An Early Christmas Present.

This weekend we received an early Christmas present and we are all very excited. No I am not pregnant.
We can't wait to share the news with everyone, but we will not be sharing for a couple of months.
We have a few details that need to still fall into place but when everything comes together I will share all the exciting details.

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy 15th Birthday Emily

Emily, hope you have a great birthday and a great year. I have enjoyed watching you this year grow in your faith. You have been such a "Bright Light" to many girls. Continue listening to the Lord and follow his way and you will be blessed. I love you Emily and I am so very proud of you.

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and

praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Reaghan's Baptisim

Nov. 6th 2011 was a very special day for our family. The Pastor had announced at church a couple of weeks earlier that if anyone was interested in being baptised then they needed to come and talk to him. Reaghan was so excited she had been waiting for this time and now it was drawing near. We told her you have to talk to the Pastor and also share your testimony in front of the congregation. Let me tell you if you know Reaghan this was going to be a huge wall fro her to climb, but she did it and as a mother I have to say I was very proud of her. She conquered one of her fears. All because she wanted to be obedient to the Lords call to profess her Faith publicly. Here she is listening as the Pastor is asking her to share her testimony, I could feel her fear.

Here is a picture of Daddy praying for her before the "dunking" as dad has phrased it.

She is ready.

No turning back, No turning back.

Happy Birthday Maclae

I can't believe she is already 13. I remember the day she was born and how little she looked and now she looks like a woman. I don't know where the time has gone.

I love who she has become over these last few years. She has become a young lady who truly loves the Lord. She loves her family and her siblings even when they get on her nerves. Her heart is very gentle and I see her hurting when others are hurting. I love that about her. She is the nurturer in our family. When someone is sick she cuddles them and loves on them trying to make them feel better, never worrying about whether or not she will get sick. What a great mother she will make someday.

Happy Birthday Maclae.

Levi

Here is my little guy who lives in a house full of Girls. He thinks he needs to have his hair put in a towel just like they do.

Working out the Kinks

We are now on our second week of school and I am still trying to figure out how to get all of the children schooled without pulling out my hair. Each year I try to teach them to be more independent in their studies but it is still a lot of work. My oldest is completely on her own which is nice but I also miss seeing her all day. She does her own school work completely and then her dad checks her work when she gets home. The other 4 do a unit study with mom and then they do their other subjects on their own. The kindergartner wants to do more but I can only do so much with her because her attention span is just not very long. Which is fine with me because she is only 5. So again I am trying to work through all the kinks and figure it all out so we can not just get through school but also enjoy it as we go.
Again I surrender my family and my life to the Lord and ask Him to guide me through
this season which I know will soon be gone. I ask you Lord to help me to slow down and enjoy the children during these years ahead, I know they will be gone before the blink of an eye. Thank you again Lord for blessing me with all these little souls and trusting us to raise them up for Your kingdom.

Our First Day of School

Monday was our official first day of school this year. We started Emily last week so we could figure everything out. So Monday morning we started a little later than I had planned, but the Lord blessed us for being diligent and we accomplished all of our goals. Looking forward to another fun and busy school year. Teaching another little one to read is very exciting for me. This will be my 6Th child that I have taught to read and it is a blessing every time.

Highschool

I still can't believe my oldest is in High school. I will never forget the first day she started school. We were living in Phoenix and we had four children at the time. The baby was only two weeks old when I started homeschooling Emily. Every year we have said we would take it one year at a time.Wow look at us now she is starting High school and I can say I do not regret one day of our decision to home school. Marc and I went to a home school conference this year and one of the speakers we listened to specifically spoke to me personally. We have always said that we will take it one year at a time. He encouraged us homeschooling to look beyond one year at a time and commit to homeschooling until Jesus comes. That was profound to me, because I have always said we will just take it one year at a time to save us an argument with people who do not believe what we believe. But I have learned that the Lord has called us to this and I am proud to say that we will be homeschooling our children until Jesus comes.

Now back to my highschooler. Emily you make me so proud as I watch you grow in your faith with the Lord. I can see that you love Him more and more each day. You encourage me and challenge me to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ. I look forward to these next four years with you as you grow in your walk and knowledge. May the Lord bless you and keep you safe under His wings of protection. I love you Emily; and I am sorry you had to be sick for your first day of High school.

Here is Emily reading one of her books and not feeling very but being very diligent.

What a studious student we have.

Almost done with the day and feeling very accomplished.

I love you Emily and I am so proud of you.

Too Funny

I had to post real quick about what happened last night at family devotions. Hopefully I can remember it correctly because it was so funny.

Last night after daddy was done reading the Bible he asked if anyone had any prayer request. Levi raised his hand(remember he is going to be 3 in Sept.) I was thinking he would copy something the other children had said. But no he had one of his own. He said,"Pray mommy have another baby." I thought it is a little soon, lets not start praying for that yet.

As we began to pray the child who has a prayer request prays and then we move on to another child and end with mommy and daddy. Kharis prayed first and then it was Levi's turn he folded his hands and said, "Dear Jesus pray mommy has another baby." Then he looked up and at me and said,"Mommy you pregnant again." He was so serious, and we tried not to laugh but we couldn't help it we were all laughing hysterically.
This is what happens when a little boy has 6 big sisters, who always play like they are pregnant and having children. He just thinks mommy should be pregnant all the time.

(Just so you all know I am NOT Pregnant.)

