Felicity is 3!

Felicity has been looking forward to her birthday since October.  She is so excited about having a birthday and turning three.  Yesterday when we told her, "Your birthday is tomorrow."  She said, "It's coming soon."  This morning when she climbed into bed with me I told her happy birthday and she said, "My birthday is coming soon."  Then I told her, "No, today is your birthday."  She said, "Really?"  "Yes."  "Where are my presents?"  "We'll have them later, with Daddy."

Special place setting.

Felicity is 3!

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Raising Homemakers    

What Do You Think About Quinn?

I gave each of the kids an assignment last week for school, per my Dad's request.  I thought I 'd share their assignments and responses with you. 

Kent's assignment was to write a paragraph about Quinn for English.  Here's what he wrote.

Quinn

     I like Quinn.  He is cute.  He is fun to have for a brother.  He also likes music and maybe mommy.  He is quiet and likes milk.  I love him.  He cries when he needs his daiper changed and for milk.  He sleeps a whole lot.  He cries to help himself wake up too.

Katy's assignment was to write several sentences about Quinn for English.  Here's what she wrote.

 Sentences about Quinn

1. Quinn is cute!
2. Quinn was born at 12:17.
3. Quinn was born on Saturday.
4. Quinn is 12 days old.
5. Is Quinn happy?
6. Quinn sleeps a lot.
7. Qinn is not crying.
8. Is Qinn asleep?
9. Is Qinn awake?
10. Quinn likes to be cuddled.
11. Quinn likes to be held.
12. Quinn sucks on nuks.
13. Quinn has a lot of hair.
14. Quinn likes music.

Kaomi's assignment was to draw a picture about Quinn and tell me about him.  She drew a small stick figure with hair and colored a blue blanket around him and titled her paper "Quinn."  The following was her narration about Quinn.

He's cute.  He's fun to have.  He has cute jammies and blankets.  Mrs. Wood gave him a green blankie.  Quinn has a balloon because Grammy gave it to him on his birthday.  He sleeps all the time.  Sometimes he wakes up.  I like Quinn.  Quinn is fun to have around because he's just born and he doesn't do the things that Clarky does.

I decided to ask Felicity what she thinks about Quinn, too.  This is what she said.

"I like Quinn."

"Can I hold Quinn."

"Quinn is my brother."
"I like him."
"He has a nuk."
"He has foot jammies and shirts."
"I like to hold him."
"He sleeps."
"I like to sing 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'The Lord is My Sheppherd' to him."

Here are a few things that Clark has been saying about Quinn, too.

"Ouch."  If you ask him to kiss Quinn or he gets closer than he feels comfortable around him. 

"Cry, baby."

"See, baby."

"Kin, cry."

"Bear."  We bought a new soft blanket for Quinn on Saturday and Clark likes the blanket and keeps calling it bear.  It is fuzzy, dark brown on one side and light brown with brow polka dots on the other side.

"Baby?"  When he wants to know where Quinn is if he hasn't seen him in a little while.

Linked up with:

Mama Moments Mondays    Raising Homemakers    

In School This Week...

I'm not sure how much we'll actually accomplish this week, but we decided to try and begin getting back into the swing of things.

Monday:  They had craft time with some friends and got a chance to play with some friends that they hadn't seen in a while.

Tuesday:  We started with geography.  We learned about the different continents and found the continents that are represented by several of the missionaries that we have cards to pray for.  Then I worked with Kaomi reviewing her reading while Katy worked on an English lesson and Kent watched Clark.  When Katy finished she took over watching Clark and Kent worked on his English lesson.  We also had storytime.

Wednesday: We started with Bible, beginning a new missionary story book called Seed Sowers by Gwen Toliver.  Kent helped watch Clark while I went over Katy's math lesson and Kaomi's reading.  Then Kaomi started on her printing practice and I went over Kent's math lesson.  I took over supervising Clark and worked with Kaomi on her math lesson. 

Thursday:  We started earlier today than we have all week and got a lot accomplished.  Kaomi completed reading and math.  Kent worked on a paragraph for English and math.  Katy completed cursive, worked on sentences for English and completed math.  We also read history, completed an art project and had storytime.

Friday:  Everyone worked on a page for history about the Pledge of Allegiance.  Kaomi completed reading, math, Adventures of Grandfather Frog and a drawing and narration about Quinn.  Katy completed her English sentences about Quinn, math, reading, cursive and piano practice.  Kent completed a paragraph about Quinn, extra reading for history, math, reading and piano practice.  We also had storytime with everyone.  Kent and Katy alternated watching Clark when they weren't working on school, so I could work with Kaomi and anyone else who needed my help.

