How I spent my day ...

I woke up a little late this morning, and rushed to get Steve's coffee and stuff ready before he needed to leave.  Baby G woke up while I was doing that, and Steve brought him out to me.  We said goodbye to Daddy and then I took him and my coffee to the computer.

It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep in my arms.  I just sat there holding him, because they only sleep in your arms for such a little time.  I can't think of when 3 yo L last fell asleep in my arms.  It's rare.

I took him to bed when the kids woke up and needed me to do things for them.  And then it was afternoon, and once more I found myself at the computer, with him sleeping in my arms.  I love watching him sleep.

I haven't hung the laundry out to dry yet, but I've enjoyed my day so far.

Be blessed,

April

It seems like an innocent request ...

"Mom, can you get me more water and ice in my cup?"

"Sure, sweetie, where's your cup?"  (the dreaded question)

"I don't know."  (the feared response)

"Where did you have it last?"  (somewhat hopeful)

"I don't know."  (Of course not.  Sigh.)

"Has anyone seen L's cup?"  (usually not)

And the hunt is on.

Am I the only one traipsing all over the house looking for spill-proof sippy cups every day? 

Often, we give up and start a new one, in a new color, and just make a mental note that if the purple one shows up, it goes straight to the sink. 

Sometimes they show up weeks later -- which is really nasty!

And then there are the moments I notice her drinking from the wrong color cup, and I have to quickly try to recall how long THAT one has been missing as I call out, "No!  That cup's old!"

It wouldn't be so bad if it were only one child.  But, 5 yo M still takes a sippy cup to bed, and now Baby G has started using cups, too.  Of course, 3 yo L thinks every sippy cup is hers, and will sample them all.

And then there is the milk cup, water cup, and lemonade cup situation ...

Surely I'm not the only one.

And yet, every time I help them track down their cups, I'm giving a sip of water to the little ones.  If I do it patiently and lovingly, I'm doing it for Jesus. 


"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "  Matthew 26:40

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up  for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."  Ephesians 5:1-2

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  'Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!' "  Philippians 2:3-8

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship."  Romans 12:1

Now, thankfully, finding a lost sippy cup isn't the same as being obedient to death on a cross ... but it does remind me that if Christ humbled himself for me, I can humble myself and serve my family with love, patience, and joy!

Trusting in Him,
April

I love my day lilies

I have loved day lilies for years.  I first fell in love with the wild-growing spotted tiger lilies along the road sides in Maryland.  I don't see those here in Kansas, but I still enjoy day lilies.

Our old home had orange day lilies all over the back yard.  We just kept thinning them and moving them around.  Here in our new home, Steve's grandparents' home, we have a variety of day lilies in colors I've never seen before.

The first to bloom last year and this year was this burgundy day lily.  I love it, and have never seen one like it before.

Soon after comes the standard orange day lily I'm used to enjoying.  Some of our varieties have color variations that differ from the ones we had before.  We have the most of these orange ones, in a couple different places.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who likes them, as this little bug does, too.  Grasshopper of some sort?

Later this summer, we'll have new varieties bloom, in shades that are almost pink.  I'll have to share pictures of them later.  They brighten our yard throughout the summer.  I love how they just keep giving new blooms day after day.

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for all the beautiful flowers you planted here! 

Trusting in Him,
April

Hero Dads

Dads are heroes when they

• work hard to support their families


• work two jobs so their wives can stay home


• provide homeschooling materials for their wives and children


• drive old paid-for cars when everyone else at work has a newer one so their wife can stay home


• sacrifice daily in big and small ways


• come home and work hard in their off-time to take care of their home and family


• read to their kids at bedtime, even when they're exhausted


• teach their sons to use tools and their daughters how to drive


• skip the ball games and other costly hobbies


• take care of the dirty and messy jobs so their wives don't have to


• protect their family in every way


• protect their children's minds by being careful of what they watch


• know when their wives need a hug, and give it


• bring home a dark chocolate bar for their wife, just because ...
  


• think of their families first


• drag their tired bodies out of bed for another day at work


• bake with more helpers than Mom can stand in the kitchen


• hold a crying baby so Mom can get a shower


• change diapers


• take their families to church

There are so many ways that our husbands are heroes to us and our children, but these are just a few that have been on my heart and mind.