My Garden

I planted my first garden this year all by myself and it has been so rewarding. Other years I have had a garden but only because my dad was visiting so he did all the work. Well this year Emily and I worked very hard and planted a very nice garden. This is our first bowl of home grown lettuce. Boy was it yummy with grilled chicken and Caesar dressing. We have had two more big salads like this and I think I need to pick some more lettuce in a couple of days. This garden has been really fun for me and I am excited to see the rest of our harvest as the garden grows.

Not A Whole Lot Going On

I can't believe the month of June is almost over. I feel like nothing has been accomplished this summer and I still have so much to do. My parents left today and they are headed back to California, so next week we will try to get started on our summer schedule. I want to do school MWF and on T and TH I want us to start decluttering rooms. I would love to get this all done before the middle of August.
Everything else seems to be pretty normal here. Daddy is still looking for a different job, kids are growing bigger everyday, and summer is getting hotter and hotter. The younger children have been going to a local Five Day Club in the mornings which has been fun for the kids and also fun for mommy.
Well I must go for now because it is breakfast time and then off to the 5 day club. Praying I can get something accomplished next week.

Family Pictures

3 Months

What happened to my little guy. He decided to grow up over night. Uriah Beau has been such a blessing to our family and we are so thankful for him. Just the other night as daddy held him he told him "Your mommy prayed very long and hard for you, and God heard her prayers." I did pray for this baby and i thank God for him but I also prayed and didn't know it for all my other children. I knew I wanted to be obedient to God but didn't always know what that meant, but he did. So I believe i have prayed for all of my children and they are all a gift from God.

Uriah Beau 3 months old a gift from the Lord.

Future Mother of America

I asked Creighton to please put the baby to sleep for me. He was fussy and needed a nap. I went in to the living room and found her crocheting and singing to him and he was sound asleep in her arms. What a great mother she will make some day.

Kharis is 5

I don't know where the last 5 years have gone. I can still remember the day I had Kharis,like it was just yesterday. She has grown up so fast. She brings much joy and laughter to our family. I often find Kharis playing in her room or outside singing all by herself. The Lord has filled this child with a joyful spirit. Happy Birthday Kharis.

Here she is after she opened all her presents. Kharis loves Little House on the Prairie so we got her a bonnet for her birthday. She loves it so much she has only taken it off for bedtime.

Spa day

A day at the spa. i had gone to the grocery store and came home to this scene. The youngest of the girls was getting pampered by her older sisters. What a life of luxury. The girls said, "We didn't have any cucumbers so we taped cotton pads to her eyes. I couldn't help but laugh. I told them if they had looked they would have found the cucumbers in the refrigerator. They had also taped these cotton pads to Levi and he was trying to ride his little bike with them on. I will post a picture of this later. I thought he was playing the blind man in the Bible, but no he was having a spa treatment also. Poor guy.

A little late but this is Uriah when he is just a little over 2 months old. Isn't he cute.

May 7th 2011 (A day we will never forget)

May 7th 2011 is a day that we have all been looking forward to for the past three years. Daddy went back to school in May of 2008 and for the past three years he has had many hats to wear. Husband, father, employee, student, counselor, fixer, etc..you get the picture. During those three years we experienced the birth of our first son, lost our second son before we even got to hold him and gave birth to our third son just 2 months before he graduated. It has been a long haul not only for daddy but for all of us. We are all so proud of his work he has accomplished. Daddy graduated with a 3.9, but we give him a 4.0 in our household. We are so proud of you Daddy and we look forward to spending time with you this summer.

The little ones wanted to take one more walk outside before the ceremony started.

Yeah!!!!! He did it.

Waiting to have his name finally announced after a long three years. We really are proud of you. I am thankful God has blessed me with such a Godly and hard working provider. I know I was not always very supportive but believe me when I say I am very proud of you and i know you did this for your family.

Been Gone for Awhile

I know I have been gone for the past couple of weeks. But only because we have been very busy at our house. You can see that big Sister Maclae now has her hands full with two little guys.

Nana has been helping us get the outside of the house looking pretty. Thanks Nana.

I have enjoyed many afternoons laying in bed with the three little ones.

And I have also watched this little one grow up way to fast. I feel like if I blink just once he has changed. So for now I will just hold him and love him and praise God that he is growing bigger and stronger everyday.

And last but not least this is the real reason why I have not been blogging. We have been getting the house ready to sell. It is officially on the Market. Now we will wait on the Lord and see where he moves us. I would like to ask for prayers as we do not know where the Lord is going to take us but we want to be obedient to his calling. We ask that you would pray for a clear answer from God as to where we need to go and that we would be obedient and go with a cheerful heart.

Pictures

4 weeks Old

This cute little outfit that Uriah is wearing was given to us by a sweet lady who I met through blogging. Thank you Sally I couldn't wait to put him in it and he looks so cute. I met Sally after i lost Elias. She has been a faithful reader and I have felt her prayers through out this journey. I pray that someday the Lord will let me meet this new found sister of mine, she truly has been a blessing even though we have never met. So Sally this picture is for you and again thanks for the cute outfit.

Here is a picture of Uriah when he is 3 weeks old. I just love babies when they are only in their diapers.

Uriah was sound asleep but I had to have his picture taken because he looks so peaceful. He is now 4 weeks old and is growing faster than mommy would like him too. we weighed him today and he weighs 11 lbs even. I just can't believe how big he is getting. I still can't get over the fact that the Lord has blessed us with 8 healthy children. I love all of them and am very grateful for this life I live. Yes it is noisy at times ( well all the time) but is worth it. I couldn't imagine my life any other way. Thank you lord for blessing us the way you have I am humbled that you have chosen us to raise these children for you. Praying we keep our eyes lifted up during this season of our life.