It was nice to accomplish a whole week of school and see that we really can have a new baby, a very active toddler, a more independent toddler and a dependent kindergartener and still complete everything.  It's nice to have flexibility and be able to do more than one day lesson in a day as needed.

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Mama Moments Mondays     Simple Living Wednesdays    

A Misunderstanding

After lunch today Katy was being grumpy and rude about one of her siblings.  I called up to her that since she was being rude she should go ahead and start her math that I had assigned for her to complete this afternoon.  I know she heard me, but she didn't come down and get her math book.  I was trying to think of a fitting consequence and hadn't thought of one yet when it was time for storytime.  I called all the kids and she told me she was drying off.  I wanted to know what she was drying off from and she told me from her bath.  At which point I realized she hadn't disobeyed so much as misheard me.  I started laughing to myself and told her that I had said do your math, not take a bath.  So she came down to storytime all clean and still had to do her math this afternoon during quiet time.


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Raising Homemakers     Mama Moments Mondays    

Quinn's Birth Story

    On Thursday, January 25th, I kept experiencing stronger contractions off and on through the day, but they didn't seem to be leading to anything very quickly.  Thursday evening they spaced out evenly around 3 min. apart, but they weren't as strong as actual labor should be.  We called the mid-wife and she said to walk around for a while and call her in an hour if they got worse.  They stayed the same, so I sent her a text to let her know that they didn't seem to be going anywhere for the moment.  After several hours I went to bed.  I wanted to be sure to be rested if they did turn into the real thing.
    Friday morning when I woke up the contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart, but still not very strong.  My mid-wife called me to see how things were going, as she had some other things she was needing to do that morning, but wanted to make sure she wasn't needed before she started them (it was her scheduled day off from the office).  She said to go into the birthing center to get checked and see if maybe we could get something started.  When I went in I was dilated to a 2 and it seemed like maybe something was going on, but it was still to early to tell.  The mid-wife on call stripped my membranes to see if it would encourage labor and sent me home to walk and pump and see if anything would happen.
     My mid-wife called to see if anything was happening around 10:30 am.  At that point it was still hard to tell, but the contractions were about 10 minutes apart and seemed to be getting stronger.  She said she would come over to our home in about an hour and see how things were going then.  When she came I had dilated to a 3 and she thought we would probably be calling her to come back around 3 in the afternoon and have a baby by evening.  We've had a history of having some quicker labors, so that is what everyone was expecting.
    I continued to pump, walk and rest to help keep things moving along.  By 2 pm the contractions were starting to be about 5-10 minutes apart and definitely working, but not super strong.  Jeff's mom came over to be here for the birth and help with kids if needed.  I didn't feel like it was time to call the mid-wife until around 4:30-5 pm.  When she got there I was dilated to a six, but I felt like I should have been dilated more.  Things seemed to be progressing more slowly than my past few labors.
     Jeff's mom took care of ordering dinner for everyone.  It smelled good and I kind of wanted to eat mine, but it seemed to me like the baby was going to come sooner rather than later, so I thought I would wait and eat after the baby was born.
     I continued laboring, while listening to the conversations around me and playing a mindless game on the computer.  I kept losing the game, so apparently it wasn't as mindless as I thought, but it helped distract my thoughts from the contractions and relax better.  By 8:30? pm, I was only dilated to 7.  We finally sent the kids to bed.  They were a little disappointed that they wouldn't be up when the baby was born.  I continued laboring and it seemed like things were getting close and I was ready to get in the tub and have the baby, but around 9:30 pm I was still a 7.  We decided to go ahead and break my water to help expedite labor.  Then I got in the tub expecting that it wouldn't be much longer.  By this time I was tired and just really ready to have the baby.  My thinking clarity was also decreasing.  After laboring in the tub while the contractions got worse, my midwife thought I should get out and try walking around a little to see if it would help the baby to come.  I wasn't real keen on the idea.  Even though I had been drinking water and pregnancy tea throughout the evening I was really tired and realized that I probably should've eaten dinner.  I was hungry, but wasn't sure that I wanted to eat something at that point.  I did think I should have something so I asked Jeff to get me some sprite, thinking maybe the sugar would help.  I did eventually get out of the tub.  I was dilated to an 8.  My midwife decided that due to me being tired and knowing that the baby was big we shouldn't have a water birth, because the risk for potential complications was increasing.
     The contractions became almost unbearable at this point.  I don't think I've had contractions like that since maybe Kent's birth.  I remember squeezing Jeff's hand, I think so tightly that it probably hurt him, but he just kept on encouraging me.  We tried a warm rice sock on my back, which felt nice for a short time and then I was yelling to get it off me, because it was too hot.  Shortly after that the pressure became intense and it was time to push.  I didn't even realize that it was time to push until it was time.  They had to get my shorts off for me.  Then they wanted me to push harder and I didn't feel like I could, but I think I just needed to breathe and then I could push again.  Jeff said he could see an ear, that was encouraging so I pushed harder and soon the baby was born with a giant gush of water behind it which seemed like water spraying from a fire hydrant.  It was Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 12:17 am and the midwife placed the baby on my tummy.  Someone, I think maybe Jeff said it was a boy.  I was so glad that he was out and there were no complications.  After a while they weighed him in at 9 lbs. 15 oz., but my mid-wife first misread the scale and said 10 # 15 oz. and both Jeff and I were like "what?!?".  Then she read it again, realizing that she had read 10 first because Quinn was so close to 10 pounds.  He was 22 inches long and his head circumference was 14 1/2 cm.  As soon as I was feeling a little better after the birth I was ready to eat my supper sometime after 1:00 am.  The chicken quesadilla was SO good!  We were able to finally get a little sleep starting around 3:15 am.  Around 7:15 am, Katy and Kaomi showed up to see if we had the baby and when they found out it was a boy which they quickly went and shared with Kent.  A little later the older kids went in to see Felicity and Clark and we heard Felicity loudly ask, "Is the baby born?"