Trusting in Him,
April

ElCloud Homeschool Disclosure Policy

The more I blog, the more I learn about how I'm supposed to blog.  It seems that as a blogger who is now doing reviews, I should have a disclosure policy.  This post will be linked in my sidebar from now on, so it can be easily referenced at any time.

So here it is in a nutshell:

Companies send me free books and products to try out, then I write an honest review of the product. 

They do not pay me with cash, trips to day spas, or buy me new wardrobes. 

I write what I believe, although I try to be nice and polite about it if I don't like something or it won't work for my family. 

If a product won't work for my family, I try to present ideas of who I think the product might work for.

If I receive a product I've agreed to review, then I will be posting a review of it, but I will be honest. 

I try to choose books to review that interest me anyway, because my reading time is limited.  So, if many of my book reviews are positive, that's because I chose wisely.

And now the formal disclosure policy:


ElCloud Homeschool Blog Disclosure Policy
This policy is valid from 19 June 2009

•  This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact  ElCloud (dot) Homeschool (at) gmail (dot) com.
  



•  This blog does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, event tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations.  
  



• This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.
  



•  The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.
  



•  This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
  

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Trusting in Him,
April

Bacon Potatoes Au Gratin (from the garden, in the crockpot)

It was 90* in our house last night, after a day of upper 90's temperatures and the use of the stove for supper preparation.  Today is supposed to be about 95* again, and I am NOT going to use the stove or oven.

So it's a crock pot night!  And to make it even better, this meal is mostly locally grown.  The pork cured bacon is from a local pig (not ours) and the peas and onions are from our own garden!  The potatoes and everything else came from the grocery store, though.  Maybe later this year we can try it again with our own potatoes.

Bacon Potatoes Au Gratin
(this is my own recipe, combining ideas from several other recipes ... my favorite way to cook!)

Ingredients:
8-9 medium potatoes
1 lb. ham cubes or pork cured bacon
1 - 2 cups peas
1 large onion
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cream of mushroom soup (10.5 oz. can)
milk
pepper

Directions:
Peel and slice 4-5 potatoes into thin slices.  Layer in bottom of crockpot.
Chop onion and layer half the onion over the potatoes.
Pour half the peas over the onion.
Sprinkle half the ham or bacon over the peas.
Sprinkle half the cheese over the ham/bacon.
Repeat layers (potato, onion, peas, ham, cheese).
Pour 1 small can of Cream of Mushroom soup over it all.
Pour 1/2 can of milk over the soup.
Sprinkle the top with pepper.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8-10 hours.

I have no idea how many this would feed.  Six is probably a safe assumption.  I'd like to take this to a potluck sometime. 

I hope my kids will all eat it, but many of them reject potatoes in all forms except fried.

Trusting in Him,
April

2009 Schoolhouse Planner

One thing I often hear when meeting someone, or discussing our family size is "You must be so organized!"  I've been known to laugh at that comment, because I'm just trying to keep 100 plates spinning without dropping them.  My husband assures me I am organized, but the plates often feel ready to come crashing down.  When I get too overwhelmed with the 100 spinning plates, I start making lists.  I like my calendar, and I love my lists!

Last year, I reviewed the 2008 Schoolhouse Planner as part of my application for the Homeschool Crew.  As a certified "list maker", I really enjoyed the Planner, and was glad to find forms I hadn't even thought of creating.  I knew many of the forms would be helpful ... either now or in the future.  I printed the forms and wrote directly onto the paper, not really understanding the data entry capabilities of the planner. 

Once again, I'm blessed to review the 2009 Schoolhouse Planner.  The Old Schoolhouse has made some great changes, and added over 40 additional forms.  There are 12 new articles from homeschool leaders and authors, and 24 new recipes.  In addition to last year's 14 helpful lists, there are 12 new lists of important information.  The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner has 375 pages, compared to last year's 247 pages. 

