The Little Things

It's the little things that count, I think. That add up to make lifetimes of memories. The small, almost un-noticeable, trivial details that seem to make a difference to the little lives around me.

Like putting on endless coats, boots, hats and mittens.

Like filling dozens of sippy cups and water glasses.

Like taking a few minutes to play a couple rounds of UNO with the 5-yr. old.

Like coloring Strawberry Shortcake pictures with little girls.

Like fixing a favorite meal of sweet-n-sour chicken over rice.

Like teaching the 8 yr. old to make carrot cake.

Like whipping up fruit smoothies for everyone before bed.

Like saying "I Love You" and giving genuine smiles into shining eyes.

Like snuggling my 4 mo. old with his favorite soft blanket when his eyes are drooping.

Like baking pretty cupcakes with the 3 yr. old.

But how can I not spill over to those around me when my amazing Father pours out those little things {and not so little!} to me so often?

Like helping us find the error on our tax forms that saved us thousands of dollars.

Like restoring my milk supply when I ran out after the Babe was so sick for a week.

Like surrounding me with such sweet friends who bless me so often.

Like whispering such utter peace when my heart is in turmoil.

Like giving me a hope and a future. I have so much, both right this minute, and to look forward to. I am so, so, so very blessed.

I thank God for little things!

Gabriel Joel

With great relief and JOY we announce the arrival of our sixth child, fourth son!

Gabriel Joel Zook

October 21, 2011 at 8:30 pm

9 lbs. 0 oz.

Ready to take him home

Totally falling in love with him!!

September Snapshots

I never guessed when I wrote that last post that I'd make a flying trip to the east coast for the funeral of my youngest cousin. Or that once again those words would echo through my mind, to treasure the memories and to make every moment count. It is more than my brain can comprehend to say good-by a vivacious, happy-go-lucky, giggly 8-yr. old. And I could do nothing but weep brokenly as my Aunt pulled up the covers for the last time over his little jean shorts and bare feet, and kissed him good-night. Oh, the pain! Every part of me wants to somehow make it more bearable; to dice that hurt and pain up into little pieces and distribute them around so we can all help bear it. And yet, I can't. Oh, God, YOU can! Walk with them!

~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~

It seemed that as September crept up on the calendar, so did fall. We have been having the most gorgeous weather I could wish for! And even though this means that snowy days are just around the corner {groan}, I am loving the vibrant autumn colors!! Extreme blue skies, golden grain fields, bright pumpkins, great bunches of goldenrod in the roadside ditches, and huge mum plants bursting with color. We finally set a weekend aside for camping {in early Sept.} and it could not have been more perfect. I will admit that the more children we have, the less relaxing the camping trip is for Mama, but it's still so much fun to break out of the normal routine and enjoy each other more. We spent a Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend at a lake not far from our house. Fishing, swimming, making s'mores, campfire cooking, sleeping in tents, and playing games. And I love the snappy mornings where we huddle around the campfire with hot chocolate with jackets and fuzzy blankets until the sun warms eveything up. {I also love husbands who run to the store the night before to buy their very pregnant wife an air mattress so she can actually sleep at night!}

~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~

School is finally in full swing. We got a slightly late-ish start since I simply didn't get my book order in soon enough. But I think with the boys' beginning-of-the-year enthusiasm, we might just catch up anyways. I have been wrestling in my mind since last year what kind of curriculum to use this year. Ever since Josiah started kindergarden at age 5, I've just been picking up a Math book here and a Reading book there, patching together whatever works to round out the learning. But as the boys are growing older, I am finding it harder to put together a thorough, complete education with my previous slap-together methods. So this year we made the decision to try the ACE curriculum. I grew up using CLE, which is very similar in lay-out, so I can easily understand how it's laid out and how to teach it. And so far, I am very pleased. The boys love how their work is laid out in daily, weekly, and yearly goals, and they eagerly work way ahead so they can take a day off here or there to go to work with Dad. I'm sure it's plenty early to tell yet, but so far, so very good. And Christi, of course, is just delighted to be officially "learning to read"! =)

~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~

Baby-name discussions are pretty much at the top of the list right now. Of course the children have plenty of their own suggestions. Princess, Strawberry Shortcake, and Petunia rank right up there with Frank, Junior, and George. Thankfully, their Daddy and I get the final say! =) I dug out all the newborn clothes the other day and washed them .... such fun! Tiny little booties and soft fuzzy blankets, little blue sleepers and tiny pink caps. The doctor visits are more frequent now, as we count down the last few weeks. She was pleased to see that the baby is about 6 pounds now, so the lil' punkin is growing quite well in spite of the 2-vessel cord. We have so much to thank God for! 

