March Life in Pictures

~  Just a Few Moments of My Month   ~

I was working merrily along in the kitchen, getting far more accomplished than usual, when it hit me: The tots are QUIET. Have been quiet for a little while now. Any mom of tots knows that this means you must investigate right away. Case in point: 1 entire box of Strawberry Shortcake band-aids applied to 1 little tot's ankles. Mama keeps a straight and serious face, but inwardly thanks God it was just band-aids and not the Vaseline or the Desitin!!

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I've been on a sewing spree lately. I really do love creating if I just have the time to do it. Time is rather scarce, as always, but a couple of little things I did get done are these ...

A skirt for Christi from my left-over curtain scraps.

Curtains for the nursery.

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A gorgeous sunrise after a snowy night. March has been a most odd yet delightful month this year! We went from many inches of snow to vibrant green grass in less than 2 weeks time. I'm loving it!!



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Sometimes moms do crazy things just to make their kiddoes smile .....

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This little rolly-poly, handsome fellow is just pure joy in this household. I wonder how we ever made it without him!!

He just turned 5 months old this week, and is a solid 20 pounds already. My arms feel about like jello by the time I lay him in his bed at night. He loves his siblings, noisy toys, rice cereal, his softest blanket, and his Mama!

He does *not* like a quiet, boring house, applesauce, sleeping on his tummy, ladies Bible study, or any type of bottle.

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Such delightfulness! Poking tiny little seeds into fluffy soil and planning our first garden here on the farm. I'm sure we're over-zealous right now, but we cannot help but imagine blueberry bushes, raspberries, apple trees, grape arbors, mint tea, tulip beds, lilac bushes, a large strawberry patch, and much more. We've been tilling a large section, and also doing another section with "lasagna gardening". I'm so excited to see how it all turns out.

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A parting shot. This little missy has hair that will go completely curly at the first sign of heat or humidity. Her smile is healing up after a dozen or so stitches a couple of weeks ago. She was standing on a stool by the sink, helping me wash dishes when she got too far off the one corner and tumbled off. She caught the corner of her mouth and it was so deep and nasty looking. We went from Dr.s office to Urgent Care to ER to the specialist where we finally got an excellent Dr {father of 5!} to fix it up. She was such a trooper!!! I promised her a reward for her bravery, and she had only 1 choice: a fancy princess dress. So a fancy princess dress it was and she was just delighted.

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And that, my friends, it a couple of snapshots of my month. Glad you stopped by!

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!

February Ramblings ....

~~ It is truly sad how far down the list of priorities this blog has slid. slidden? fallen. I do think of the most delightful ideas to post, but actually getting them typed out, well, that's another story. But I keep reading these other super cool blogs, and love it, so I'm reminded to at least make an effort.


~~ This past week has been a long string of caring for sick little ones. Monday the littlest man wouldn't eat, slept all day, and coughed horribly. I was pretty sure he had RSV. Tuesday the Dr. diagnosed him with RSV and started steroids and breathing treatments. Friday morning at 5 I was laying in bed listening to his gaspy breathing and my heart kinda dropped. I knew he had pneumonia. So off we went to the ER. After lots of tears, blood work, x-rays and more, they confirmed RSV and pneumonia. Added one more med to the mix, and wow, what a difference! Today I have my cheerful, smiley baby back, who is playing with his toes and trying to roll over onto his fat, pudgy little tummy. I am so thankful!!

~~ Tomorrow is one week since we are back from our 2-week trip out east. Lots of fun and good memories, a wedding, and meeting new friends.  But the highlight was the week at a cabin with the Gehman family. Wow. How I do love & cherish my siblings!! I feel sorry for those who have no/very few siblings. There is just nothing like spending time with people who understand all your weird quirks, love you just because you're you, and share the same history and perspective on life. We ate delicious food, changed diapers, played games, fed babies, watched movies, rocked babies, played ping pong, mixed up bottles, sang hymns in 4-part harmony {love that tradition!}, nursed babies, and laughed until the tears rolled down our faces. The only thing missing was : Brothers!