Some of the new forms that have been added since last year include: 

• high school transcript


• book report forms


• preschool activities list
  


• preschool planning sheets


• weekly and daily schedules for different numbers of children, up to 5 children


• attendance chart


• alphabet copywork sheets


• co-op planning sheets


• home repair list


• home project organizer


• car maintenance forms


• Bible study notes form

With my 13 year old entering 9th grade this year, I was thrilled to see the new High School Transcript form,  as well as the high school hours tracking sheet, and the 12 year planning sheet.  Those forms, along with the test grade record sheets and progress reports will help me keep track of our high school years.  I know I need to keep more detailed records now that we're beginning high school, and the 2009 Schoolhouse Planner  will make that so much easier.

I was also excited to see the 3 different homeschool co-op planning forms which are new this year.  I will be working with another lady in our homeschool group to plan the co-op classes and meetings next school year.  This is a new role for me, and I know these forms will help keep me "together".  These forms will be helpful in organizing my thoughts, and communicating them to the other homeschool moms in our group. 

There is so much information, and so many different forms in the 2009 Schoolhouse Planner, I know I will be referencing it for years to come.  I appreciate the data-entry capabilities that will allow me to print a  "finished" copy of my calendar, school records, report cards and especially our high school transcripts.  My husband is making plans for us to start printing quarterly or semester reports for our high school students and file them in the fire-proof safe.  That type of record-keeping appeals to him, as well.

The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner is a product I recommend for new homeschool families and veteran homeschool families.  The lists, essays, and forms make it useful for more than just one year.  Most of the forms come in more than one variation, so you can choose the style that works best for you, or try a new method each year.  You can custom design a planner for Mom, a planner for your older students, and even one for Dad.   It's a $39 value that will be long-lasting. 

I've already typed our birthdays, holidays, and important events into the calendar, and printed it out.  Now I'm set to take my folder with me to appointments and meetings ... after all, I have to keep up my "organized Mom" persona.  I'm still working on organizing my 2009-10 school planner, but my personal planner is ready!

Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting in Him,
April

The multi-purpose school room ...

We're a large family, and we live in a smaller home.  We have always had to use our dining room as our school room. 

In our old home, we had 8 people in a 1200 sq. ft., 3 bedroom home with an eat-in kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room.  There were no other rooms.  The kitchen area held the dining room and the laundry closet, as well as serving as our school area.  We had two bookshelves in there, and we used plastic file boxes with hinged lids on top of the shorter bookshelf. 

In our current home, we now have 9 people in 1800 sq. feet.  We still only have 3 bedrooms, one bathroom, and one (blessedly large) living room.  But we now have a dining area separate from the kitchen, and we can do our schoolwork in the dining area.  The dining room is connected to the living room, with a built-in buffet/shelf between the two areas.  This was our second school year in our new home.

We have a large dining room table, which has plants, a napkin box, and Daddy's paper stack on it.  At the moment, it also has schoolwork from the older two kids at the end by the window.   We have a clear vinyl table cloth protecting the table from pencils, scissors, glue, markers, and tape.  (Yes, my walls need to be repainted.  We wanted to do it before we moved in, because we knew once we were in, it would be much more difficult to accomplish.  But, it didn't happen, and it still hasn't.)

We use the buffet top on the dining room side to hold plastic boxes for each child to store their schoolbooks in, as well as several smaller baskets for pencils, pens, erasers, etc.  The built in shelves under it hold school supplies, some textbooks, coloring books, and other craft supplies.  There is even a cupboard that is the perfect size for paper-back books.  (Of course, we also have to occasionally look in the cupboard to see what the 3 year old might have stashed in there.  She calls it her closet and is always losing things inside there.)


Under the window, we have a long thin table that holds file boxes, magazine files, and a big file drawer.  This organizes paper, answer keys, and several other things.  The shelf under this table has more boxes of craft supplies.  The stack of stuff in the corner is my scrapbook supplies and other projects.

There are 4 bookshelves in the connected living room and two in the hallway.  Every single bookshelf holds schoolbooks of some sort.  Reference books, historical books, literature books, currently unused textbooks ... many of which are double-shelved.  There isn't just one shelf  for school books; they're everywhere!

Most of the time, you can find children doing their schoolwork in the living room, as well.  The couch, love seat, and even the floor also serve as school areas.  If the girls are reading, they're just as likely to take their history and literature books to their beds, or outside.

