Family of Foxes

Carrot Juice and Gluten Free Carrot Muffins

2011-08-25T21:28:00.003-05:00

Do you like juicing ? Sometimes the left over pulp from juicing can be used for muffins or ingredients for other things. I LOVE carrot juice! Since carrots are used in carrot cake and carrot muffins I used the pulp from my juicing for my muffins! First the recipe for the juice.

Blue Carrot Juice

1 cup spinach-put in your magic bullet cup
1/4 cup blueberries
1 packet stevia
prepare for your juicer, raw carrots and 1 apple, juice the apple first and then add carrots until the bullet cup is almost full covering the spinach and blueberries, blend well, this is super yum!

Carrot Muffins (made from the pulp)

These are gluten free as we have gluten sensitivity in our house so, alter according to your taste, i suppose you could use whatever flour you want.

1/2 cup corn meal

1 cup soy flour

1/2 cup flax seed meal

2 cups carrot/apple pulp (roughly)

1-1/2 cup loose brown sugar

3/4 teas. baking soda

2 teas. baking powder

1 heaping teas. cinnamon

1/2 cup finely ground coconut

1/2 cup finely ground almonds

3/4 cup coconut oil

1 teas. vanilla

1 cap of pure almond flavoring

3 eggs

1 cup almond or rice milk

Bake 350 degrees around 30 minutes

Here is what the pulp looks like, i scrape it out of the top cover of my juiceman as well.

I pick out the big chunks and chop them up and throw them back in.

The batter is really thick. I added sugar crystals to the top, hey, we're not allergic to sugar! Anyway, so they kind of keep their shape that you put them in as. I'm definitely going to play with this recipe, i might try to add more almond or rice milk and switch out some of the soy flour for oat flour. Enjoy, we like them, the girls haven't tried yet, but they'll be served in the morning, so we'll see.

Trying out mobile blogging...

2011-07-28T10:03:00.000-05:00

Sent from my iPhone

Catching Up

2011-07-28T09:50:00.000-05:00

Wow, over a year since the last post, you can tell that we are busy being parents and have little time to blog. I do have another funny story to share, I have shared it on FB, but I will here too.

Again with the Kitchen Antics! This time J was the one involved and S helping.
Mom busy in front room, dad on the phone in the bedroom. J decides that she wants some Cinnamon Toast like she occasionally has for breakfast. She gets her bread, puts it on a plate, sets it on the floor and puts (alot) of cinnamon on top. She takes a couple of bites out of the bread and realizes that something is missing (sugar). Ha Ha, but she doesn't know that it is sugar she wants and heads for the salt. Meanwhile, S has come in to help, in his helping he somehow ends up sitting on the bread covered in cinnamon and has the perfect shape of bread stamped with cinnamon on his diaper. Mom comes in to find a cinnamon bootie and J up on the cabinet.

I must say S did smell quite good with that cinnamon diaper.... :)

O, Oh my goodness

2010-01-16T15:39:00.000-06:00

O always keeps us on the move. Never a dull moment. Last night at dinner she was wincing and wining about a pain in her finger. "Mommy, I have an owie." Cry cry, wine wine, boo hoo hoo. Holding up her finger she appeared to have some redness on her finger, so mommy approached for a closer examination. "O, that is just a mark from the markers you were coloring with earlier." "Oh" said O, and went right back to her normal self. How quickly we return from the clutches of pain and suffering, HA HA HA. What a girl.

2009 in Review

2009-12-31T20:35:00.001-06:00

Wow, lots of things have happened for us in 2009, we'd love to share some highs and lows.

Highs

K Got a new job

S began homeschooling

J turned 1

A started reading

Gr. Grams turned 80 we all went for a visit

K Lost 50 lbs

Grams retired...WOO HOO

Took out the wall between the kitchen and the living area and like it.

A completed her first year of Ballet and had a smashing recital

All S's siblings got together at Thanksgiving, it was fun.

Our small group multiplied and we are leading one of the groups.

NEW COUCHES (whoot whoot)

We did a serious purging of our closets. HA HA should i put this...

ALL OUR CHILDREN are OUT of OUR room!!!!! (Huge)

K-Made some awesome new friends at work.

Had a great Christmas with family.

Got to be in a blizzard and build snowmen for Christmas.

Celebrated NINE YRS of MARRIAGE!!

Found out we are expecting a baby.

S-got to spend more time with some other stay at home moms.

Girls went to Co-op.

K-ran first ever 5K and completed it without dying.

Made our little display shelf of gramas antique fiesta that you don't want to eat off of.

S-has books arranged by color in the living room.

Did Love and Respect series, ya'll should check it out.

Experienced more freedom in several areas.

Lows

Termite invasion

Ant invasion

An invasion from something I refuse to name

Plumbing issues (chuckle...not)

Said goodbye to our three chickens Lucy, Lexi and Lu Lu Leghorn

Accidentally ripped apart the garage door.

I'm sure there's more but who wants to dwell right?!! :-)

So...on to a new year, a new decade, and many other news I hope.

Happy New Year from this familyoffoxes to yours...

Good will to all...

2009-12-30T13:26:00.001-06:00

Our family frequents the local re-sale store that is a nationwide retailer. Can you tell I'm trying to not say their name. We have no beefs with our local store, we love it, we go there often, as any store they do have issues with getting sizes in the right places and mens vs. womens clothing, at least from the mans point of view.

Anyway, we love to visit this store in other cities when we are visiting or passing through. So since we're visiting my in-laws in the big big city, we thought we would check out a couple of theirs. YACK, these are under a different management, and they have decided to organize their clothing by color, so instead of organizing by size, its by color. So if i want a blue long sleeve shirt, i have to look through 37 different shirts to see if they have my size. Not cool. The other thing is they wanted 19.99 for a no name pair of black dress shoes. What is up with the prices? Ok, I used to sell mens shoes and womens shoes, this was years ago, but I'm pretty sure that most of the top brands are still up at the top. I don't want to drop names on here, anyway...

Nonetheless I have to say that I was very frustrated and disappointed and just sharing. So i appreciate our local hmm hmm "re-saler" should we call them...even more now, i guess i'll have to talk to the manager the next time we go in.

I did finally find a pair of shoes, not for 19.99, they were 6.99, and a brand that i sold at the high end department store i used to work at. There is one more store I think we might give it a try, I'll just have to brace myself for the worst.

A funny thing that we noticed at one of the stores, in the housewares section they had 7 George Foreman grills sitting on the shelf, side by side, different sizes, shapes and colors, I almost took a picture to share, we thought it was so funny...

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-29T10:50:00.007-06:00

Wow, we headed to my parents house and for the first time in 40 years there was a blizzard. Nice, so the girls had so much fun in the snow, it was awesome, cold... but awesome. Here are some pics to share.

So of course we didn't plan for snow, or in this case a blizzard, and had to run to walmart, in the blizzard I might add, and grab some "snow" gear, thank goodness for walmart, there goes this month's budget...

We did try the local Goodwill and found some boots for S, but she was the only one that benefited from that store.

I decided to shovel the driveway because we had to push the car to get it in and I wasn't sure when the snow was going to melt and I didn't want my parentals to have to face that by themselves...so at first we were just clearing, but when we came accross the 2inch thick slabs of ice I just couldn't cast them off, we had to do something with them.

So it started as a small little igloo for one person maybe...then it expanded in to a princess ice castle, just about 4X8 ish. Cousin C and Papa even got in on the building. Anyway, it was fun and we got the driveway cleared which made for easy loading the next morning.

The thought did cross my mind that we could shape the snow on the outside of the walls to look like stones, and had it been at our house, I might have actually gone there, but it wasn't and we were leaving the next morning so...

Settting Up the Christmas Tree

2009-12-01T12:00:00.024-06:00

Christmas is one of my FAVORITE TIMES of the year. We've had this tree since before we were married (we both worked at Dillards) so we got it for a real deal and the ornaments too. The ornaments you see are really glass and most have survived even with three children, they have a fun story.

