Hard Work Sometimes Pays Off When It's Hot!

This is what summer (and family) is all about,hard work and a little play to go along with it! What happened was,Craig was doing some watering in the garden and he didn't realize that Matthea was near him,so,when he swung the hose around he accidentally sprayed Matthea and she went off to grab the other hose to spray him back........That is how this fun water fight began.



Matthea wouldn't quit either!When Craig was "done" she kept on squirting!!
















Oliver stood nearby laughing.He was tickled to death watching his daddy get wet!

Grandma's Summer Visit and More!

My mother and Aunt Mary came to visit us this past week(13th-20th).What a blessing it was for all! My mother hasn't been out here to visit us in almost 3 years!I know this visit really made her happy,as you can tell from the smile in the photo.My mother never smiles in photos.The children pointed out a couple of pictures,including this one, where she was smiling.This made me happy just to see how happy she was!





























Seven days was definitely not enough time for all of us.We were all sad the day that they had to leave for the airport and fly back home to St. Louis.We are now trying to make plans to have grandma come out more often and stay longer.We miss her and her company.
















During their stay,one of the many blessings that were bestowed upon us,Jade and Matthea learned how to sew.They made a couple of outfits and have projects started that need to be finished.Aunt Mary was kind enough to give the girls beginning sewing lessons.They took to it very quickly and would not stop.They sewed from morning to night,every chance that they got!!






By the time the week was up,the girls were so tired.But,now they are very thankful that Aunt Mary has given them a good start and a great love for making things with their own hands.

We did a lot of things while they were here...took a drive up into the mountains and stopped at a picnic area where we encountered many flies and some really fat American chipmunks,went to Miracle Hot Springs and had a really nice soak in the mineral water,went to Cloverleaf Creamery for some ice cream and cheese curds,YUM!Walked along the Snake River Canyon and saw a few waterfalls and vultures,went to Shoshone Falls,shopped at some local thrift shops and found a large,square ottoman for my walk-in closet for only $5!!! and fabric stores for the girls' sewing projects,re-upholstered my dining room chairs(thank you Aunt Mary), made homemade bread and fed them our own free range chicken for supper one night,which my mother could not stop commenting on how good the flavor was! :) We also spent a lot of time relaxing in the back yard enjoying the cool air in the evenings after we would go on our walks after dinner.I think my mother fell in love with the weather more than anything and was dreading having to go back into the Midwest's humid heat. :( Hope to see them soon again.


Our area has had a late start to summer,which was not good for my garden,nor my cherry trees.Each day that I go out to my garden,I find myself sulking/pouting.My garden depresses me.It isn't full of "green" stuff overflowing, pressing through my gates crying out "pick me! pick me!" there are only a few things that are growing well...the potatoes,the onions,a cucumber plant (notice that I say A cucumber plant,yes,one lonely cucumber plant)and my sage.I am the most proud of my sage because it is 3 years old...but,the tomatoes are just now getting their flowers on them and the carrots,lettuce,radishes,beets,basil,peas,and green beans are wimpy looking things.So,yesterday,while I was watering and realized that I was pouting again and I decided to have a different outlook and I was going to just LOVE my garden.By that I mean it in two ways,LOVE it the way that it is and also show it LOVE.I put the hose down and went to each section and meticulously plucked every darn weed that I could find and tended to each and every tiny or big plant that I have.When I was through,I looked around and realized that I was smiling...and my plants were smiling back at me!We'll see how long I can hold onto this new outlook.There is roughly a little over a month left of summer and we'll be looking into winter's eyes in no time,ugh!


I feel bad that I have not posted my two precious babies birthdays on here :( . I haven't posted anything since March,as you can see.I will post a few pictures later of Oliver and Charlotte's birthdays.

The children have been really busy.Keeping up with homeschooling,animal chores and their house chores.They are all doing so well. Craig,Sebastian,Jade and Matthea volunteered last week with Paint Magic.It's a non profit organization that helps senior citizens to have their home painted.The children really had a lot of fun doing that.I stayed behind at home with the babies.