~~ While at the cabin, I was greatly inspired by my sis {namely, the gorgeous Rachel!} to continue my weight loss attempts. She lost 40 lbs in the last few months, and looks sooooo good. I always feel kind of "stuck" while nursing a baby, because to a certain degree I have to eat fairly well or I quickly lose my milk supply. But I am so tired of my own lame excuses, and so together with my mom & another sis, we decided to give up all sugar and flour for 3 weeks and see what happens. At only 3 days into this venture, I am already amazed at how much there still is to choose from, and I barely feel cheated at all. Plus, it inspires me to cook healthier for the whole family. And the sweet side note - 5 lbs down in three days feels pretty good too.

~~ Valentines Day is fast approaching. I suppose I should be a model mother and have a splashy meal all planned for all the kiddoes complete with pink heart-shaped jello molds and red strawberries dipped in chocolate. But alas, I must be honest and report that we planned a pizza party for the young crew with the most excellent baby sitter ever, and Mr. Handsome is scheming for a double date with some good friends at a fancy restaurant. I can't wait.

~~ My time in the evenings between all-the-children-are-asleep and I-really-need-to-go-to-bed is much too short. So I will run along now and get some goal charts ready for Monday morning's back-to-school schedule. Til next time,
~Lou

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!!

Treasure the Moments

Ever since I turned 16 and began my first real job working in a nursing home, I have been impacted by the repeated admonition to "savor each moment". So many precious, frail people, in the final years of life, have nothing to do but to look back on a lifetime of memories. And they would tell me over and over again, and in many different ways, "You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't take it for granted!"

Then I started into the crazy, hectic, delightful time of having babies and toddlers. And once again, a host of grandmas and older ladies urged me, "You are in the best years! Enjoy it to the fullest, the years go by SO quickly." In fact, one of my favorite quotes has become, "The days are long, but the years are short." And it's soooo true!! How in the world did I become a mother to a 10-year-old? And however does it happen that we are about to birth our 6th child?? The years really do rush by.

Another huge reminder this week was a book I cried my way through; Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman. She lost her little 5-yr.-old in an instant. And all she had left to savor was those memories. The last stories they read. Helping her with the Barbie-doll's gloves. The night-time snuggles after bathtime. Those things are way too easy for me as a busy mom to rush through!! Quick, scrub the little bodies, dry off, night-night, love you, kisses, lights out! I'm too exhausted to sit there and brush out curls or read another story or hear their ideas of how it would be if the moon was close enough to jump to or just snuggle beside them for a few extra minutes, breathing in the fresh scents of baby soap and lotion. And yet, that is exactly where the savoring and treasuring and cherishing comes in. If I miss those moments now, I can never get them back.

And then, as if God was trying to drive a point home, I stumbled across a {country!} song on the radio as I flipped through stations in our {new-to-us} van. The words are the typical, red-neck country style lyrics, and yet, it's the same clear message,               "You're Gonna Miss This"

She was staring out the window of that SUV

Complaining, saying “I can’t wait to turn 18″

She said “I’ll make my own money, and I’ll make my own rules”

Momma put the car in park out there in front of the school

Then she kissed her head and said “I was just like you”

You’re gonna miss this

You’re gonna want this back

You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you’re gonna miss this

Before she knows it she’s a brand new bride

In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by

He tells her “It’s a nice place”

She says “It’ll do for now”

Starts talking about babies and buying a house

Daddy shakes his head and says “Baby, just slow down”

Cause you’re gonna miss this

You’re gonna want this back

You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you’re gonna miss this

Five years later there’s a plumber workin’ on the water heater

Dog’s barkin’, phone’s ringin’

One kid’s cryin’, one kid’s screamin’

She keeps apologizin’

He says they don’t bother me.

I’ve got 2 babies of my own.

One’s 36, one’s 23.

Huh, it’s hard to believe, but …

You’re gonna miss this

You’re gonna want this back

You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you’re gonna miss this

You’re Gonna Miss This – Lyrics TRACE ADKINS

So, as I buckle into another round of school, count down the last 7 weeks until baby-day, cook unbelievable amounts of food for hungry, growing boys {my 20-month old ate 2 huge meatballs last night!}, clean cluttery bedrooms, and do untold laundry loads of jeans and skirts and pajamas, I will choose to cherish the moments. I will look into little brown, blue, and hazel eyes and smile. I will treasure the little kicks and wiggles while ignoring my aching back and swollen feet. I will give extra hugs and kisses, and remember that I hold this moment in my hand, and before it slips through my fingers like sand, I will make it into a memory. And one day when I am old a gray, I will look back with fondness and say, "Those were the best years, and I wouldn't do one thing differently."