One of our dearest friends had an adopted grandfather that gave her a bunch of his wifes glass ornaments that she had collected from over the years. One Christmas, she re-gifted a bunch of them to us, they were mostly glass hearts with a few other things represented in the bunch.

Then sometime later I found the same glass hearts at a garage sale, still wrapped up in the box, fun times, so we ended up with a bunch of hearts and we have just added to them over several years. We have a family friend that sends us an ornament every year from Mikasa, Waterford or Lenox, it is usually a cross. We love them, they are so beautiful, I tried to capture my favorite one up close.

Then we decided it need some color, so the balls and icicles came. I'm rethinking the icicles this year though.

We usually enjoy our Christmas Tree well in to the new year.

Thankfulness

2009-11-20T20:47:00.001-06:00

Ok, so if you read this blog at all, and I'm not counting that anyone is, yes, I'm cheating, I am working on past blog posts, that I wanted to do at the time but I didn't, so confession...this is one of those.

We have a tradition at our house, it started when we were getting married, we put up the Christmas Tree on November 1st. Then every day we wrote down something we were thankful for on an index card and placed it on the tree. Sometimes we would do more than one. And if any guests came over we invited them to write what they were thankful for on the tree as well. Since we were getting married that first year, we had lots of guests come through and lots of them took us up on our offer to write down something they were thankful for. What fun that was. We may still have the cards in one of the Christmas boxes, we did save them for a while. When our first child, "A" came into our lives that next year, i don't think the thankful tree made it up and it has taken on different forms over the years, but this year i think we found a happy mix, a thankful tree that doesn't take up a lot of space, has room for writing down what you're thankful for and makes for a nice display, what do you think?

"O" caught me taking pics and decided she needed to be in them. :-)

Sigh...

2009-08-21T14:04:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when your middle child sneaks dry oatmeal for a snack...and then leaves it hidden for the baby to find.

No wonder I can't get anything done...

It's been a while...

2009-08-15T09:47:00.004-05:00

I know!

But hopefully this video will make it up to you!!
Sorry its sideways....

She is eating...kinda

2009-04-02T12:01:00.006-05:00

Well as some of you may know my babies don't eat! Well they eat, but just from the breast. Neither "A" nor "O" ate baby food. They would gag something awful, and just had no interest until they were about a year old.

But "J" is showing a bit of promise... I made banana the other day and today I made carrot baby food so I thought I would let you in on the exciting times

of feeding an adorable 6 month old baby girl!!!

STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN!!!

2009-03-31T14:45:00.006-05:00

You may think I am addressing myself in an effort to loose the baby weight...although that would be good, I am actually addressing my second, who I affectionately call Little Bit.

It started with the serious call from my oldest,"Mommy!!! "O" is feeding the baby....

cookie dough!"

YES!!

Cookie Dough!!

She got the stand mixer bowl out of the fridge and was eating it in the living room. Yes she did somehow walk past me (I swear I am not negligent!) and had sweetly piled a handful of cookie dough on the rug in front of "J". I will admit it.

I freaked out.

I mean she is six months old. Salmonella and milk products are a lot scarier then. SO, no despite everyone asking, I did not get a picture of chocolate dribbling down my babies face or the fists full of mushy raw cookie dough.

Sigh.

Really I just heaved a big sigh thinking of it.

Yes, she had consequences.

No, it did not prevent another escapade.

Later she found the can of icing that had been hiding in the back of the fridge from

who knows when.

Yes, she had consequences.

No, it did not prevent another escapade.

I found her head in the fridge and asked in that Mommy threatening voice,"'O', Are you eating icing?!"

To which she replied, "NO! Mushrooms." She likes raw mushrooms, so I am OK with that. But as she closed the door she said, "I just dipping dem in icin..."

YUCK!

SO I look and sure enough there are little bits of black mushroom entrails in the icing can.

That was right before "K" came home. So we were through with escapades for the day.

But today we started over and this time I took pictures.

I came out from putting the baby down to "O" crying, "I got it in my eye, it hurts it hurts!!" So I rushed around the corner to find her in the pantry with the bag of Splenda tipped over. Yes it spilled all over her face. So I grabbed the camera on the way to the bathroom to wash out her eyes and off her face. She was hurting, but not enough to stop licking as much as she could off her mouth and wherever her tongue could reach!!

She did not like me taking her picture!

Yes, there were consequences.
Will it prevent another escapade, we will see...

Faith of a Child

2009-03-23T20:52:00.006-05:00

Well my ear has been bothering me. Its been clogged and I haven't been able to hear out of it...not good when you've got a baby crying in the other room.

So tonight as :A" was heading to bed, she informed me that I needed to go to the ear doctor.

Flash back to Sunday. Our pastor, mentioned during his sermon that we often use God as back up when option 1 doesn't work out. He used a headache as an example. Those in more desperate situations don't have other options. When they have a headache they pray first and hope and expect an answer to their prayer for healing, and usually see it! Then there are those of us, with so many advantages and options. We have a headache, we reach for the Tylenol. Tylenol doesn't work we each for more. That doesn't work we cry "Oh Lord heal my headache!!"

Pastor challenged us to make God the first option!

Now back to tonight. I told "A", "Well honey why don't you pray for mommy's ear."

She asked why and I said, "Cause God is big and able to heal and doesn't cost any money!!"

She got shy and wanted me to help her so this is what we said:

Me: "Dear Jesus"

"A": "Dear Jesus"

Me: "Please make Mommy's ear all better"

"A": "Please make Mommy's ear all better"

Me: "In Jesus Name"

"A": "In JeSUS NAME"

I put that in all caps because that is what it sounded like to me! It suddenly became really loud!! I told "A" that God heard her prayer! She was so giddy! She kept covering her mouth and giggling. I explained to her that now she knew God really hears her prayer cause he answered one! So she literally, immediately prayed for her white, medium sized, fluffy, poodle dog that is a girl, and comes with a collar with the name sally written on it. In Jesus name amen. Whew.

yeah.

Can't fault her with non-specific prayers!

I guess now we will learn the lesson of how God doesn't always answer our prayers right away.

Unless there's something I don't know Lord!....

Things To Come...

2009-03-23T14:06:00.006-05:00

I really enjoy spring time. After fall, spring is my favorite season! Partly because we might have a few days of pleasant weather before the inevitable 4 month long heat wave called summer here in central Texas, and partly because of the promise of things to come!!

We have a garden so spring just screams new life to me, and sinse we live in Texas we have been able to enjoy the fruits of our labor through winter here.

See thIs worn out broccoli!

We didnt even collect the last of it florets and it will give us more I am sure.

The spinach the girls have been enjoying, in fact, for lunch today!

Now on to the promise of things to come!

Here we have beautiful blossoms that will be growing into peaches! We are very excited because there are lots of blooms!!

Arent they so pretty and delicate looking!

This is my Valentines day present:

Lemon trees! I drink lemon water all day long. I lurve it!

And I love the smell of lemons...breathing in, breathing out...imagining the smell...mmm.

Thirst is overcomming me!!

These little buds are the beggining of lemons....YAY!

Now we finally have some strawberries growing. This has been a two year process of getting one or two random little bitty strawberries that we always have to cut in half ( we must share you know!)...ugh. But these are looking promising!We also have blue berry and black berry planted. We will see how they do! We planted some grapes along the fence so I am really excited to see how that goes!

The veggies are just in the beggininnig phases but here is some corn we planted, We just planted a little and then we will plant more later so it will last us longer!Here is our surprise! We put the pumpkins we carved for halloween out to watch them decompose.

It was very intersting to our girls. We put them in the empty planter we hadn't used last summer. Well guess what we have growing!!??

Pumpkin! What a neat lesson for the girls to learn: that ultimatEly death leads to life!

Hmmm... all of creation does point to heaven doesn't it!?

So as we prepare for the commemoration of our Saviors death and then resurection, all I have to do is look outside to be reminded of the promise of things to come!