The Lord has been pressing me to kick it up a notch with our biblical studies.You know,as a homeschooler,we are always feeling as though we are never doing enough as it is.But,I know in this area,you can never do too much and we all need the spiritual nourishment,not just once a week,or once a day as a routine.But,throughout the day.We ought to be praying without ceasing,thinking of His ways and commandments... waking,walking,sitting,laying....all day long! Just feeling somewhat convicted lately,thankfully.I have been trying to work on gathering some ideas for bible studies with the children.I know I want to do a study with the girls such as Polished Cornerstones
and most definitely do a proverbs study with all of them,we already have purchased Hidden Treasures for that study.I have a couple of books for a father/son study for Craig and Sebastian to do as well,but,there is one or two more that seem to be grabbing my attention more.Oh well,we'll see what we decide for that one.On top of all of that I have been trying to re-organize our school system and get MORE organized and MORE focused,needing to prepare for next years curriculum.I do have to mention here that we are so very thankful for our new school computer that was given to us as a gift!!This will help us tremendously with all that we need to do and all that we have been wanting to do to improve our homeschool! God works through so many people!! Praise God!

Whirlwind of Change and Blessings

Where on earth do I start? I haven't been on here to write in months! I will probably leave out a whole lot of what has been going on around here,but, I will do my best.

I have been on auto pilot since November.God has carried me for pretty much most of this winter.Since Charlotte has been born, I have had 2 solid good months of sleep.The first two were typical newborn months,waking up every 3 hours or so and then when she hit 3 and 4 months of age she was sleeping 9 hours a night for us.But from about 5 months she went back to waking up every 3-4 hours again.We realized that a lot of it has been from teething issues.Needless to say,my dark circles are horrendous without the use of make-up to cover them up.I'm too tired to go anywhere that would require the application of it anyway.The children have been a big help with letting me get in a nap here and there .This sleep deprived season will soon give way to more restful nights,yes,I have hope.

So, our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations went well.It was another peaceful, family bonding time again. For Christmas, Craig got three rabbits, as a gift from the children,to start raising meat rabbits,something he's been wanting to do for some time now.Soon after that Jade purchased a few,Matthea bought a couple and then Craig bought a few more as well.I'm not sure on the count, but I think that we may have 9 adult rabbits and now about 9 baby bunnies as well. Jade has just posted her bunnies on craigslist for sale.Jade and Matthea have been planning this bunny business for a couple of years now and are eager to get their bunny business off and running.Sebastian is still in the beginning stages of getting his goat to make money for him.But, all three have their chickens laying really well now and they now have a couple of regular egg buyers.Pretty cool! Our buckling,Firecracker, is on his way out soon.We have a buyer and we'll be sending him to the butcher.Tough business when you have a majority of the household emotionally attached to the food! We just purchased some new baby chickens,ducks,a couple of geese and 3 turkeys to add to the menu around here.Most of the ducks are already spoken for.We just need to fatten them up and they'll be on someone's dinner table soon!Of course we have our name on one of the turkeys for this years Thanksgiving.This will definitely be a first for us!So exciting!

January and February were our typical slow months...Jade and I had our birthdays and Johnny's birthday soon followed in March.I got news right before his birthday that he was coming out to visit us for a couple of weeks.We hadn't seen him in about 18 months,so,this was a real blessing to have him come out for his 20th birthday and spend some time with us. Another surprise soon followed.My half sister Rebecca,whom I had never met before,contacted me,my sister Wendy and my brother David.Everything kind of went so fast after that.My father,who I hadn't seen in 30 years, got into contact with us as well and within days,Wendy flew out here and we drove to California to meet Rebecca,her sister Lupita and to be reunited with our father.I am still,I believe,in a state of shock.Soon they both will be coming out to visit with me and my family and also they'll be visiting Illinois to reunite with my brother David and possibly, my dad's sister,Aunt Karen.I,truthfully, had thought that God,had,for whatever reason,decided that my father just would not be a part of my life,ever.I never thought that this day would come and here it is,very surreal.I remember how I prayed for years that God would bring him back into my life.Now,the saying that "God does things in HIS OWN TIME",really hits home hard.A lot of mixed feelings goes along with all of this,of course.I've found myself questioning God's timing and asking why? Why now? Why not 10,13,15 or 20 years ago or even 5 years ago? Then the selfishness of thinking that I didn't have him for 30 years,am I going to get 30 years more or will it only be 10 years? Or what is it that you're doing with me now? A lot of prayer and succumbing to his will is needed. God has been good to me and His blessings upon my life have been overflowing these last few years, truly amazing.I am thankful.I am thankful that I have my "new" sisters,step sisters/brothers..nieces and nephews...step mom...and thankful that God has answered my prayer and brought my father back to me and has shown His love for me in so many ways.It took me a long time to realize that I had always had my Father,my heavenly Father,all of these years.I guess I had to acknowledge Him first,in my heart and in my ways before I could have my earthly father back,I don't know.I do know that He is perfect and his timing is perfect and I can rest in that. Another season in my life that will most definitely bring change to all of us.

