th baby (3rd tubal reversal baby) was born by my 6th c-section weighing in at 5 lbs. 10 oz., 19 inches long. Just a little peanut! Welcome Wyatt James!

I had been having a lot of contractions this pregnancy. My doctor suggested some medication to control the contractions and help my uterus relax a little. She said my uterus was probably "irritated" from having carried so many babies. The medicine definitely slowed the contractions and I tried to stay off my feet. Easier said than done when you're homeschooling three children while chasing a toddler and preschooler!
The last two months of my pregnancy my doctor monitored my uterus closely around my prior incision sites. The uterus appeared to be very thin in places and since I was carrying this baby so LOW it put extra pressure on my scar tissues. There were very real concerns for a uterine rupture. Through lots of prayer and rest along with a medication to slow contractions, I was able to deliver a healthy baby boy on my scheduled c-section date, just 11 days after Christmas!

My birth story wouldn't be complete without mentioning that my doctor was trying to convince me to have yet ANOTHER tubal ligation before delivering! She feared for this baby and for future pregnancies. I verbally consented that after my doctor opened me up and saw a very thin uterus I would consent to the tubal ligation and not have to worry about risking my own health for a future pregnancy. My nurse whom we had gotten to know quite well while we were waiting for my surgery stepped in at the last second and cautioned me to NOT sign anything until my doctor put it into WRITING what we had verbally consented to. My nurse could sense I was unsure about the tubal ligation option and she wanted it in writing. As my doctor came in we discussed the written instructions and I did consent to a tubal ligation if and ONLY IF there appeared to be minimal amount of uterus lining and putting my health and a future pregnancy at risk.
As my doctor began opening me up and before she had even delivered little Wyatt into my arms, she stopped, looked over the curtain, and told me that my insides were beautiful (again, she told me this last time too). She said there appeared to be plenty of uterus with only minimal scarring and whatever was seen on ultrasound was not evident at delivery! (Miracle?) I lay there and settled back into my "happy place" (where I let my mind wander over to the things of God and Heaven and Jesus dying on the cross for my own life as I lay there arms out stretched offering my life for the life of my infant son.) My door of fertility remains open, to whatever God has planned for our family!
"He blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and increased their families like flocks." Psalm 107: 38,41

Here he is getting his first finger prints by his Daddy. My husband finger prints people as part of his job as a police officer and he said that this was his smallest finger print detail yet!

Here are a few of his biggest fans!

Our oldest son holding our youngest son! (He was born breech and started this whole process of being born by c-section!)

Our second oldest son (He was born by emergency c-section after going into distress from a failed version-he was breech too!)

Our third son. (He was born head down, but we opted for a c-section with tubal ligation with his birth).

Our first daughter AFTER our tubal reversal! She is in awe of her new baby brother! (I went to a high risk doctor but noone was willing to let me risk a v-back delivery, so I had c-section number 4!)

Our youngest daughter, second tubal reversal baby, holding Wyatt. She loves him "sooo much"! (also born by c-section)

Here is little Wyatt so happy to be home! He clasped his fingers together and thanked the Lord he could be home with his family! But that was short lived...his bilirubin levels skyrocketed...

And back to the hospital we went! It was very emotional for me after working so hard to come home from the hospital to have to go back in. This time we went to a smaller hospital and one of my friends was working on shift that day. She stayed late to get our room set up and settle us in for the evening. She really put me at ease and took such great care of Wyatt and me!

We are so in love with this new little life!

We all couldn't be happier that Wyatt is finally  here!