7 Little Things That Make Me Disproportionatly Happy!

2009-03-16T16:22:00.011-05:00

Heather at Want What You Have posted this and I love it!

We all need to think of these things especially when we get in the habit of thinking of the things that bother us, which, ahem...would never be me!

1. When My husband really really smiles, which is rarely caught on camera cause those are always posed. But this smile comes with an awesome laugh that anyone who knows him would recognize. In fact it has happened that someone heard him the next aisle over in a grocery store and came looking for him. It is the best and no matter how I am feeling it evokes at least a smile, if not a full laugh!

This is K when we were dating and is the closest I could find to the real thing!

2. When I use my creative juices to make something! I love making things, whether it's an outfit for one of my girls or decorative letters or something educational like -- I love it! I feel so accomplished and like I have done something useful and beautiful which is the best feeling ever!

This is the easter dresses I made for the girls out of womens skirts. One was a quarter at a garage sale then I found the matching one at goodwill for like 4.00 which is more than I normally pay but it matched! I was so pleased with how they turned oit!

3. Baby kisses. I love having a baby that I can kiss all over! I love love love baby kisses! And now she is getting big enough to give me baby kisses by grabbing my hair on either side of my face and pulling me toward her and usually my nose ends up somewhere close to her mouth and she just laughs...oh makes me want to wake her up just so I can get some!!! Well. Almost...

This is actually "A".

4. "O"s antics. Although these antics can sometimes drive me up the wall... most of the time they provide great laugh therapy which I need! There is nothing like seeing her look sideways out of her big blue eyes because she knows she is doing something that will make me laugh.

5. Serious conversations with "A". I love discovering how deep she thinks.
Whether it about how she will marry daddy when she grows up so she never has to leave our family, or the eggs that are inside her that will grow to be babies someday (yes I told her that casually one day when she asked how babies get inside...we even looked up pics! How did I know how wonderful she would think that was!) or whether it is about the house in heaven that Jesus is preparing for us: "Will it have pictures on the wall too? Will we need a fridge? Will we drive cars? Will there be a grocery store?" These moments of quiet conversations with her are like medicine for my sometimes weary mommy soul!

6. Finding bargains! I have to agree with Heather on this one! I LOVE finding bargains! I love when we find something we have been wanting at a garage sale for chump change!

Little things like a barbie watch that "A" had been asking for everytime we walked past the watch section at walmart: Garage sale for a quarter.

Nice Tommy Hillfiger shirts for "K" to wear to work: garage sale for fifty cents.

Ceramic Hair straightener I had been longing for: $19.99 with a $10 off coupon to be used on my next shopping trip to Walgreens. (and it works well, I tried it as soon as I got home!) YIPEE!!

7.The family routines we have made.

-Like sittting outside on a blanket in the cool evening while "K" plays his gutair and sings worship songs. We really do this and I love it!

-Like "A" asking every night at dinner, "What was your favorite part of today?" And we all answer in a particular order too!

-Like the silly songs we have made up for almost every routine or phrase we have to say repeatedly:

"Its Night night time, Night night time..."

"The only thing that goes in your mouth is food and drink..."

Well I was singing them as I typed but it doesnt translate well....

My Two Cents

2009-03-15T16:48:00.004-05:00

So we don't watch much TV and yet I am surprised at how much negative coverage I have heard and read about the mother of octuplets.
And it irks me.
So I thought I would give my two cents.
The reason it bothers me is because I feel it is another attack on life...and I will tell you why.
Sure we may not agree with her choices.
Sure we may think she is irresponsible.
We may think she is a little off her rocker...
But would the media be giving such a hard time to a woman who seemed as equally irresponsible, crazy and made repeated mistakes resulting in 14 consecutive abortions!
NO!
Because it was her choice, and after all, we live in a pro-choice nation and she may have made bad choices but she has the right to terminate her pregnancies if she wants to...

The octomom as she has been called (even thought she has 14 children not just 8) I guarantee you was given the option to "reduce" when it was discovered she had multiple babies growing inside her, but she didn't. She chose life.
We do live in a pro-choice nation after all.
So.
That's why it irks.
My two cents, that's all!

Sisterly Love

2009-03-13T16:25:00.004-05:00

I took this photo in the middle of the night last night, hence the off-centered aim!

I couldn't see where I was aiming!

The flash makes it look like its the middle of the day but it wasn't!

Aren't they sweet!

Aaahhh sisterly love!

Can I Do It?

2009-03-12T09:06:00.005-05:00

I hear this question all the time, and if I am on top of things I say yes. If I am feeling rushed and not living in the moment I say no and something along the lines of "Please leave the kitchen (or where ever) so Mommy can get this done." And that is a lost teaching moment!

Annelise was cracking eggs into bowl, scrambling them in the frying pan by 18 months. She watered the yard with Daddy and helped with yard work...like really. She did.

Unfortunately, Olivia did not have the same experience. With the addition of another child I lived less in the moment and more in the future. By that I mean I was thinking of all the things that NEED to be done, of all the things I HADN'T done, instead of being there in that spot when she wanted to crack an egg, or wanted a hug, or needed a prayer said, or wanted to see if she could do it...

***Oh Lord, how much have we lost in all areas when we wast mind space thinking of what is to be done or hasn't been done...

Martha welcomed Him into her home.
She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word.
But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me."
But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10: 38-42***

Although I have tried to foster independence in most areas of their lives: they dressed themselves and put their own shoes on by the time they were 2, they usually help in some way with all the cooking...so YAY I have done somethings right!!! There are many things I had intended to do as a young mother with just one, that have slipped to the wayside as 2 more came along...

But I have been re-inspired!

As many of you know, we plan to home school and I have been rereading about Maria Montessori and her education philosophy. One of her famous quotes is that a child says "Help me to do it myself".

I love it!

One of the first activities she advocates for young children are called practical life activities. What does that mean? Real life activities you would do in ... real life!

So as a mom who feels always behind, why do I not offer more "practical life" !?

Folding, washing tables, dusting, washing dishes, setting the table. These activities are introduced to toddlers in a Montessori environment.

Having work to do makes children feel like they are contributing to the family, and an important member because of it. These activities are often repeated over and over by the child because they have a need to master it, and the repetition helps build concentration in the meantime.

So the other day I set up a dish washing station right next to the kitchen. I have a dishpan full of warm soapy water, a smaller bowl of cold water to rinse and a towel to dry. They LOVE it! And I don't have to clean up their breakfast dishes!!

***Lord help me to sit at your feet, the only thing that is necessary, and not be distracted and worried about so many things. And when my children sit at my feet, help me to see that they are needing to be taught...and I can't teach them well unless I am at your feet!***

"A" Wrote A Story

2009-03-05T13:43:00.005-06:00

"A" drew a picture and then asked me to write down her story. So this is what she said word for word!

Once upon a time, there were two little birds sitting in a tree. One was a big one, one was a little one.There was a little girl named Marrissa who loved birds. She loved big ones, little ones, pretty ones, all kinds of birds. She had a brother named Sam.

One day Marrissa called her parents. She said, "Mom! Dad! Come look at these pretty birds I found!" So Marrissa's parents and her brother came outside and looked at the tree but didn't see the birds. So Marrissa said, "Look kind of to the left and then to the left." And then her parents finally saw the pretty birds.

Sam still couldn't see them. So Marrissa said to her brother, " Look kind of to the left and then to the right!" And then Sam SAW THE BIRDS!

He said, "Sister, come see what I did! I put them in a box for you!" So Marrissa's parents bought her a big, pretty cage for the birds.

They moved the birds out of the box into the cage. They gave them food, water and lots of love.The family lived happily ever after with their pet birds.

The End

I did no prompting except for the birds in the cage thing. I asked her if the birds would be sad to be in a cage and she replied that Marrissa would be sad to let them go. I told her Marrissa could look at them every time she went outside to play...but apparently that wasn't good enough cause she ignored my prompting and continued with the story as she imagined it!