It's crowded.  It's not always pretty.    But it's our school area, and we're thankful for it.  I often wish I had extra money to spend on some really great organizational tools for this area.  I'm sure over time, we'll continue to revamp the area.

But today, this is what it looks like.

Trusting in Him,
April

"Full and By" -- my Homeschool Crew unit

As a TOS Homeschool Crew First Mate, I've been assigned the five new Crew Members I'll be mentoring.

We've decided to name our mini-Crew "Full And By" which is an old sailing term.   From Wikipedia's article on nautical terms: 

"Full and by – Sailing into the wind (by), but not as close-hauled as might be possible, so as to make sure the sails are kept full. This provides a margin for error to avoid being taken aback (a serious risk for square-rigged vessels) in a tricky sea. Figuratively it implies getting on with the job but in a steady, relaxed way, without undue urgency or strain."

As a relaxed homeschooler, that is exactly how I want my homeschool to be ... "getting on with the job in a steady, relaxed way without undue urgency or strain."  In other words, just do the next thing without stress or panic.  Don't sweat it!  Relax!



My five "Full And By" crew mates are:

• Angie of  Angie's Minivan Moments


• Heather of   Faith, Family, and Fun


• Laura Lou of   Wasted Textbooks


• Kimberly of   Raising Olives


• Tracy of The Adventures of 3 Guys and a Doll
  

You'll want to check out their great blogs, and be watching for their reviews through the upcoming year!

Trusting in Him,
April

The number one reason TO fold your laundry

In March, I had posted the number one reason NOT to fold your laundry ...  but last night I was reminded of the number one reason TO fold your laundry.  Once again, it involved 3 yo L.

She came to me in the kitchen, where I was sitting on the floor talking to Steve.  She leaned on me and said, "Mommy, I peed."  I hugged her and said, "Did you?  Okay, we'll change your diaper." I was just thinking about how sweet she was leaning in on me like that.

Then my hand moved down her back to her bottom.  She had on her pajama shorts, but there was NOTHING under them.   I thought to myself,  "Aha ... so that was why there was an unused diaper next to the potty chair!"  I had thought it was from earlier.

I asked, "Where did you pee?"   (I'm sure you can see where this is going.)

"In the laundry," she said with a mischievous grin and a laugh in her voice.  She knew I wasn't going to like that answer.

"The laundry!?!?!  Argh."  I laid my head on the floor and started laughing and pretending to have a little temper tantrum.  All the kids ... and Steve ... laughed.  You see, I had 2 baskets of laundry out there, and a pile on the couch ... waiting to be folded.

So, I get out there and the couch pile is now spread across the whole couch.  I assume that is where the wetness will be found.  And it was, but it took some careful searching to find it while Daddy helped her get re-diapered and re-dressed in clean pajamas.

Thankfully, I only had to return about 5-6 clean items to the laundry.  She'd had her accident on a thinner section of laundry ... and thankfully it wasn't into a laundry basket. 

But I was reminded of the number one reason TO fold laundry ... it's safer in the dressers and closets.  I've had laundry get puked on before, and have had spaghetti spilled on it.  Now it's been peed on, too.  

So even if it does make a handy bed for a sleepy 2 yo, I'll remember last night's lesson and get it folded more quickly from now on.  Like right now.

Trusting in Him,
April

One of these things is not like the others ...

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

I'm fairly certain there's a rooster in my pullet cage.  What do you think?

It's not real clear in this picture, but his comb is taller, redder, and he is getting wattles. 
That is not a Buff Orpington Pullet, but rather a Buff Orpington Roo.

Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

Trusting in Him,
April

Easy Crockpot Baked Beans

I made baked beans for the first time yesterday.  Usually, I either serve plain old Pork And Beans from the can, or I buy Baked Beans pre-made in a can. 

But we needed to take a covered dish to our 4-H barbecue yesterday and I decided to use my crockpot to make something.   I started looking for ideas in my Fix It And Forget It cookbook, but ended up tweaking the recipe to suit me.

Here is my tweaked variation for Crockpot Baked Beans

Ingredients:
6 cans (15 oz. size) of Pork And Beans
1 large can of French's Cheddar Fried Onions  (the secret ingredient!)
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder

Mix all together in a greased 5 quart crock pot.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours. 