~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~

Well, the hubby is home and supper needs to hit the table. Hope your evening is wonderful.

 Thanks for stopping by.

The Huge Nursery

God must have a sense of humor. Giving me first armloads of babies, and now a huge nursery to put them all in! lol The nursery room at the old house was just so big enough to hold 1 crib, a changing table, and a baby. This new house has two bedrooms downstairs; the master bedroom, and another room of equal proportions right across from it. What else could it be but a sewing room, craft room, school room, nursery? I am very pleased with this room AND it's location in the house. Plenty of room for several cribs, several changing tables, a rocking chair, and of course, the humongous closet! Who ever heard of 9 1/2 foot closets? I am NOT complaining, mind you, but buying shelves and rods for these things are about the break the bank. lol  When the new baby comes along, I think Taylor will still have plenty of time and space to hang out there for a while.


When we first walked into the house, the room looked like this:

And the after {still needing the finishing touches}

And the little man himself, who has taken quite seriously after his father's great affection for cats. That trait most certainly does *not* come from his mother's side.

Good night for now. I am exhausted after hosting 10 boys here for Josiah's 10th birthday today! It was a ball of fun, but I have to say, I'm glad I'm not a mother to 10 boys.

Looks like I'll need to be teaching this one about the perils of texting and driving. Soon!



Baby Bibs

Last evening I was doing a little shopping online. I had a 75% off gift code to use, and really wanted some cute bibs. With 2 toddlers in bibs 3 times per day, they do wear out. So I had picked out these super-cute ones and was all ready to score a great deal. But alas, even with my 75% off code, once you add in shipping and tax, etc, my bill still would have been $17. For 3 measly baby bibs!


Okay, call me stingy or tight, I don't know, But I just could not do it. I clicked the little red x and cancelled my un-placed order. And I laid in bed then after hubby fell asleep and thought of what I had on hand ... what could I create ... surely I can do better. lol SURELY no one else wastes precious sleep time over such trivial issues!


Anyways, this afternoon over nap time I dug out my sewing machine, a couple of old flannel receiving blankets, some batting, some buttons, and an old bib for a pattern. And I have to say, I was pretty pleased with the 4 pretty bibs I ended up with for just, well, I guess they were completely free! I didn't spend a dime.

Of Paint and Donuts and Babies

It's been a busy week. Okay, who am I kidding, it's been busy for weeks on end. With no sign of vacations and balmy beaches and lazy sun-bathing anywhere on the horizon. But this past week I tackled a few projects on purpose to help pass the time while Jason is gone. He took off for the prison crusades in South Carolina for a week, and took 2 of my kiddoes with him. They, of course, will not be in the prisons, but they are having a totally grand time at their Uncle Jerold's place. I've called to chat with them, and they can barely pry themselves away from games of King & Queen, dress up, or running barefoot outside to spare their mother a few moments. I'm not sure if I should feel awful that they don't even miss me, or proud that they are so well-adjusted that they can handle time away from me without a problem.


Anyways, the first project on my list this week was to overhaul the boys' room. Jason had built them a new bunk bed which got finished last week {didn't he do an AMAZING job??}, and I needed to paint it. I figured, hey, their whole room could really use a face-lift, so I tackled the whole thing. Had a few minor glitches along the way, but over all I am tickled with how it turned out. This is how it looked before ... nasty blue carpet, completely ripped wallpaper border, and baby-blue walls that I was long wearied of. And the old bunk bed ... which is now in the girls' room.

And after ... with the new bunk bed. And new curtains that I sewed.

Another thing I really wanted to do this week was to get to "spoil" my three remaining offspring with extra-fun mom-time, doing things that I often do not have time to do with all 5, a hubby to cook for, and the busy school schedule. And did we ever have fun!! Lunch at the Panda Express at the mall { their Orange Chicken & Fried Rice could be my daily diet and I would not complain!}, half-price day at the second-hand shop, sleep-overs & slumber parties, special movie nights with some fun new movies from the library, playing games, making mini-donuts from little tube-biscuits for supper, days at Grandma's house, and lots of story-reading. Micah told me the other day that this has been the best week of his life, and he wishes it would last forever. So I guess I have been at least somewhat successful.