Just a Jumble

Wow. My poor, neglected blog! I have so lacked inspiration lately.

I've been lacking motivation too.

Been spending quite a few days just lounging on the couch, barely feeling well enough to get up and do anything. But soggy diapers still demand attention. Hungry children still need lunch, even if it is just tomato soup out of a can and some grilled cheese sandwiches. Dirty laundry still demands to be washed, even if we tumble through baskets of clean laundry to find the desperately needed clean underwear.

I will be glad when the whole morning sickness thing is over and my normal zest and energy comes back!

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I think pregnancy hormones make me more keenly aware of other people's pain. Okay, that sounds weird, but it's either that or I am turning to mush lately.

A friend who is walking a horrible road, trying to find herself. I cannot get her off of my mind or heart.

Feeling like I MUST find a way to comfort an anxious, lonely, or scared sister, even though I am too far away to possibly do anything.

Trying to find an appropriate video clip to share with a girl contemplating abortion. She wants to see what would really happen. I couldn't even watch 1 whole minute, and I am a mess. Weeping over the pain GOD must feel. His tiny, most precious gifts torn to shreds and left broken and bleeding.

I don't usually think of myself being all that tender-hearted. I mean, I care, yeah, but I am also more of a prophet-type to say it like I see it and if you don't like it, oh well. Anyways, somehow the past few weeks, I'm feelin' it! And it's driving me back to my Father again and again.

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I'm still loving the God-spottings in my life. An unexpected day of sun when the forecast was 90% rain. New green grass. A thoughtful husband who stops for pizza on his way home from work. Coffee {as in, iced, mocha, with whipped cream, and barely tasting like coffee, lol} and a good chat with a wonderful friend. And just today I won a huge door prize at MOPS; an hour-long massage!! Another great way I wish he would show up would be in the whole potty-training-the-2-year-old department. But I digress.

I am loving teaching my little girlies to hang up laundry again. They barely remember doing it last year, and they are over the moon with joy every time I haul a basket of clothes out! 

I am loving a new, tiny life growing inside me again. I am so content in knowing that God ordained it. Human reasoning may never fully understand His ways, and I am going to delight in that. And I am amazed again at how fiercely protective I become of that fragile, precious gift.

I love watching my 16 month old learning new things every day. He is like a sponge, soaking up new understanding everywhere. He dearly loves being outside, and our crazy winter-ish spring has been quite a trial for him.

I am loving dreaming with my husband about a house/property to buy. We are asking for some serious guidance from God, and tentatively proceeding with looking for the "perfect place" for our family. At the "perfect price", of course!

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Hopefully it will not be another 6 weeks before I am back to blog again!

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?

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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?

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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.

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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.

Thoughts on Worship

My life has been ... how shall I say ... less than easy lately. To be honest, it's been downright discouraging and trying. And it's been tough for me, maybe because I am usually so confident & peaceful & even-keeled. I'm not used to being a puddle on the floor so often in one week! There's been an awful lot of thoughts jumbling around in my head the past couple of weeks. Thoughts of God, how He thinks, and of who I am. Thoughts of my needs versus His perfect plan. And try as I might to understand, it seems the more I think and ponder it all, the more convinced I become that His ways are far above my ways, and He doesn't intend for me to figure Him all out.

But one thing He is showing me, and that I am figuring out {sometimes it takes Him a while to get through!!} , is that He desires my worship. It is His love language. He craves worship like I crave affection. He needs it like I need someone to care about me. I can't exactly give God a hug or cook Him my finest meal or buy Him a big beautiful present, but I can give Him worship.

So my next question is, what is worship??  How in the world do I give the God of the Universe meaningful worship? The dictionary says that worship is showing reverence & admiration to a deity or supreme being. That's very eloquent, but I was thinking of something more down-to-earth. Are my prayers worship? The way I live my life? Is it the time I spend on my knees with my heart overflowing with gratitude & song? Maybe all of the above? I really feel like I don't do a very good job of worshipping. If my worship was the only worship God ever received, would He feel adequately loved & admired? :Blush: I doubt it. Especially if He has a God-sized need to receive it!

Then I {in such human-ness!}  said, "God, okay, I will worship you. I will do my best! But then what about all this ... 'life' that is happening!? What are you gonna do? How am I supposed to handle it?" And He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you." Grin. Wow. He is so awesome! I can't wait to see what happens next!