I received several compliments on this yesterday and the entire pot was eaten except one very small serving which was finished off at lunch today.  


Trusting in Him,
April

Join in 30 days of prayer for your husband

Amy of Dandelion Seeds, S.H.M.I.L.Y. and A Clean Heart blogs is leading women in 30 days of prayer for their husbands.  She's using Stormie Omartian's The Power Of A Praying Wife.  You can participate even if you don't have the book, by reading Amy's daily entry and praying for your husband on the daily topic.  Visit Dandelion Seeds to read the past 6 days, and keep checking in for her daily posts.

Trusting in Him,
April

I'm only pretending ...

Did you play house as a little girl?  I did ... longer than most of my peers.

Sometimes it feels like I am still playing house ... pretending to know what I am doing.  I am so far from perfect, and today I am feeling it more than most days.

I sometimes bicker with my husband over petty little things.  The honest truth is he tries to get me to bicker at times, because he finds it funny to make me angry.  He laughs then and tells me I am so Irish, and I am cute when I get angry.  (Something I am sure that Irish people everywhere are now angry about.)  I usually look at him and tell him he is as stubborn as he is Swedish.

I lose my patience with the kids.  I raise my voice at times.  I let too many little things slide, until the house is a mess and then I am frustrated by it.  I say "just a minute" too often.

We watch too much TV.  Really, we do.  We play on the computers too much.  We love to read, but we also spend lots of time in front of "screens".  Sometimes we do both ... read while watching TV.

I am perpetually behind in laundry ... either the washing of it, or the folding of it.  I have conquered this bad habit several times in my adult life, but I have slipped back into it again. 

I let the math grading pile up for weeks sometimes.  Um ... lots of times.  I say "just a minute" when the kids need math help ... and it usually is longer than a minute before I get there.

Many weeks I plan our school week on Monday ... sometimes even on Tuesday.  They do the basic textbooks and catch up last weeks reading on those Mondays where I have not planned yet.

Yeah, I have a garden and chickens ... but I usually wait until the weeds are overwhelming the plants before I go weed it.  Steve is keeping me accountable this year, but I tend to huff and puff and drag my feet until I get out there and discover it isnt that bad after all.  

(This entire post is without apostrophes in my contractions because I somehow messed up my keyboard and it is using that apostrophe key to pull up a "Quick Find Links" panel at the bottom of my screen.  Oddly, though, the quotation mark works.  Should I keep using formal "is not" or should I just leave them without apostrophes like isnt?  It is driving me batty and I can not fix it!)

Back to previous paragraph ... dragging my feet, procrastinating, etc.

The same thing is true about folding my laundry.  I keep putting it off, and then once I start I wonder why I waited so long ... it doesnt really take that long, after all.  (sorry for the no apostrophe thing ... again)

I am always looking for the easy way.  What is the easiest way for ME to teach this to my kids?

I have chickens now, but I still do not have a good chicken house built.  I have never killed a chicken, never plucked a chicken, and I usually handle my meat after it is "packaged" by a processor.  I hope my chickens live good long lives ... I am not looking forward to killing or gutting or plucking.

I do not bake very often.  I quit baking my own bread several years ago.  I use more paper diapers than cloth diapers most weeks.   The "shoulds" still hang over my head, though.  I "should" bake more often, I should bake my own bread ...

We have not started our 4-H projects ... pre-entry is next week, and the fair is in a month.  I am not cut out for this.

I am lazy.   I procrastinate ... obviously since the 4-H projects are still not started.  I am impatient.  I do not plan my menus unless we are having company. 

I only look like I have my act together.  Sometimes I feel like I am pretending.  I am still playing house.  Surely I am not the wife of 15 years, the mom of 7 kids, the homeschooling mom raising chickens and planning to start canning!?!?  Am I really a mom of a new high schooler?  How can that be me? 

But it is. 

So now you know ... I am real.  I have faults.  If I sound like I have my act together, remember I am just playing house.