Well,Johnny was here from March 9-23 and those weeks went by way too fast.The kids are still mourning his leave.I feel like I need about,at least,3 months with him.It really makes me sad not to be able to be around him as much as we use to be.The other day we all sat around the TV and watched our wedding DVD.Johnny was only 6 years old then.It really puts things into perspective when you see your little boy jumping around on this video and you know he's a grown man now and isn't right here with you to hug you or ask a million questions.SAD...:(
But at the same time,I'm so glad that he was here and I have a picture of all of my babies,big and little ones, together!! Now that makes me happy! :)

I can't believe I actually have finished this post! I put Charlotte to bed around 8,Oliver down at 8:30 and the older 3 went down at 9:30.I need to get into bed and hope that Charlotte doesn't wake up soon.Now that I feel somewhat caught up with my blogging,maybe I'll be able to get on here more often with short and quick posts.

May God continue to work in me and bring good change,for His glory and may He bless my family now and for generations to come.Goodnight all!

Happy 9th Birthday Matthea!!

Happy Birthday Matthea!!!!!!!!!!!


We celebrated Matthea's 9th Birthday on Friday,November 6th. She's growing up so fast.

Harvest

Well,here I am,finally putting up pictures from the garden..We have been drowning in tomatoes for the last couple of weeks,as you can tell from the picture above.I am preparing to can these, hopefully tomorrow.
Sebastian, Jade and Matthea all have enjoyed their garden this year. Each one of them planted sunflowers to place in their garden beds. Above is a photo of Matthea's sunflower. We'll be gathering the sunflower seeds and storing them for next year. Jade has already collected seeds from her morning glory and her dill plant.We will collect seeds from select tomatoes as well. They are all so proud of their accomplishment and how their food has been a part of most of our meals!
This photo, of the two carrots intertwined, is from Sebastian's garden.Pretty cool.
We had a few other veggies that decided to grow "together". One of Jade's tomato plants had several tomatoes that did that. The tomato plants were about to overtake our garden. They grew so fast and so big.I have been out there,I don't know how many times, to stake and re-stake those darn plants.Jade has been a big help with that. I had Craig out there too the other day. Unbelievably, it really takes a toll on your back.I think Craig's back is still hurting him,well,mine is too.
Jade has a cucumber plant that really took off.She's had a lot of cucumbers already and there are several more that are maturing.I don't know how much longer we will have for production.The weather is saying that we are going to have some cold weather here in a couple of days.Wednesday is suppose to get down to 30 degrees overnight and only have a high of 45 degrees.Yikes! That may just kill everything.

This photo, above, was taken before the other ones. This was when the plants almost overtook the garden and we were at war with the tomatoes, with stakes in hand!! It's been hard trying to keep up with all of this without Craig here. Yes, he's been in Jackpot this whole time working on that trailer.Poor guy,I had to take away his help,(Sebastian), because of school. So, he works on the trailer a little before and a little after work and then he comes here to do some more back breaking work on his off days.He is wore out,let me tell you. Hopefully this is his last week to work on it.He should be done with it. We have several people interested in buying the place.So, hopefully we won't have to hang on to it too long.

Now that school has been well under way, every minute is precious around here. There just isn't enough time in the day. I finally have Oliver into a schedule.It just had to be done. He's never really been a good sleeper for us. So, when Charlotte arrived, things got a little out of sorts here.Craig and I were not getting enough sleep.Charlotte was sleeping for us just like you would expect a newborn to.But, Oliver was still a problem trying to get him to unwind and fall asleep.He would be up,sometimes, until 11pm or midnight!!! Charlotte would already be asleep,but then be getting up around 1 or 2am for a feeding.So we decided to just put him down in his crib when it was bedtime and let him cry it out. We started putting him down at 9:30 at first and then each night move back the time a little bit.He's now going to bed at around 8 or 8:30.It worked like a charm. We did that with his naps as well.Because we would have the same scenario during the day. He would get so tired and cranky,but had such a hard time falling asleep. We just couldn't have that going on during school,for our sake and especially his sake.