Also we don't know a Marrissa or a Sam.

And the picture she drew is soo cute. It even has a family dog, a squirrel in the tree and and the brother is sticking out his tongue (how does she know that's what brothers do!)and there is an airplane flying over the parents that she is disappointed with. She asked that I teach her how to draw airplanes!...

I know I am her mother and therefore think everything she does is stupendous so bear with me!!

Can You Tell Who's Who?

2009-02-03T12:36:00.005-06:00

Obviously the Date on the last one might give it away!

But the first one is Olivia, the second is Julia and the third is Annelise!

Don't we make cute babies!!!

Do You Know What Today Is The Anniversary Of?

2009-01-22T13:10:00.003-06:00

Today is the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
Today marks 36 years of legal abortion.
The number of lives killed since then is too staggering to even wrap my brain around.
Many assume that this stance, pro-life, is one of religious roots. Of course there is obviously a faith based root to believing killing a human life is wrong, which is why murder is against the law as well. But I believe that anyone who values human life can see the depth of injustice that is called abortion.
No one argues that the aborted fetus was alive. Look an any medical text book. The cells are multiplying and the life is growing. It is alive.
Not only is it alive it is a human life.
We are horrified at accounts of others choosing death for an innocent being. There was a recent news report of Al Qaeda strapping unknowing people with bombs only to detonate them in a crowded place, those unknowing innocents were people with down syndrome. Shocking isn't it? Horrifying even. But everyday human life that has been diagnosed with such a disability is ended at someone elses will.
Then there is the tragedy referred to as the Holocaust. An unthinkable amount of human lives were killed at someone elses whim; actually he had a very calculated and deliberate strategy to wipe out a whole race. Did you know that African American babies are aborted at 3 times the rate of white babies? Did you know abortion clinics are strategically placed in poorer neighborhoods or neighborhoods that are predominately black?
Lets look at the current situation in Uganda. Children are being recruited as solders and sex slaves by General intent on achieving more power and rule. We are moved ti tears and rightly so when we think of all the children who's lived have been lost or negatively impacted because of one mans ambition. And yet one of the most voiced concerned in having an unwanted baby is the fact that this baby would hinder its mother from achieving what she could. Is the ambition and hope for one life worth the cost of another?
We watch in horror when the news reports of a mother killing her children, and yet...
men are charged with 2 murder when his pregnant wife is killed.
Is it the wantedness of a child that makes its life worth saving? Would it then be appropriate to murder the unwanted child given up for adoption? Of course not.
These "medical procedures" have been disguised as such, when in reality they are what they are: the killing of an inconvenient, unwanted, or disabled innocent life.
I could argue against many of the points pro-abortionists make but I will leave the numbers to speak for themselves:
6 million killed in the holocaust
unknown killed in the longest lasting war in Africa, but at least 2 million have been affected
4,000 a day in US and 130,000 worldwide EVERYDAY killed by abortion

http://abort73.com/

And... she is Rolling!!

2009-01-09T09:00:00.005-06:00

Well I have other posts I needed to do to get this blog up to date...mainly Olivia's birthday, but I had to post this!

Julia just turned 4 months old on the 7th and she is officially rolling! She's quick too! I tried to get progress pics but she is too quick!!

So here are the pics of her rolling! My parents warned me that she may be more active than Olivia...watch out!!

Here she is on her back...

Arrgg..she is trying to roll...

Almost...almoooost..

And she made it! Even with big sister excitedly crawing around her!!

yes she has a stain on her outfit but it's not fresh and too cute so we wear it at home!

Heres my big girl on her belly like no big deal!

I have to say that later she did several in a row and ended up where the girls are! Could it be that my just turned 4 months old baby is already trying to travel!

It is exciting, but in the same instant sad. In one moment I lost my baby baby! Now she is moble. And on time flies from here!

Christmas Day 08

2008-12-28T17:47:00.017-06:00

Merry Christmas!!
I am cramming it all into one post!! We kept it pretty low key this year and it was very refreshing! We started off Christmas Eve Day with making sugar cookies. It was great fun! The girls had such a blast, I will let the pictures speak for themselves!
We went to a local Episcopal Church for Christmas Eve service with a pagent. It was great to experience a liturgical service like the ones i was used to growing up, and Annelise and Olivia were enthralled with the children acting out the story!! And Of course they were thrilled to wear their gorgeous christmas dresses that Daddy bought for them. Dont they look gorgeous! Julia's outfit was given to me by a postal worker when I was mailing our Chrisatmas cards! She had been watching for a baby girl Julia's size to give the outfit to, isnt that amazing! I love how the Lord provides for even the little things!!!

Daddy Fox posting here!

On Christmas Eve, after trying to get the girls to go to sleep forever. Annelise woke up about 11PM and said to Steph, "Mommy, the first thing I am going to do I when I wake up on Christmas morning, is run in to see... ( Steph just knew she was going to say 'what Santa brought me') if Baby Jesus is in the manger." That was refreshing! (Steph here: It was just what I needed cause I had a little pit in my stomach when Annelise spent so much time making sure the cookies and carrots were just right for Santa! Does anyone else feel this way! I mean Santa isn't real!! Jesus IS!!!)

Although we chose to produce a light Christmas this year, my mother and brother blew in to town with a car full of gifts, and bought the girls a trampoline!! Yes, so for the first time ever on Christmas Eve, I spent it outside in the cold and dark, other than the floodlight, putting together a trampoline, which by the way, had way WAY more steps and parts than the one we had growing up!In the morning, as tradition, we came to the tree in the front room that has the manger under it, the girls were very excited to see that baby Jesus had arrived. (we keep him hidden until Christmas morning) We read the Christmas Story, this year only once. Last year we read it 5 times before we got to the presents. Then they wanted to see if Santa put anything in their stockings.

Here are the girls discovering that the cookies had been eaten and the carrots are gone!!

Now I have to say on this note that we already told Annelise the Santa was a real person in history and he did give children toys and so on, but he died as all men do, and now people just pretend that he is real and give gifts in his name etc etc, but that the real story about Christmas is Jesus. Well, she decided that she would believe in Santa anyway! Funny.
So our main gift this year, a kitchen, we bought on craigslist. We actually already had a wood kitchen that we bought from our neighbors behind us at their garage sale. The girls wanted a plastic kitchen like the one they have at the church. So we sold the wooden kitchen on craigslist for more than we paid for it and bought this plastic one which is almost brand new on craigslist.

Well our big gift was trumped by the trampoline of course. We asked the girls if they wanted to take MeeMaw out to get the eggs from the chickens and she walked out and didn't even notice it at first until she had almost walked all the way past it. Then it was surprise, shock, awe, and lets play!!! Thanks Uncle J and MeeMaw for the trampoline. We love the gift of being active!

It turned out to be a great day. My ham was good, the pies were good, everything turned out well and it was a beautiful day, actually maybe even a little on the hot side. It was a great Christmas! Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year!!!!!!

A's Birthday... I know. I am late!!

2008-12-23T21:46:00.007-06:00

Well, "A" is now 5 years old and I just can not believe it!! She is so big and has been so excited for her birthday to come AND she is thrilled that it is close to Christmas. She loves the story of Baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph. She loves to be Mary with a baby in her tummy and to rock baby Jesus. She could play the nativity all day long. SO, she asked to have a Nativity Birthday! So our guests were invited to come dressed as their favorite Nativity Character. Of course sinse no boys were able to attend we had a bunch of Marys with their own baby Jesus's!

We read the christmas story which most of the girls knew by heart and I think they were frankly a little bored.

Kevin took the children on "donkey rides" in the wagon with a donkey head taped on!

Then we followed the star (little hints written on stars that led them thru the house and into the Kitchen) to the Baby Jesus cake.It was very low key and I was so glad! Although Annelise told me "Mommy, We never acted out the Nativity story!!" I told her it was 'cause we had all Mary's!