Quinn several hours old, being held by Kent his oldest sibling.

Quinn Hezekiah has a lot to live up to; his name means wise one whom God strengthens.

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A Mama's Story     My Pregnancy Journal   Raising Homemakers    Day2day Joys   
Weekend Whatever    

Enjoying the Slow Pace

This last week has flown by.  I have enjoyed snuggling with Quinn.  He's 1 week old today.

My husband is wonderful.  He was able to take the whole week off of work.  We slept in everyday (til 8 or later).  The older kids were quiet, even if they didn't sleep in and Felicity and Clark didn't usually start making much noise until around 8:30 am most days.  For the first three days after Quinn was born I was on "bed rest" this is normal, but usually I am eager to be up and involved even if I am just sitting on the couch.  This time, I was content to spend more time in bed "resting".  I had lots of little visitors who just wanted to see Quinn and hold him, too.  Jeff took care of making sure everyone was fed three meals a day for most of the week.  We had a couple people bring us wonderful meals, which was nice for Jeff to not have to cook.  Jeff changed lots of diapers this week and I know that's not his favorite thing to do - he didn't even ask me if I could do it once.  He also did several loads of laundry, so nobody had to wear dirty clothes.  Jeff would take Quinn in the middle of the night after he was fed, to snuggle and encourage to go back to sleep.  It's been a specialty of his to get the baby to sleep at night and he hasn't lost his touch.  Quinn has been a pretty sleepy baby and seems pretty easy so far.  We are hoping that he stays easy.  He hasn't been very interested in eating, because he has wanted to sleep, but that seems to be changing now and he is asking to eat more frequently, which helps because he actually stays awake long enough to eat pretty well.  Jeff even gave the kids an impromptu science lesson on oil from oranges and how it scents the air when the peel is all broken up and how the oil is flammable.  Because Jeff was home this week, I've been able to take it easy and enjoy being a spectator in my home, that's about to change as Jeff returns to work on Monday.  I'm sure we will have an interesting upcoming week as we adjust to having a new baby in the house and Clark won't have Daddy to tag after all day either.

I am so thankful that God has given me a husband who is willing to step up and do the things that I usually do, when needed.  Jeff has been a blessing to our whole family this week.

Linked with:

Raising Arrows       The Modest Mom blog     A Mama's Story    Raising Homemakers    

Quinn Pictures

Quinn's Birthday:

More pictures:

Quinn (1 day old)

Quinn (6 days old)

2 days old:

Lissie watching Quinn (5 days old)

We Have a New Baby

Quinn Hezekiah was born this morning at 12:17 am.  He was 22 inches long and 9# 15 oz.

Watch for a picture and more details in the coming days.

In School this Week...

Monday:  We went to the library, learned about how boats float and how butter is made in science, and learned about Martin Luther King Jr. standing up for the rights of the citizens of our country.  We also talked about being good citizens and some of the rights we have in the United States of America.

Tuesday:  We worked on science some more.  We were talking about sheep shearing and wool.  Kent and Katy also worked on English Lessons.  Then we had storytime where we began reading a new mystery.

Thursday:  We completed science talking more about how the wool from the pioneers sheep was used.  Kent and Katy completed English.