This photo below of Oliver was taken during all of that transition time.You see,for those of you who don't know, Oliver has NEVER liked a pacifier.It wasn't even a little dislike for him. It was a major "I don't like that thing put into my mouth" kind of thing. He would scream and gag if we tried to put it in his mouth. But, when we started to put him to bed at a normal bedtime and I also weaned him from breastfeeding at that same time, he started to use one of Charlotte's pacifier's. Initially we let him do it. I guess because we felt bad for him. But after 2 weeks of using it.We realized he was beginning to use it ALL the time. He even developed a little sore spot on his upper lip from it.
He would take it out to say something and plop it back into his mouth. Here you can see him giving Charlotte a kiss in her swing. He has his pacifier in his hand. He took it out, kissed Charlotte and plopped it back in. It didn't take too long for him to say goodbye to the pacifier. We just had to be firm with him and after about a week, he was over it. I think he may have been just finding his place within the family. He was no longer the baby,but, yet still a baby.
What a cutie.I think you can actually see his little sore spot on his upper lip in this photo of him with me. Now, his interests are picture/word books. I still have some of Johnny's picture books that I used to teach Johnny how to read with. Oliver just absolutely loves them.He's been watching the other kids with their books and he wants to "read" too. It didn't take him long to remember some of the words to the pictures and now he'll point and say a few. He even likes to mimic the kids doing school. So we've taped a roll of brown paper to the table for him. He likes to sit there with a pencil or crayons and scribble away. Matthea and Jade even showed him how to erase! We had the paper taped to the coffee table at first.But that wasn't the same as being at the big kids table! So he's with them at the dining table. If I can figure out how to post a video on here, I will upload a video of him having a meltdown because we were putting away his crayons.We told him that it was nap time and that we had to pick up the crayons and put them away. OH MY! Did he fall apart!!!
and well, I couldn't make a post on my blog without adding some newer photos of Miss Charlotte! She is such a joy! She has started sleeping through the night now.The first night, that she slept through, she slept 12 hours! But, she has been sleeping for about 9 or 10 hours every night now.What a relief,to actually be getting some sleep around here.
The funny thing,after having 6 children, I am actually considering trying cloth diapers. I think I tried using them with Jade.But, I didn't really have anyone show me HOW or even look into anything NEW out there.So I gave up. But, networking with other people, I came across someone using cloth diapers and a whole new world of cloth diapering IS out there. So, I may be doing it with both Oliver and Charlotte. We'll see. I'm going to order a try it out kit and, well, try it out! I've had two in diapers before. Doing it again, makes me think twice about how much this is really costing us!
Anyway, Charlotte is almost 3 months old now and she is a TALKER!! She loves to make her cooing sounds and she'll let out a few squeals that will hurt your ears! If she can engage you for a moment she will be happy to "tell" you a few stories.She will talk away! It's so cute.
She is also, officially, our only thumb sucker! This may turn out to be a problem if this continues and turns into a hard to break habit. She doesn't mind using a pacifier,but, when she is really tired and in bed she'll just spit it out and stick in the thumb.
So much time has gone by since we have moved to this part of the country. It's been two years now that we have been out here. God has done so much for us and we can sometimes lose sight of what our focus should be. With all of our "busy-ness" we have not made enough time for our spiritual growth. This has been weighing heavy on my heart. My prayer for this week is for my family's spiritual well being,to be nourished by the Word , to re-connect with God and for us to strengthen our relationship with Him on a daily basis.
We've had a successful harvest so far, this year, in our garden. May I be as diligent with the garden within my family and take extra care so that there is a more abundant harvest for generations to come. For His Glory......

Just Another Day...Working, Weeding and Harvesting

Charlotte has hit her one month mark and is approaching 5 weeks of age this Friday. I hate how the early days go so fast with babies. It makes me and Craig so sad to watch it go by so quickly, with all of them. They are all growing like the weeds around here!


Well,we have postponed the start of school for a couple of weeks.The virus that had a hold of Oliver had spread to Jade, then me,Matthea and Craig. Thankfully,as of now,Charlotte and Sebastian have been spared. So as we all slowly recuperate things will get back on track.