Annelise is my Beautiful, Intuitive, High Needs, High Empathy Daughter who I am so proud to parent! Happy Birthday My First Born!!!Thank you Lord for entrusting her to me!

My Little Busy Body

2008-12-02T13:45:00.005-06:00

Well those of you who know our family know that Olivia is my little busy body. Once she was able to crawl I would find her all over the house. It was quite a shock to my system sinse Annelise was always attatched to my hip, and would cry outside the shower curtain for me until she was at least three... But Olivia has never lacked in the area of adventure! Once she was 16 months old she'd climb the playground equipment with the big kiddos. She has climbed to the top of our upright piano, to the top of our counter height table (naked no less, digging through my purse). She climbed up to the spice cabinet while dinner was simmering (AAK!! heart attack!) and a million other stories! And for the record, most of these things happened in the 2 minutes I was putting away laundry or going to the restroom; I do supervise my children!!! The thing is, she is as sweet as pie. She always says "no thank you" and "yes. please" and gives kisses for no reason. She throws fits, but what 2 year old doesn't? But the latest Olivia spree is wearing me out! She has started marking. Marking the door jams, the cement floor, the pretty sewing desk kevin bought for my sewing closet, tables, chairs. Spanking don't scare her. Timeouts are effective for the afternoon, but forgottent he next day. I guess she has my artistic streak! But her latest marking episode was too much! I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too dumbfounded! Yes folks, she marked the baby. There were scribble marks on the balnket all around her head and one strong green mark on top of Julia's pretty little head. I knew I had something to fear when she was hiding as I walked in... But I couldnt help but laugh! I mean come on!... the baby!!!

Happy Anniversary!!

2008-11-25T15:17:00.006-06:00

Well today marks eight years of being married to the perfect man for me. He really is my best friend! I was so blessed to be involved at what was then Highland Baptist in Waco (now Antioch) and a part of Life Groups. It was life changing in so many ways, but that is for another post! But one of the best "things" I gained from life groups was a friend named Kevin. He was a "Big Man On Campus" and I was the "weird girl with the loud car"(his words!). We were friends, maybe I knew I was interested... until he said at a life group leader meeting that he felt like he was supposed to stay single and serve the Lord. We all gathered around to pray for him and our co-leader started praying for Kevin to be blessed with the sweetest wife... and on and on she went. While she prayed I had the thought so loud and clear that it would be me!! I didn't say a word. And he was so mad at our co leader for praying as she did!! WE love her!! (Thank you Meggan)

And now here we are!

We fight and we wonder how we ended up together... and we laugh and tease and laugh some more. We stay up late talking and giggling (maybe i do the giggling), and staring in wonder at our 3 beautiful children--how could they be so beautiful!!? And I am so thankful to have a best friend that I can trust to lead our family well and that I can support in whatever he does, and who thinks highly of my thoughts and views, as a partner next to me.

Happy anniversary honey!

I will try to have a clean house for you!

I love You!

Encouragement From A Stranger

2008-11-25T14:40:00.007-06:00

Well I foolishly decided to go shopping today. I HAD to go to the grocery store for some forgotten items and sinse I had to venture out with all three girls, I thought I might as well make it a morning. SO we went to Ross. I have over $30 in gift card credit there, and both girls need shoes. Well they didn't have what we needed so I browsed the baby clothes. No luck there either, so then I went to look at the big girls shirts, sinse I am a very big girl right now and nothing fits...well I had a little luck. But the baby was in the sling and the girls were bored and acting up, so after 2 separate potty trips... to the line we went. By then it was full blown screaming from Julia, and the girls were playing tag at the check out! Not good. My voice was getting tighter each time I had to call the girls to "STAND BY THE CART!" I was on the course heading straight for blow up. Gone was my excitement in having found a shirt and a birthday gift for #1. The woman in front of me could obviously see the countdown in my brain, because she told me I could go ahead of her and then went on to tell me she had little ones and knows how hard it is to get out and about. I asked her how she managed to be out alone and she said well now I have older ones to help with the younger ones. I knew then she was probably 'mom to lots'. She went on to engage the girls in conversation while I checked out and I thanked her as I walked out the door. As I was sitting in the front seat nursing my baby feeling much calmer than I had been I saw her walk to one of those big vans that holds lots...she was a 'mom of lots'! And I thought, someday I will be the one to encourage a young mother with three children 4 and under. I will be the one to speak peace into an escalating situation. Hopefully, next time it will be me...And I said a little prayer that she would be refreshed this day. "... He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25

And now just for fun:

Dress Up Fun

Dress up AND holding the baby

And finally aunt Lest getting a great smile...one after another!

Wish List

2008-11-11T16:33:00.002-06:00

Just a note for family!
We added the wish list gadget to the side merely to let you know of some ideas for items we or the girls would enjoy. In no way are we asking for ALL the items listed!! Nor is this rude way of asking for things. We have put a wide range of priced items on the list and posted it because we have 3 birthdays and christmas coming up and we know you are always asking for ideas!
As I am cleaning out the toys and clothes as I do every time this year, I am dismayed at the amount of money spent on items that are now in the donate or resell pile because of lack of interest! My hope is in making this list that your gift will be less likely to end up in those piles next year!!
Let me know if you have any questions about what we have listed!
Love You!!

I chopped it off!!

2008-11-11T07:26:00.001-06:00

So I had let my hair grow very long. I have alwas enjoyed changing my hair often but for the last 3 years at least I hadn't changed it a bit. I had grown rather fond of my super long hair. I felt kind of fairy tale-like...the princess with long flowing hair. sigh. But usually I didn't look like a princess; it was pulled back into a ponytail all the time. And on a whim one day I measured my ponytail: 14 inches!!

So when I saw an add on TV for a Locks of Love event in Killeen where celebrity stylist Ted Gibson would be cutting and styling for free, I thought:hmm! Now I wouldn't have known who the hec he was but I happened to watch an Oprah that he was on. So I called and made an appointment (Ted was already booked) I went in and cut off my pony tail! I got a great stylist who was a part of Ted's team on the Oprah Show. She was so great! I wish I had gotten a pic of the ponytail! I like it! And I'm going to save a ton on shampoo and conditioner!

Before

After

The Back

Halloween

2008-11-10T10:48:00.001-06:00

Well this year for the second year we've had our church LifeGroup meet at our house for Halloween. We roast marshmallos and hand out treat bags with tracts inside. It is alot of fun! Its the only time the whole year when we see and visit with all our neighbors, and its loads of fun! Unfortunatly we didnt get many pictures of the whole event but we did get some of the girls. Olivia decided to take her costume off...oh...20 seconds after she had it on so no pics of her in her costume!

here is our adorable little pumpkin! Olivia with her pumpkin shirt and new crooked smile that she does ALL the time!

Annelise as a beautiful princess! We borrowed this dress from a neighbor and Annelise added the veil herself!
This was our first year carving pumpkins and the girls had a blast! (Kevin did all the work!)

Fox Family Girls

2008-10-22T09:39:00.001-05:00

Well my good friend Sarah did it again! She took some beautiful pictures for me to give Kevin as his birthday present. I know there is a ton, but I love them all! It was hard to pick which ones to post! The last picture is the one I gave kevin in a frame for his birthday.

Enjoy!

2008-09-24T15:00:00.001-05:00

Baby Fox Is Here!!!

2008-09-21T16:04:00.001-05:00

Julia Christine Fox
8lbs 10oz, 19 in long
Sunday September 7th, 6:37 in the evening

So today Julia has been with us for 2 weeks so I figured it was about time I announced it on the blog!!!
WARNING!! Birth Story Ahead! Don't read further if you don't want details!!!

I woke up early the 7th with cramping but was afraid to think it was labor cause I wanted it to be so badly. The weather had been so pleasant in the mornings, cool and breezy, and I had been thinking it was perfect baby having weather, but you know how we second guess ourselves...