But the highlight of my week was just last night when I was able to have the privilege to be labor coach for a friend of mine. What a beautiful labor & delivery, with a gorgeous baby boy born a little past 1 this morning. No matter how many babies I have delivered {or coached the delivery}, I never lose the marvel of birth and the miracle of new life ... there is nothing else like it and I LOVE it.  


So yeah, it's been a great week, and it has gone really fast, but all of a sudden I am wishing for my man. It's been long enough now. Tomorrow night can't come fast enough. I am at an amazing place in life right now ... littles needing me at every hand ... school to teach ... my man to stand beside and bless ... Amazingly full and it takes all I've got, but it's amazingly satisfying. I'm trying to enjoy each day, each moment, because truly these moments do slip through my fingers like sand. 

Tales from Mommy-land

I totally love my offspring. I really do. But sometimes this life 'in the trenches' leaves me wondering if I will emerge on the other side of parenting with all of my faculties still intact.

<> Will I think it normal to use the toilet with several on-lookers?
<> Will it seem like no big deal to have pads and tampons spread around the house by toddlers?
<> Will I continue to scrape off offending sticky wads from the bottoms of my socks instead of scrubbing my floors?
<> Will I still blush when I remember how my son answered the phone yesterday morning? He told the caller, "Yeah, well my mom is changing a very dirty diaper, and everybody is talking to her and needing her, and she is about to go crazy. So, yeah, maybe you shouldn't talk to her right now." Wow. Hmmm.
<> Will I think of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and Alvin & the Chipmunks' "Had a Bad Day" as quality music??
<> Will I consider baby puke on my shirt no big deal ... just use a wet wipe to clean up the worst of it?
<> Will I consider grocery shopping *by myself* a delightful break?
<> Will I sing "I'm a Little Teapot" to myself 100 times a day?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning I informed my boys that they needed to each set a couple of mouse traps out in the storage shed. Micah, being my dramatic one, sighed a tremendous sigh and said, "Mom, are you kidding? Do I have to?" Then Josiah pipes in with "Of course, Micah! You are, after all, the BEST mouse-trap setter!" Micah replied with "I know. I AM the professional. But my years are over." Talk about cracking me up. How many years has a 7-yr. old put in by now, anyways?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another funny. I was frustrated by tripping over the same jacket for the 7,528th time, when suddenly, inspiration hit. "Boys", I called, "come out here a minute." When they came I explained that I was going to start a "confiscation box" of any item I deemed out-of-place long enough or often enough to warrant being confiscated. To earn each item back, they would either get to pay me $0.20, or select one of a list of chores I wrote on the whiteboard. And to start things off immediately, I had Micah's favorite camouflage jacket, and Josiah's most useless precious cell phone. They thought this was hilarious! Josiah quickly came up with 2 dimes to get his phone back, while Micah began memorizing a scripture {one of the choices on my list} so he could go outside with his jacket. All of a sudden, it hit them. They ran frantically around the house, picking up and putting away every last thing they could find that belonged to them! I laughed & laughed. This is working better than I had dreamed .... Then their second thought hit them ... lets throw all of our school books around the house and leave them laying there! We all dissolved in heaps of laughter while I assured them that in addition to a 20-cent fine, they would be doing double lessons in any book I might find laying around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so glad I'm a mom. I'm glad I can laugh. I'm glad that I have tiny little bodies to rub down with lotion after warm, soapy baths. I'm glad that I have little girls who absolutely love to sing fun little songs all day long. I am glad that I get to teach new ideas and concepts for the first time ever to open, hungry minds & hearts. I am glad I have 10 little hands to help unpack the nativity set, and that I can teach my 2-year old about Baby Jesus and Mary and "Jophus" for the first time ever. I am glad that when I go to bed at night, I get to check on 5 quiet, snuggly, warm little bodies, and speak special blessings over them. I am so blessed.

It's A Big World ...

... through the eyes of a child.

He makes a bee-line for the door any time it gets left open even a crack. I love to see him gazing out the window. I think he has a bit of farm-boy in him. The tractors & combines & corn wagons going by these days have him in awe. And every last thing in this house gets pushed as a tractor. The stool ... my phone ... a cup ... any toy .... it's down on one hand & his knees, crawling along while pushing that "rig'. It is so cute! HE is so cute!

                                                                   ~10 months old ~