Craig and Sebastian are away for a while,working on the trailer.They are already terribly missed. The girls and I are working together here with the animals, garden and of course home. It has been really dry here and all of the watering that we have been doing is tiring and time consuming.We are constantly going outside to move the sprinklers. We are also being invaded by weeds! You would think that since it is so dry the weeds wouldn't grow.Wrong! They seem to thrive anywhere.Weed pulling is not everyone's favorite thing to do around here. But, it has to be done. I will say, that not all of the weeds get pulled, so, there are areas that we have just given up on for now.

I keep saying that I will put up pictures of the garden.But, I haven't taken any yet,since we've planted. I really need to do that. I will just have to tell you that the children have planted so many tomato plants that I'm afraid we will be drowning in tomatoes. I need to hurry up and get some more canning jars.Because when it's time to harvest, I don't think we will be able to keep up. Matthea's garden is the largest as far as how many plants they all have and then it's Jade's and Sebastian's is the smallest.He didn't want to plant too many. He says that he's glad that he didn't because there would be too much work to keep it watered and weed free! I told him that he's lucky that I am not making him grow his own food for survival,because he would starve. He quickly replied and said that he wouldn't because his sisters had plenty and if they wouldn't share he would just eat the eggs from the chicken coop!!! Oh my goodness..what can you say to that. A work in progress, a work in progress....I have to keep reminding myself that he is a work in progress, we all are. I really need to be a little more pro active in his progress. Oh boy!
Anyway, Matthea has been providing delicious salads with her lettuce and so far Jade has been bringing in her Basil and Dill for certain dishes.I have had several tomatoes from my plants, so far, to go with Matthea's salads. mmmm... it's so much better when it's fresh.
Our cherry trees have finally been completely harvested. I had Craig pit the last batch of cherries for me. His hands and fingers were stained,but he got to eat some cherry pie afterwards.I also made cherry preserves for the first time. Something that I don't believe that I have ever had myself. It turned out really well. The next thing will be the tomatoes.Something else that I have not done before.

I will post pictures of the garden next time....:0



Time to feed everyone around here and get things shut down for the night.....

The Birth of Our Precious Charlotte - 07/03/09

Well, after waiting 5 more days after my due date,Charlotte made her way into our lives on Friday, July 3, 2009. Her poor little face was all bruised, but, of course, all of that has dissipated.

I began having contractions early that morning around 1am.They were 20 minutes apart up until about 5am. They then were anywhere between 10-15 minutes apart until 7am. I called my midwife, Connie, and said," Can we have a baby today?" and she said, "Sure! Are you in labor?" I told her what our status was and said that we were going to hang out at home for a little while longer until I felt that I needed to come to the birth center. From 7 until 8am they got closer and closer. I kept asking Craig or Jade,(my clock watchers), "What time is it now?", or, " How far apart was that one?",or, "How long did that one last?". They went from 5minutes apart, to 4, and then to 2 minutes apart. I finally called her when they were 2 minutes apart. I told her that I wasn't in my panic mode or even felt like,"Hey I need to get somewhere", but, MY CONTRACTIONS ARE 2 MINUTES APART! and we are just going to come on over anyway. Earlier in the morning,I asked Craig to get the camcorder out and video tape our morning...

He said,"Okay, but it is going to be on the back end of our Grand Canyon tape".

Now, everyone has to have a "story" to tell about their labor day, well, this is where ours comes in....I had reminded Craig several times in the weeks prior to this day, to go and get more tape for our camcorder for this occasion. I was reassured "several" times that I shouldn't worry and that he would take care of it. Now back to the story...

Michelle: "Where is the tape that you were suppose to buy?"
Craig: "I just thought that I would pick it up on the way to the birthing center"
Michelle: "WHAT??!!! You mean we have to go to the store while I'm having these contractions? Are you crazy?"
Craig: "No, we don't have to go to the store if you don't want to. We can just video tape the birth on our Grand Canyon tape."
Michelle: "No we can not video tape on our Grand Canyon tape! We're going to the store!" *I'm the crazy one* "Well, we better hurry up and leave now before I have this baby in the car!" *sheesh! Of all times to be going to Walmart!*

Now, thinking back on this whole scenario, it is quite funny.In fact, reading it here is hilarious. Craig and I always have something like this going on, during a time when it isn't very convenient. It makes our life story quite interesting though.