So by 6:30 I was pretty sure it was the real deal so I called my parents since they have the farthest to drive and then called the midwife so she'd have a heads up and told her I'd keep her posted. Then I tried to just wake up Kevin and tell him "We are having a baby today!", but Annelise apparently has super hearing even in her sleep cause she was up in an instant! We all tumbled out of bed and put on our clothes and I started walking the street outside our house to try and get those contractions really working! Annelise swung and watched me, calling me every time I went too far. Soon Olivia was awake and my walk turned into a mini parade: Me waddling along, Annelise and Olivia skipping along side, and Kevin with watch in hand, timing contractions. I'm sure the neighbors were curious!

I went in for a shower and Kevin started making calls, or really I think he did more texting! The contractions became awfully close together during my shower so I told Kevin he'd better tell Laurie (our midwife) to go ahead and come.

Meanwhile I kept walking around. When Laurie arrived I was already 6 cm dilated! YAY! So I felt very accomplished! But then I started getting very sleepy so I decided I needed a nap. Now with Olivia I took a nap and woke up ready to push, so I had the mistaken idea that it would be the same for this birth. It wasn't.

I was at 8 cm for a long time. Turns out little Julia was posterior which means she was heading out face up instead of face down. This is not comfortable, nor is it the easy route. Julia knew this, as she is so smart, and was trying to turn before she descended into the birth canal. So now she is kinda sideways and I'm having serious discomfort! Not only am I having serious discomfort, I am unbelievably emotional during this labor. Crying, crying, crying. Feeling so unsure of becoming a mommy of three...Kevin was so reassuring and Deb was too. We had a pow wow in the bathroom while I was laboring and they prayed for me! Anyway, eventually Laurie decided to turn the baby during my contractions. I have never wanted to quit during labor: you know women say that, but I never had that feeling, until then. Then I wanted to quit!!

I begged Laurie to stop. So she gave me a break and watched my progress during labor and decided that I could push this baby out posterior. She told me I could do it. So I believed her and steeled myself for a long road ahead because I had read and heard that posterior labors last a long time. So I pushed to get rid of the cervix and went from and 8 to 10 in three contractions. So then the work of getting the baby out began, but I kinda didn't realize that till I felt the tell tale burning sensation! It was so quick! I was so glad.

Laurie helped me push her out so gently, that is what I'm most proud of when I watch the video: my control at pushing her out. Of course having Laurie in my face encouraging me totally made it possible! So Julia decided she would turn as I pushed her out, so she came out the right way after all, only with her fist on her head. Which would explain why in the video I look like I am trying to stand up and leave during the crowning!! LOL

Then she was out and in my lap and just looked so big and chunky to me. She has dark hair just like my other two but she didn't have the long swatch of hair on top like my other two did so since I couldn't get to the cord to move it (they were messing with the IV in my hand) I just knew that meant it was a boy! Funny how our mind works! But Kevin took a look and announced that we were blessed with another girl. YAY!! Three girls!!

Then they were caring for me while I tried to get her to latch on. I've had an issue with each previous birth of bleeding a little too excessively so because I went into this pregnancy already anemic they were wanting to be sure that was not an issue. So thanks to answered prayer and fabulous midwives I had no issue with bleeding this birth!!

Soon we were all settled in and Papa brought the girls back from McDonald's to see their new sister. It was wonderful. I was so glad to have my mom and Sandy and Deb there. There is something really amazing about being supported in labor by women that you know love you. And of course Kevin was the best birthing partner ever. I use the word partner rather than coach because he is much more of a partner. We are really good together, and he knows just what to do and say. So yes this was the most difficult labor I have experienced, but I would never trade it, 'cause there is just something about having my baby at home with my family and my midwife who I now call a friend... and being able to say I DID THAT!!! There is nothing like it!

So now what you really want: pictures!

Our new little family of Five!!

Laurie getting ready to weigh my little chunky monkey!

The girls each getting a turn to hold the baby and kiss her goodnight!

Baby on the Way!!

2008-09-02T14:54:00.001-05:00

I just washed all the diapers!

I am so proud because many of these will be on their third rotation and when I unpacked them, I discovered the elastic was shot in most of them. I thought "Oh no, we will need new diapers and we can't afford them really..."

But then, and this is why I am proud, I figured out a way to revamp them a different way so I could replace the elastic!! Yay!!! --Hopefully they will all be just as leak proof as they were for previous babies!

So here is a fun picture of them all hanging on the line. Today was the perfect day, sunny (and of course hot) but windy too, so they won't be too stiff for my sweet new baby to be!

Homeschooling???

2008-08-28T14:54:00.001-05:00

I am posting a link to another blog.
It is an essay written by a 9th grader who had been homeschooled in the "unschooled" tradition...(hmm is that an odd combination of words or what)....but what I think is interesting is his perspective on the public school after attending 9th grade. Just thought those of you who were intested in homeschooling or who wondered at our thoughts in planning to do so, would find this interesting! It is not written from a christian perspective, just from an educational standpoint.
I would love your comments/thoughts!!
http://fivefreebirds.blogspot.com/2008/07/unschool-v-school.html

Oiling Can

2008-08-25T12:29:00.002-05:00

Today is Kevin's first day with students.

He is a music teacher and sees all the students: Pre-K trough 5th grade. Which means each day is 6 different lesson plans and six different classes and the next day brings the other half so six more classes. Unfortunately, last year was very difficult, with some classes ruining it for the others and none of those kiddos moved! :) So they are back. And Kevin knows the Lord has him here. He was ready to leave but did not feel a release from the Lord to do so. So he knows it is the Lord work to be there, but its still hard!!!

Some Men from church were encouraging him yesterday as we were leaving church and kinda joking around with him about starting school. These men both had previously taught in the district Kevin teaches in. But anyway, one of them said (when Kevin joked that they could pray for him again) that he was the tin man that needed oiling every 5 minutes. I smiled at him and nodded my head, and he looked at me and said, "You're the oiling can!" He was still joking around and was pretending to console Kevin when he came home form work. But man, that stuck with me!

So I decided that I would make an effort this year to be his oil can. Not that I didn't pray for him before, but the tin man needs oiling every 5 minutes! So no, I didn't pray every 5 minutes, but the Lord graciously brought him to mind through out this morning and afternoon and I would just stop and pray real quick or sometimes not so quick.

I share this not to brag because, I promise there will be days when I'm sure I will not be a good oiling can, but I share this because I thought it was such a good word and good visual, at least for me. So for all of us that have friends, spouses or children that are facing a difficult day or days, we just need to think of them as the tin man, and ourselves as the oiling can!!

Haircuts and Harvest

2008-08-19T09:46:00.001-05:00

Well I have been wanting to cut Annelise's hair for a while...she looks so cute with a bob! But she wanted to grow it long 'like mommy's' and how can I argue with that!!!

Well lucky for me she got gum in her hair and being as hairbrusshing is the torture of choice in our household, she was begging me to cut it out...so I said we will have to make it all match!!!! And we did. The tragic part to this story is that Olivia wanted hers cut too. If I were the one weilding the scissors I would have just trimmed it. But sinse I am unable to cut hair in a straight line, Kevin is the master haircutter, and he did exactly as Olivia wished. Of course she looks adorable but she was the one that let me do her hair! Waah! I wanted to cry but I'm already over it!

We harvested all the lima beans and the girls helped us empty the pods. We laughed at our "abundant" harvest, especially sinse you can buy a bag for .55 cents. But the girls had a ball!

Elijah's Song

2008-08-12T00:36:00.001-05:00

Kevin wrote a song. And it's my job to show it off right!!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na1YEvpdC-Y

1.I run to the mountain to stand in that place, to stand in the presence where you fill my faith and the winds will come and the mountains move but I will stand in that place where you will pass by.

When I am troubled, when I’ve lost my way, when I can’t see you Lord, when I’ve lost my faith, when I feel that there is no way out, I need a glimpse of your face…

2.I run to the mountain, to stand in that place, to stand in the presence, of your holy-ness, and the earth will quake and the fire burn but I will stand in that place, where you will pass by.