Missions Conference -2013

This past weekend we enjoyed attending Missions Conference at our church.  It was good to hear from many of our missionaries and the teams they serve on locally as well as in other countries.  It was good to catch up with friends who God has called to serve in other countries and encourage them as they make plans to return.  It was good to meet new missionaries and hear how God is using them to build relationships and teach others about him.

I like that many of the missionaries who go through our church are discipling those who God has allowed them to meet and share the gospel with.  I also like that that they have programs which they use to help teach and train pastors in the countries they work in, so they can lead and teach their own flocks better.

Have you ever been to a missions conference?  Do you personally know one or more missionaries that you pray for?  Are you a "missionary"?

One of the ways that our missionaries said we could encourage them them most is to respond to their e-mail newsletters.  Just them knowing that someone else read their letter and is praying for them or enjoyed hearing about something in particular they wrote about encourages them that they are not alone.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their tresspasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."

In School This Week...Back to School

We finally started back to school, though I don't know how long it will last.  I still have things to do to get ready for the baby, so we are just doing a little bit of school to help keep the kids minds active and to give them something to do.  We started English and Reading right after New Year's but last week I wasn't feeling well, so we didn't start back as planned.

Monday:  Got a late start, not that I was planning on starting early, but several of the kids decided it was a day to disobey.  Kent and Katy did English corrections from last Friday.  Then for English we worked on writing 1 last Christmas thank you letter.  We had a health lesson about how to try to spread less germs by coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your arm and we talked about the best way to stop sickness from spreading is by washing hands.  I felt that this was a good lesson to have, since there seems to be plenty of flu going around, which we would prefer not to get.  Then we worked on science.  We read about schools in pioneer times and then we talked about different methods of measuring such as using hands to measure horses, "a cloth yard",  the rule of three, and several other methods that may have been used in pioneer times (mid 1800's).  Lastly I worked on Reading with Kaomi.

Tuesday:  We worked on more science and practiced building fences that were "horse high", "hog tight", and "skunk proof".  We tried different building materials for our fences like a variety of different blocks, popsicle sticks, and Lincoln logs.  Kent and Katy each completed their next English lesson.

Thursday and Friday:  We learned about bees in science and the part they played in pioneer times.  We also learned a little bit about how honey bees see the nectar on the flowers, verses how we see a flower.  Kent and Katy completed one more English Lesson.

Over all we completed 2 1/2 weeks worth of science this week.

Random Hug

Today I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things that were on my list.  While I was there a lady about 10-15 years my senior came around the corner.  When she saw us she smiled and our conversation went like this.

Lady:  I love kids.  Are they all yours?
Me: Yes (with a smile)
Lady:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  You are so blessed.  You must be a great mom.
Me:  Thank you, it is definitely an effort in patience.
Lady:  You must be a very patient person.
Me: Actually, I'm not, that's why it's an effort, but I do love them all.
Lady:  (said something I didn't get) then walked away.  As she took a few steps, she suddenly turned and said I just have to give you a hug.  Is that okay?
 Me:  Yes...Thank you.

Bible Trivia Baseball

Tonight was our weekly Christian Service Brigade meeting at church and Kent is in the Stockade-Builders group, which is the group for 3rd and 4th graders.  Each week our Builders group meeting is led by a different one of the dads, and tonight the dad that was leading our group led the boys in a game of Bible Trivia Baseball.  The way the game works is by setting up a playing "field" and dividing the boys all up into into two teams.  In this case, the "bases" in the "field" were the four support columns in the building where we meet.  The boys were assigned teams and then lined up either in the field or "at bat."  The first "batter" is then given a choice of question difficulty in the form of a "single," "double," "triple," or "home-run."  If he gets the question right he get to go the number of bases that corresponds with the chosen difficulty.  If he gets it wrong, the other team gets an opportunity to "catch" the question, thereby causing an out.  If the fielding team is unable to answer the question, then it counts as a strike against the batter and he gets a second "swing" at a new question.  The game progresses in that fashion until the desired number of innings is complete (or until you run out of time--as was the case for us).

The whole point of me describing all of this is just to afford me an opportunity to brag on my boy, Kent.  In the Bible Trivia baseball game, most of the boys were selecting single or double questions, so I fully expected Kent to follow their lead.  When it was Kent's turn to bat, I was surprised (and perhaps a little proud..ok a lot proud) when he confidently stated that he wanted to go for a "home-run."  He was presented the following question (more or less):  What kind of fruit was on the tree from which Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat?  The given answer was that the Bible doesn't say what it was, but Kent's answer was instant and clear: "The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil."  The leader accepted that answer to be as good as the given answer, so Kent scored his first home run...with two runners on base!  I was instantly stricken with about the worst case of PDS (Proud Daddy Syndrome) that I think I have ever had.  As you can see, it was a bad enough case to get me to my keyboard.