So, there we are, rushing to get out the door with the children around 8:30am. Craig and Sebastian are sitting in front, Matthea is in the middle and Jade and Oliver are in the very back with me. I wanted to be in the back so that I could lean over the back of the seat during my contractions. For some reason, I just felt better in that position. The drive to Walmart is about 10 minutes, maybe, from our house. During that time, my contractions became a minute apart, lasting 60-90 seconds and I had a few that were right on top of each other without any break in between! I thought for sure we were not going to make it on time.... Craig finally gets to Walmart and runs in and runs out with a tape! And we were on the road again, to the birthing center. We get to the center at 9am. My midwife and her assistants are at the door waiting for me. We all get in and settled. They already have the birthing tub filled and ready for us. I was checked for dilation and I was already at 6cm.I labored in the tub until about 10:20am and had to have a bathroom break, of all times. I couldn't make it all of the way to the bathroom since my contractions were so close together. So, we had to make use of the birthing stool in the room and a bucket. (too much info, huh?) Well, my midwife asked me if I wanted her to break my bag after I was done and before we would get back into the birthing tub and I told her "yes, go ahead". My bag of waters was bulging this whole time and causing a lot of pressure and this would provide some relief. Well, at 10:43 she broke my water and as we were preparing to move back into the tub, I said, " No, I can't go, the baby is coming!" Everyone was kind of thrown off a bit. I was having trouble sitting on the birthing stool to begin with because it was a bit large and Craig was trying to hold me up so I wouldn't slip through and Connie,my midwife, looked to see if the baby was coming and said, "yes the baby's head is crowning! I need gloves!" So we have, Craig struggling to hold me up, the assistants scrambling for gloves, Connie gets one glove on and is struggling to get the other one on and doesn't have time to....the baby is making her way out and so Connie just lays the second glove on top of her hand just in time to catch the baby. She removed the cord from around her neck and we noticed a knot in the cord, they had to move me straight to the bed to cut the cord right away. Our initial "plan" was to deliver the baby in the water, bring in the children so they can see her come up out of the water, and Matthea wanted to be the one to cut the umbilical cord. Obviously, that didn't happen because of the circumstances. The knot, we were told, was a rare occurrence and was usually only found in still births. Our midwife had only seen about 3 or 4 in her whole career, which were all still births. What a miracle to have our baby born alive! She said that the knot was "loose" enough to oxygenate and nourish her apparently. As soon as we cut the cord and I got comfortable on the bed, the children were able to come in to see their new sister. Charlotte Geneva Faith. They were there for the weighing and measuring: 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long.

I was able to nurse her right away and then she was off to be passed around to her father and siblings while I rested for a bit. We were at the birthing center from 9am - 4pm and then we were headed back home for family time. It felt very awkward to be leaving after only about 5 hours after giving birth. But the experience was great! An all natural childbirth without the drugs, hospital staff and interventions etc... was definitely an eye opener for me.If we are blessed with another child, we are hoping to be able to give birth at home with the next one.




The first night home with Charlotte, I noticed her becoming a little jaundiced around 2am. Connie, our midwife, was coming over in the morning (Sat./4th) to check on me and Charlotte to see how we were doing, so I would mention the jaundice to her then.
When she came in the morning, she said that Charlotte did look a little jaundiced and she wanted us to go over to the lab and have her blood drawn for a Bili level check. Craig and I went over to the lab at the hospital and had the results within an hour. Her Bili level was an 11. Which is high for an infant who is only a day old. So we had a Bili blanket ordered to use at home, supplemented the breastfeeding with formula every other feeding and we would have her levels checked again in the morning...The next day (Sun./5th) her Bili level was at 15! Our midwife, and a pediatrician that she was consulting with, decided that Charlotte needed to be in the NICU with an IV and under some stronger lights to get this under control. They admitted Charlotte that afternoon and started her on an IV and got her under the Bili lights. I stayed over night with her in a recliner and Craig went home to be with the other children. Charlotte's Bili levels were checked throughout the night and the next morning. They slowly came down from 15, 13, 11 and then it was a 10 by the afternoon and they released her.(Mon./6th) We were to continue using the Bili blanket at home and have her levels checked on Tues. the 7th.
We went on Tues.,had her levels checked and they were at 9.The pediatrician told us to discontinue the Bili blanket and bring her in the following day,(Wed.,8th). On the 8th they officially said that she no longer was in danger, was looking good and pink and the jaundice was resolved! Everything has been going great with her,the breastfeeding,the sleeping, the waking etc...She is a very "good" baby. We all felt as if we really didn't get to "know" Charlotte until the 8th,when she was home and there were not any more trips to the hospital.Everything was a little crazy until that was all over with. Thankfully Craig was able to be at home with us during this time.