When I am hurting, when I am torn when I am fearing and needing you more, you have left an open door so I can come to that place…

3.I run to the mountain, to stand in that place, to stand in the presence receiving your grace and I’ll hear your voice in a gentle wind when I will stand in that place, where you will pass by.

1 Kings 19:11
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Prayers Answered!!

2008-08-05T17:34:00.001-05:00

So first off, the great news!! The baby is head down!!!
YYYEEEEEAAAHHHHH!!
YYIIIIPPPPEEEEE!!!
So it seemed like such drama getting into the Docs office. I guess we were just dealing with a nurse who just didnt know what to think of a person under the care of a midwife. We always do the first couple months care at the Docs office and then transfer to the midwife. So I already have a relationship with this office, SO... I really thought it would be no big deal. But it took a couple calls and a call from Dr. Deb, AKA good friend (been at her births, shes been at mine) to call as my 'physician liaison'. She made herself available to answer any concerns or clear up any questions so I could get an apointment quickly. That was last week.
SO today I went in and the Doc was so kind and considerate and right away saw that the head was down. So then it was to answer Kevin's heart desire: Was this a boy?
Now before I tell you, I must relate to you the first time we went to the midwife once this baby was big enough to feel moving around. She had to move the little Doppler 3 times cause the baby would kick and move away. So our joke was that the baby was very private.
Well turns out he/she really is. We could not get a single look at this baby's 'parts'. Its feet were up in my ribs and knees were together so we got a good look at it's bony little booty, but that's it.
So it is still a surprise!
And Kevin is still in suspense!

Our Family

2008-08-02T08:42:00.001-05:00

So I just had to show off these beautiful new photos of our family that we had taken. My dearest friend Sarah is a very talented photographer and she does it on the side for a very reasonable price (subtle plug there) So feel free to contact me if you live in my area and want some great pics taken!

OK on to the pics!!

Family of Foxes

The Cute Couple

Mama and her Girls

Sweet Annelise

Lovely OliviaI love this Picture!

Whole family walking off into the sunset!!

And of course I love this one of Daddy and one of his Girls, and the one he posted earlier.

Aren't these all beautiful! Thank you Sarah!!!!!

Pragmatism!

2008-08-01T00:36:00.002-05:00

Do you ever look at your life and question how you came to be at this point? I have.

Don't get me wrong, I love my wife and I love my children, and I'm not necessarily dissatisfied with where I am, but I never imagined my life quite like it is. I'm not saying that I had telepathic abilities as a child to unlock the mystery of my future, but I never dreamed of being a music teacher that I remember.

Annelise says she wants to be a Ballerina teacher and a mother. In fact, most little girls that are friends with her have similar aspirations; which, in my opinion are well within their reach. When I was a little boy, my friends wanted to be Major League Baseball players or NBA basketball players or sports car drivers or rock stars or actors. Are girls just more pragmatic than boys?

Perhaps there are levels of pragmatism and one can move between them arbitrarily, at will or subconsciously. What about dreams? Do you have dreams, or did you have dreams? That is, are they behind you or before you, or maybe you buried them and they're nowhere to be seen. What is the purpose of those dreams? Are they God given or selfish ambition, a dream from your parent placed on you or environmentally influenced? More importantly, are they(the dreams) part of who you are, or chosen outside the scope of personality and ability.

If someone is extremely good at sports, recognized by many others, is it impractical for them to pursue the NBA or NFL? Someone once said to me, "Shoot for the stars and if you land on the moon then its still OK."

At times I feel as though pragmatism is caught like the flu. You catch it from well meaning people that have become content and pleased with their own practicality and think that you would be wise to do so yourself. Or perhaps their dreams were broken and they want to save you from the same fate.

When it comes to my children and their dreams, I have resolved to scrape off every last bit of pragmatism, practicality, fall-back-on thinking and encourage them to pursue those dreams and even move past calling them dreams and call them goals, and write them down and give them due dates, and come up with a plan to reach those goals, wow that's sounds pragmatic doesn't it! Though my method may be, my advice won't be, and then comes my part! Support. Encourage. Pray!

Annelise-future Mommy, Ballerina Teacher and Brain Surgeon

Olivia-Future Mommy, Adventurer(Missionary) and Veterinarian

Pragmatism:–adjective-of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations.

Prayer Request

2008-07-30T20:47:00.001-05:00

Well we went to the midwife today, which I always enjoy doing. It makes for a nice little day trip cause we get to go to Austin and sometimes we do something after we visit with her. The girls love going to these appointments and hearing the baby's heart beat and chatting Ms. Laurie's ear off. I love going and chatting Ms. Laurie's ear off!
I am 6 weeks away from the due date and the baby is still head up it seems. I had suspicions that that was the case, but what do I know!--turns out I might know something!
So Laurie, our midwife wants us to go get an ultra sound to find out for sure if it is or isn't breech. We don't even know for sure that there is something to be concerned about yet.
This pregnancy for me has been a constant test of me just trusting, and I am ashamed to say I have failed the test I think. I have spent a lot of this pregnancy being anxious at least under the surface. If any little thing arose, I became anxious, and yes each time I exerted much effort to choose to trust in the Lord, but yet the next test arrived and I would face it once again with anxiety. SO this is no different, and although my good friend Dr. Deb assured me that there is every likelihood that this baby will turn on its own by the time the day arrives, our plan for home birth has to take this into serious consideration and prayer.
I would love all of you to pray with me for this baby to be head down when we do get an ultra sound, and if it isn't that it would turn.
I would also ask that you all be supportive in prayer and words what ever we feel comfortable doing as the birth of this baby draws closer. I am sitting here debating whether or not to even post because I am afraid of having to be on the defence of what decision we may make. Of course I know you all love us and any concerns you express would be with the best intentions, but you understand right!? I did hours in the library researching before Annelise was born at home, and of course will be just as educated in this instance. But the most important thing to me is that what ever decision be made based out of trust and not out of fear.
So all that to say: pray for this baby to "turn, turn, turn"--get it?!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lgtCJAWfrk&NR=1
Kevin put this song on today and said it was for the baby, so we all laughed and danced in our pajamas--- well the girls were in theirs!

Our Fun Day

2008-07-23T20:03:00.001-05:00

So going on a vacation isn't an option this summer, but we've had some Fun Days, and yesterday was one! We started off the day with a trip to I-HOP, mmm and I had way more than my pregnant belly should hold, but it was good! And the girls felt like it was such a treat!

Then we headed to Waco for a trip to the Children's Museum. Every Wed this summer they visit a different continent. Last time we went it was Africa and they had African Dancers. Annelise was gyrating for weeks! And now won't stop asking when we are going to Africa!

But this time we visited the continent of Australia. the first activity was playing The Moco the Gecko game. Geckos are called Mokos in Australia and they eat bugs (that's what the girls are doing here!)

They were able to see a Cocktail live (they are native to Australia) and Annelise wasn't even scared. They were totally in awe!

The most fun to me was seeing the Didgeridoo played. He had a slide show of all the beautiful faces of the Native Aborigine people. He talked a lot about how they were one with nature and honestly, my first reaction was that he was a little out in left field. But as he continued talking, I listen to him speaking about how all of nature has a rhythm and we just have to listen, because all of nature was created by the great mysteries. And although it all sounds a little new age, the truth is, our God is a mystery. He is unbelievably personal, and yet such a mystery. AND He did create all of earth to glorify him, if the rocks can cry out, then maybe all of creation does have a rhythm. Anyway, just my thoughts on the Didgeridoo dude. No pic of him cause we didn't have good seats to see, but we could hear and it was awesome!

We did some fun crafts then headed home for naps! It was our fun little day!

And for all of you who I am so sorry didn't know we were expecting, I had Kevin take a preggo pic of me this evening. So yeah, just a little pregnant! Please know that there were way too many of you than I'd like to admit that didn't know we were pregnant. After our loss last fall, I think we were just more reserved on sharing the news, and then it got to be so normal for us, we forgot we hadn't made any big announcement!