Trusting in Him,
April

The blessing of a busy schedule ... reminiscing on a path chosen

Ten years ago, I sat in a hospital ... holding my newborn Baby C.  She was so tiny and precious ... but she had kept me up the entire night before ... and it had been a long hard pregnancy ... the worst of all.  I threw up 5 times a day for 12 weeks.  I had a 3.5 year old, a 2 year old, and was running a home daycare. 

As we neared 30 weeks, I began to have pre-term contractions that would last for 5 - 12 hours.  We ended up in the hospital for monitoring to be sure it wasn't pre-term labor several times.   Thankfully, despite being tired sore from the "false labors", I never dilated.  During one of those visits, we discovered her cord was around her neck and being compressed during each contraction.  Then began several weeks of non-stress tests to be sure the cord around her neck wasn't causing her distress.  They finally concluded she was fine, and then we had to wait for her arrival.

She was finally here ... but we had decided she would be the last!  I told Steve it had been the worst pregnancy ever.  "They keep getting worse ... what would the next one be like?"  (The answer is that none of my pregnancies have been as bad as that one.)   We'd hoped to have 3 or 4 children, but we agreed to stop at 3.  Steve had already met with the surgeon, and we just needed to schedule his appointment.

Soon she was 4 weeks old, and I was so in love with her.  I was mourning that she would be our last.  Steve had been too busy with work to make that appointment.  I debated telling him I'd changed my mind, but I didn't want to seem fickle.  I asked Steve about his surgery ... if he'd called the surgeon yet ... he hadn't.  We talked and decided we were just too young to take that step.  (Now I'm sure if it had been really important to him, he'd have found the time ... but he even postponed hernia surgery two years later until it fit into a vacation time ... although I was sure his hernia would strangulate and become abcessed.  I'm a caring and concerned wife, you know.)

Now I look around at the ones who almost weren't.  8 yo J ... our first boy and C's best friend.  5 yo M, the one who looks like my Dad.  3 yo L,  the cute and funny toddler who brightens our days.  8 month old G ... our sweet baby boy who brought comfort when my Father-in-Law was dying.  Three wonderful boys and a bundle of sunshine princess ... I can't imagine what life would be like without them.  I know it would be drastically different.

I know that having 7 kids instead of 3 does shape our life.  If I only had 3 kids, ages 10, 12 and 13 ... I might have gone back to work.  If I only had 3 kids, ages 10-13, we'd spend differently than we do.  If I only had 3 kids, we'd have a different family dynamic and viewpoint.  If I only had 3 children, we might use a different homeschool curriculum.

Having 7 kids isn't necessarily better than having 3 ... I'm not playing the numbers comparison game ... but it does make life different.  We made a choice 10 years ago that has changed our life dramatically.  I recognize that who I am today and where we are as a family is very different from what it might have been if we'd stopped at 3. 

I don't regret it at all.  Each one of these "almost wasn't" children is a blessing in our life.  They are unique and bring a different flavor to our family.  They each have a future chosen by God that I can't see yet ... but I pray they will follow Him and make an impact on the world around them.  Just by being here, they have changed my world. 

It isn't always easy.  C and M have been the most active of the children.  M and L made a needy combination over the last 3.5 years.  J stretched me as I adjusted to being a mom of boys, and not just girls.  Sometimes the number of children to keep track of, disciple, and nurture is just tiring.  Sometimes the laundry pile seems like a mountain I'll never conquer. 

Like any mom of any number of children, I get discouraged at times.  Sometimes I am sure that I'm failing and they are all little heathens bound for a life of crime (don't we all have those days?).  But my life isn't marked by discouragement ... that isn't my focus.  I am blessed, and these children bring me joy.

We stood at a crossroad ten years ago ... we had to choose a path.  We made our choice, and I don't regret it.  At the time, I was just thankful for Steve's busy schedule that kept him from making that call while I had time to reconsider.  Looking at it now, I'd say it was God leading me through my husband. 

Ten years ago, did I imagine I'd have four more children, including 3 boys?  Not at all.  But, I praise Him for each one of these blessings in my life, entrusted to me to raise and nurture in the ways of the Lord. 

Trusting in Him,
April



PLEASE know that this post is not meant to be making any statement about those with larger or smaller families.  I really am not.  I'm merely pondering the difference in our life because of the path we chose ... and the "what could have been" aspect of it.  That is all.