Then, just 6 days later on the 14th, Oliver starts to have diarrhea. By Thursday the 16th we decided to take him to the doctor, he hadn't had diarrhea that day but he had other symptoms that came up.He was falling asleep just about anywhere and all the time, poor appetite,very fussy, and he was falling down a lot. It was kind of like, when a baby just learns how to walk and they loose their balance and fall back on their behind. He just seemed to be getting real weak. Well, the doctor said was that whatever was in his system is making it's way out and the sleeping and balance issues are probably a result of low sugar from not eating a lot and the diarrhea. He wasn't dehydrated otherwise they would have wanted to admit him and hook him up to an IV. The Doctor said that we should bring him back if things don't clear up or if they get worse.Well the diarrhea started up again Friday the 17th,it's not as bad as it was,but it is still enough to make anyone cranky. His appetite has returned slightly,he's not as sleepy as he was but he's still very fussy and falling down still. This all has been within the last week. So, we will be heading back to see the doctor . Hopefully they will have an answer.

So much has happened and I wanted to have baby announcements made up and sent out to everyone by this time. But,it looks as if I may be late. I also need to send the thank you cards for the "shower" of gifts Charlotte has received.
When it rains it pours....other minor things that have happened:Garage door broke, washing machine broke($800+ to fix/might as well buy a new one huh?),garbage disposal broke, Craig's Bronco was towed to the house and the top flew off and broke the windshield, one of our bucklings, "Independence", died from a pallet falling over on him and crushing him, oh! and the transmission is going out in the van! YEAH!!!

With all of the trials that God sends my way, I need to be reminded that:

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

⁹The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James 1: 2-12


With all of that said....we are still living life. Craig is back to work, the kids have been faithfully taking care of the animals and their chores,the Llamas get out sometimes and head down the street to visit the neighbors(without permission of course!), we have sold some chickens, Craig, Sebastian and Matthea have been butchering roosters, the kids and I have been working in the garden (I will post pictures of the garden soon), we are preparing to start our school year on August 1st (I am praying that that will come together smoothly) and Craig will be taking some more vacation time in a couple of weeks to finish working on the trailer in Jackpot in order to sell it before the cold weather hits.

Thank you God for this life you have given me.... blessing me with a wonderful husband and the restoration of a fruitful womb.

Counting Down the Days and Livin' Life....

Well here I am at 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant and no signs of labor beginning yet. I had an appointment with my chiropractor today for an adjustment that was way overdue.I have been seeing him every two weeks,except I had to cancel my last appointment,which was two weeks ago.So,it's been a month since I've seen him.I wasn't going to reschedule until after the baby was born.I just thought that I would be good until then.Boy was I wrong.Within a day or two of missing my appointment,I started having a lot of pain in my pelvis and it just got worse.The past two or three days have reminded me of what I felt like in past pregnancies when I couldn't walk,roll over,get up etc... without being in any pain.I finally called this morning and said that I needed to come in.He told me that I was definitely in need of an adjustment.Everything was out of whack.Thankfully I felt a lot better when I left the office.I'm just a little sore from letting it go so long.It should make me feel a little better while in labor too.
We also had an appointment with our midwife.Everything looks fine,I'm still measuring at only 36 weeks and lost a little weight(which is normal).So, we all are just playing the waiting game....on top of dealing with my ever increasing nesting instinct! I enlisted the girls to help me with my urge to bake the other day and we ended up baking 4 desserts and some bread.We finished harvesting the last of the Rhubarb and made a Rhubarb Strawberry-Lime Kuchen,Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp,Rhubarb Strawberry Cream Pie,Sugar Cream Pie and a loaf of bread.They all turned out delicious!


We've had 5 chicks hatch from our incubator and 2 so far that have hatched from our hen who went broody on us.She was setting on 11 eggs and so far we've only seen 2 chicks.But, tonight we snuck in the 5 chicks that we hatched,hoping she will accept them as her own.We'll see tomorrow morning if they have been rejected or not.

Our goat,Jane Doe, hasn't given birth yet.But she is still getting larger and a little more crankier.LOL. Craig and Sebastian have finished her kidding pen and she has been in there,but,has figured out how to jump over the wall!!! I can't believe that she would even attempt to do that in her condition and just the fact that she is so large,you would think that she couldn't possibly get over it.Oh boy.