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38 Weeks

Well this baby is safe to deliver anytime.  I'm mentally ready, but would still prefer to finish getting a few things around the house done.  Do you know how challenging that is when you have 5 children to care for and by the time they have quiet time, you need to sit down and take a break, too?  It'll get done eventually.  Katy took the picture of me.  I didn't realize it was blurry until I downloaded it.  She needs a few more lessons on photography still.


We started back to school this week, at least to get a little more done before baby day.  We usually start back up pretty quickly after the baby is born, but I like to have the option to not start back if needed.


Our Sunday School Class gave us a diaper shower on Sunday.  We have a good stock of diapers now.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and who brought diapers and wipes for the new baby.






Linked with:

Raising Arrows            

Is That Clark?

This morning Jeff was getting Felicity and Clark ready fro church and I was getting breakfast ready for the kids as they came into the kitchen.

Felicity was dressed for Church and came in to get her breakfast.  She was sitting in her chair eating raisins and cheerios when Clark came into the Kitchen.

She looked at Clark, who was dressed in a button up shirt and khaki pants, and loudly asked, "Is THAT Clark?"

I looked over at Clark and said, "yes."

Then Felicity loudly said, "He looks like a man."


Here he is from December wearing the same shirt.  I didn't take any pictures of him today.

Linked with:

Raising Arrows       

2013 Verse to Reflect on for the Year

For the last several years I've been choosing a verse from my Bible reading to remember throughout the year.  I'm not sure why this verse stands out to me this year, but it's the one that God keeps drawing my mind back to.


Exodus 6:7       
 
"I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the Egyptians."

  Exodus 6:7          

How to Clean Your Microwave

I usually try to keep my microwave clean.  We don't use it a whole lot, so I try to make sure that if I notice it is dirty I clean it.  I also always keep a paper towel on the turn table, which help keep that part clean and easy to wipe up if something spills.

On Saturday, I was fixing a quick lunch for the kids and I handed Jeff a hard boiled egg for him to use as part of his lunch.  He wanted it warmed up, so he put it in the microwave and fooled around with it setting the time to 10 minutes (he knew it wouldn't take that long).  After several seconds the egg exploded with a loud pop all over the microwave.  I hadn't thought to tell him that eggs are real sensitive in the microwave or that he probably should have cut it first.  Needless to say, we had a good laugh and he had to clean the microwave.

The moral of the story is give someone something that will explode in the microwave and then they get to clean up the mess along with anything else that was needing to be cleaned up in there.



    

Doodle-oo

Clark likes to say "Doodle-oo" lately.  Every time he sees a "tunnel",  wrapping paper tube, toiilet paper tube, paper towel tube, or even round pasta.  He calls it a "Doodle-oo" or he puts it up to his mouth and says "Doodle-oo".

2012's Top Visited Posts

I thought I'd share which posts had the most visitors last year.

1.  Being a Mom is Tiring   -Yes, being a mom is still tiring, but it is also very rewarding.

2.  Staying on Top of Food Costs -New Series

3.  Low Cost Recipe Ideas

4.  Intentionally Enjoying My Family - Projects

5.  The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Gardens and Gardening

6.  Sewing Just a Little

7.  Menu Planning

8.  If You Were to Visit on a School Day... -Written in 2011

9.  July Decluttering -Written in 2011

10.  Preparing Food After My Shopping Trip


Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and has commented and encouraged me over the last year.

Meals that I've Been Putting in my Freezer

I've been working on putting up some gluten free meals to be used later this month as well as after the baby arrives.

Today, I made the following meals for our freezer.

2 Meatloaves.
Beef Enchilada Casserole.
Taco Meat and a package of Tortillas for 1 meal.
Plain Chicken Breasts to be used as desired for baking or grilling.
Chicken Cassoulet for Crockpot, usually is good for 2-3 meals.
Chicken Nuggets for 1 meal.

I also have 2 cups of homemade red enchilada sauce in the freezer.

I've never spent a whole day making meals for our freezer before.  Thanks to my wonderful husband helping watch the kids.  Even though the day was long it was rewarding to get everything I had planned on accomplished.

I have plans to make tomorrow:

2 batches of taco soup for the crockpot (1 to be used this for dinner this week.) -done
Pasta meal (I've never frozen a gluten free pasta meal, so this will be a test to see if we like the way it works.) -done
Beef and Black Bean Taco meat -done

I also plan to make:

Sausage with veggies to be served with rice -done
2 Pizzas with Cheese and Pepperoni