Well this is it for now!

Our Lovely Yard

2008-07-21T18:53:00.001-05:00

We have a lovely yard, all thanks to Kevin. Hes worked so hard on it I wanted to show off on his behalf!! We bought this house with a yard that is just about 1/3 acre. It was a rental property for years and years before us, so needless to say, the yard was in sad shape.
Now doesn't that look lovely!! Our street is wonderfully covered in trees...except our yard! Now we do have a couple but there were stumps all over. WHY?!! WHY!?! So we have planted a couple so we match the rest of the street...in ten years!
Here is the front flower bed, I can't tell you what all of it is, but that it's growing beautifully, and Olivia and Oliver the cat enjoy it too!
This is the bed next to the front porch... the flowers are much bushier now.
On the other side of the yard are our two big trees, and oak and a magnolia, and here are my girls enjoying the magnolia:
Annelise is jumping trying to touch those pretty leaves, while Daddy put Olivia in the branches and she settled right in. She did not want down!!
Well this is our lovely front yard. I'll add another post about our delish garden in the back yard next.
Aren't I blessed!!

Thank You Meemaw!

2008-07-19T12:56:00.001-05:00

Thank you Meemaw for the Dora shirts! They were a hit just as you guessed! I know you'd rather see them in person, but here's the next best thing!
And now the model pose!

Our New Pets

2008-07-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

Well, they're actually not that new. We bought them in the springtime with the hopes of getting eggs in the fall...can you guess what they are?!! Yep, chickens!

This was their first home in our home...yes as one neighbor said "Oh my goodness, you have livestock in your living room!" We started with 5 cute little chicks....

This is their first time outside in a little chicken wire pen. I couldn't tell who was more excited, the chicks or the girls!! And I have to tell you, those dresses I made from fabric that cost me 50 cents at a garage sale! So effectively these dresses cost a quarter a piece! Not really cause elastic and ribbon and thread... but still! And I love them!

This is what I call the awkward teen stage, no longer cute at all!! Not yellow and fluffy but not yet all white feathers...they looked awkward! You can see the beginnings of what turned out to be the rooster.

So I just have to brag on Kevin. He made a little home for our chicks on the side of our house. The only money we had to spend was to build the fence, which we wanted to do anyway. He used a shed that came from a neighbor for free, and old screen windows to make the doors that open and close. It may not sound or look like a big deal, but he worked so hard and my brain would have never come up with how to put that all together.. now I can think of ways to make it pretty!....but then so can he! He planted a floering vine on one side that will over grow the shed, it'll be real cute soon enough!

So we gave the Rooster which we had named Larry to some friends that actually live in the country as we assumed our suburban neighbors would not appreciate his morning wake up call. Kevin and Annelise were the saddest to see him go, and well the Hens of course! Then we lost one to some unknown assassin. We thought it might be our kitty Oliver who lives outside because he received a mysterious gaping wound to his chin about the same time. But I like to think he was attacking the assassin, defending the poor little chicky. Besides how can a cat that lazies on the porch as the chickens peck all around him turn into their enemy? Ah well, some mysteries will never be solved! So here they are now. Aren't they so pretty. Lucy, Lulu, and Lexi. Annelise picked the names so take no offence if you know a human counterpart that would rather not share a name with fowl!!
And here is a close up of our pretty little chickie! I know, we are weirdos! My friend Sarah says she wants to watch chicken run with us, she swears it'll be even more funny!

Fun Day With Cousin Bailey

2008-07-18T09:10:00.001-05:00

And Papa Fred, Gran Ann, and Aunt Camille (oh and we can't forget our new little nephew, though he spent most time in the stroller!!) although there is not as much proof of them being there! Aunt Camille and Bailey live only an hour or so away, but unfortunately we don't take advantage of that as often as we should. But earlier this summer (sinse I'm playing catch up here)while the grandparents were visiting we went to a little place called Kiddie Acres. It is all miniature rides that take up a morning and was perfect fun for these stair step cousins! First came the boat ride...
Then it was time for the Ferris Wheel. Thank you Aunt Camille for riding in that little wobbly looking contraption!!! My preggo body would've done it in I'm sure!!
Next came the train ride. Oh goodness Olivia was experiencing heaven on earth!! A 'real' ChooChoo!! This time it was Kevin who squeezed in...isn't he cute! And thank you Kiddie Acres for not charging the adults!

And then the Merry Go Round, Annelise's Favorite! And the airplanes, that was my favorite! It was so cute to see them with the propellers blowing their hair, I loved it!

The car rides were fun, but its what came next...Oh Yes!! Pony Rides!! My girls were sooo sooo excited!! Olivia helps Daddy go feed the horses often so she was thrilled, and Annelise was soo brave and just giggled the whole time. It was so fun!! Thank you Aunt Camille for suggesting such a fun day, and thanks Gran Ann and Papa Fred for making such a fun day possible (even though there is no evidence of your presence in the pics!!)

Being a Conscious Parent

2008-07-17T17:27:00.002-05:00

It's so interesting, having the two girls that I have...

Kevin and I had many discussions before we had children and as we have had them, about what we needed to do in order to raise them to be confident and unafraid...like Kevin. He is never intimidated by anything, where as I would rather not even try if it looks too difficult. So here we are with two beautiful girls raised in the same household, with obviously similar experiences although they couldn't be exactly the same.

And of course we are trying our hardest to make biblical foundations a norm in our life, praying when someones sick, worshipping, bible stories...you know. But i believe that the Lord entrusted these particular children to me, with all their individuality's, so therefore i have to be conscious of those things in parenting. And can i just say, sometimes i feel too tired (code for LAZY) or too distracted, or too task oriented to be that. But we are trying.

It started as a conversation with my sister (who i m so blessed is going to UMHB so our relationship could be deepened..i mean that's not WHY she went there but...I'm glad she did!). Anyway, she was commenting on Olivia's adventuresome spirit and how she hopes that is never stifled. I mean at 16 months if not earlier this girl was playing on the playground with out any fear, doing things my 3 year old wouldn't attempt, and now at 2 1/2 ... you can only imagine! Anyway we got to talking and it was my Ah-hah moment! I realized how much Olivia was already like Kevin, no mountain too high. Where Annelise was already like me, intuitive, sensitive and a little nervous. How interesting that these traits were already so profound in my two girls. and so what does that mean for Kevin and I.

It means we recognize the weaknesses and strengths in each of these and call out the strengths and combat the weaknesses.

In my sweet Annelise it means I have to be aware of all my comments and how she may perceive them. I have to encourage her at every opportunity and i may have to sacrifice a little (WHAT!!) and try things with her in order to assure her of her own abilities. I will have to find the delicate balance in pushing her to do something i know she can do, and not pushing so hard that she feels already overcome. And i will nurture her sensitivity and empathy that she naturally possesses and speak the truth of who she is, who God says she is. And i have to be on my face praying for wisdom and grace, and truth to speak over her. I get excited thinking about it! Now in my trailblazer Olivia I will have to do most all the same things, except I will have to be more relaxed and let her try things on her own. She will most likely teach herself to ride a bike and I will have to wring my hands without her seeing! ***Side note here, a woman that has sinse moved to a differnt church blessed me with an encouragement from the Lord at Olivias baby shower, I can't recall the exact words and I don't want to look it up, but it basically said not to worry no harm would come to her. The Lord knew I would need that!!! Thanks Jill!***I have to be aware of the independent often rebelliousness that can accompany her exploratory nature and be quick to nip it in the bud. And I have to praise her for being unafraid and speak the truth of who she is, who God says she is. And I have to be on my face praying again! OOOH I get even more excited!--maybe started to feel overwelmed, but thats it's the Lord in me, right!!?

And baby #3...I can only imagine and pray for wisdom to parent him/her consciously too. Oh man do I need help.