Anyway,Craig and Sebastian butchered a couple of roosters last week and well...we ate them for dinner. Very good indeed.Those two guys are getting the hang of it.We have a whole lot more to butcher and freeze now.

The garden was finally weeded and tilled.Unfortunately the kids and I did it the old fashioned way,with our hands and some shovels.The tiller is still not in working order...But,the garden was finally planted with all of our plants and the kids each have their own plots to work with.We still have plenty of room for more.It's a big garden.Matthea has,by far, the most tomato plants.She went a little nuts with the seeds when they were picking out what they wanted to grow.But,now we are thankful that she did,because there should be an abundant crop from her!!!Another cool thing is that we have two Cherry trees that have produced a huge crop of cherries.The kids just started harvesting them today.I will have to get photos of all of the cherries on here soon and the garden.Also,sometime last year,someone had told us that Asparagus grows wild out here and you can find it almost anywhere near water,especially the canals.Well,Sebastian was out by our canal the other day and found some!! Pretty cool! We steamed the asparagus and had it with our dinner last night.Yummy.

We have also given Oliver his first haircut! He did so well for me and sat there very patiently while I used the trimmers and scissors.Now he looks older and not like my baby anymore. :(

We've had a lot of things breaking on us around here too. You know the saying "when it rains it pours",well I was already thinking of that when the first thing went....when the tiller went out,that was what I was saying,"what next,you know something else is going to go"....then it was the lawnmower (twice!!)....then the garage door...then the reverse in the van (ughhh,that is the worse thing so far)...then our washing machine ( which turns out to be more expensive to fix than to buy a new one).So,the first thing on our list to fix is the van.Luckily,when we had the technician out to come and look at our washer,I was mentioning how everything just keeps on falling apart around us.I mentioned the latest thing was the van.The guy asked what was wrong with it and said that he use to be a mechanic.So I told him and he went into detail on what was probably wrong with it and what we should do before the whole transmission goes out on us.We took it in to run a diagnostic on it and the tech was right about what could be wrong.But,something else was coming up with it.Well, we have ordered the part and Craig is hoping that he will be able to put it in himself.If not we'll have to take it somewhere and have someone else do it.If that doesn't fix the problem then, it's the other problem and it will cost us a couple of thousand dollars to have a new transmission put in.Oh BOY!
So,in the meantime,we will be washing our laundry at the Laundromat and not opening the garage door until we can fix the van and move on to the next item on the list.


Hey,life could be worse. One day at a time, one thing at a time and still praise God for what he has given us.Even when "bad" things come our way.

Another Year For the Two of Us.....God is Good

Last week, Craig and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. The girls and I made a special dinner and we finally cut some of our Rhubarb and made a strawberry rhubarb pie, for the first time! Unfortunately we all ate dinner and then ate the pie so fast that we forgot to take a picture of our pie! It was actually the best pie that we have ever eaten and the best pie that we have ever made.But,on the bright side, there are still some more stalks left on the plant that we can still make another pie and "share" it with everyone in a photo.


We were just reminiscing about this time last year...when we were celebrating our 12th anniversary....We had been planning an anniversary vacation for some time and it happened to coincide perfectly with our trip to Illinois.After watching my son John graduate from high school and visiting with friends, we started our anniversary vacation.A road trip,back to Nevada....we also had a newborn baby along for the ride.Which made things a bit challenging. But,we took our time and made our way through Missouri,Kansas,Colorado to spend time with friends,then south west to the "Four Corners" Colorado,New Mexico,Utah and Arizona(the kids loved that),then we headed to the Grand Canyon for a couple of days (that was the highlight of the trip),next was Hoover Dam and Las Vegas (Las Vegas was the worst part of the trip),we drove North to Mesquite,Nevada and stayed at a resort for a few days and relaxed by the pool before making our way home to Jackpot! In between all of those stops were of course a lot of hotel stays.The kids still talk about our "trip" and we all hope to be able to do another trip with just the family again. I thought that I would post some of our vacation photos from last year.


Here we are a year later and we are expecting another new baby to join our family! God has grown our family and blessed us with these precious gifts.Craig and I are just filled with happiness and joy and can't wait to see what else He has in store for us this coming year! We have just 13 short days left to the baby's due date and everyone here is just so excited and wondering at every moment if today may be the day.God is good....so very good.