Valentine's Day

A Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I am not a big sap when it comes to Valentine's Day. I believe you should be telling your loved ones you love them and care for them each and everyday. I also feel like you should constantly be reaching out and speaking to their love language whatever it may be. And while I don't think Valentine's has to be celebrated with candy, cards, and flowers-I enjoy the day set aside to let our loved ones know in an extra special way how much they mean to us. I truly enjoy making heart shaped pancakes, pink Valentine smoothies, extra yummy baked goods, and fun crafts for my family on this special day.

Zechariah is a "words of affirmation" and "acts of service" love language boy while Gabriel (as far as we can tell so far) love language is "gifts". Ammon is too young to tell but likes everything right now.
We are on a great morning routine where before the boys even come out of their room, they get dressed and make their beds so I had to put these where I knew they would find them bright and early this morning.

So here's what I did:

This is Zechariah and Gabriel's closet doors

This is their door leading out of their room.

This is kinda blurry but here's Ammon's door to his room.
Well the boys loved it and this morning we went to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping and I let them pick out their own Valentine w/ candy. (Gabriel LOVED it!!!)
Later on, once Gary gets home from his camp out, we can have a nice date.
What a great day!

The story of the mop

Once upon a time there was a woman who loved to clean.
She tried and tried to make her kitchen floor glean.
She tried a mop and Pine Sol, she tried the Swiffer Wet Jet.
But clean, her floor just would not get!
Until one day her neighbor discovered,
a find so amazing it made the woman shudder.
A steam mop was purchased by her friend
in an attempt to keep her floor on the mend.
It worked, it worked, it worked so well
that this woman's heart was beginning to swell
With jealousy for the want of a mop like that.
But to spend 100+ bucks...drop that thought flat!
On the search she went to find her a mop
That could steam her floor and not make her bank flop.
Amazon.com had one Hurray!
69 dollars + free shipping: What a great day!
The woman's floors are clean-what a lovely sight!
The H2O steam mop is a sensational delight!



http://www.amazon.com/H20flo-by-Luxentia-LXMP01A-Cleaner/dp/B001NXY08Q/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1234294457&sr=8-1

2 posts for the price of one!

A Beautiful Day at BLORA!!!

I do not have any pictures b/c I still don't have a camera (anyone want to give me one?) but I was feeling especially good and energetic today and decided to pack a picnic and head to BLORA with the boys. There are a lot of things here in TX still left to be done and experienced. I do not know if I will get to all of them but BLORA is a little treasure that I do not utilize enough. I packed a picnic lunch, huge frisbies, a soccer ball, and a blanket and away we went. BLORA (Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area) has a paintball field, horseback riding, a beach, LOTS of playgrounds and pavillion/picnic areas, camping sites, boat docks, water slides, paddle boats, cabins, etc, etc. I am sad to say that I will not be able to do the water slides before I leave TX-I have either had a newborn or been pregnant every summer I've been here! :) But today was a picnic, playground day! We walked down to the docks but the wind was sooo fierce that I felt like I was going to be blown into the water-so I made the kids get off the pier and we just threw rocks into the water. Watching the boys run and play is a delight that I haven't had in a while. There's so much that I get preoccupied with that I do not run and play and laugh with them nearly as much as I should. Ammon is getting so big and repeating words like crazy. Me and the boys sat on a swing and I said "Wheeeeee!" Ammon said "Wheeeeee"

So then it was a parrot game:
Zechariah: "Yippeeee!"
Ammon: "Ippppeeeee!"
Gabe: "Oh boy!"
Ammon: "O oy!"

I gotta say, it was so fun and sweet and it melted my heart. I truly love being a Mom. There is no better job in the world. I truly love each one of my boys and can't wait for Elijah to join us!

Homeschool? or Public School?

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately and bad about the fact that I am spending a lot of time keeping the house clean and making it perfect to sell that Zechariah's homeschooling has taken the back burner. We do stuff just not everyday like before. I am a routine/ schedule person. I function LOADS better that way. For various reasons, I have been kicking around the idea of sending him to public school when we get to VA. While I still have not made my final decision on that issue yet; I was able to gain great insight yesterday from a homeschool Mom who has been doing it for a loooong time. Carla Sutton is in our little homeschool group and always has the best suggestions for anyone who has questions on practically any subject. I went over to her house to pick her brain about homeschooling. She gave me a whole list of books to look at and helped me see that even though things are a little all over the place right now-I am still doing a great job and he is still learning. The beauty of homeschooling is that I don't have to waste a lot of time in review and procedures for 20-30 children at all different levels. I know my kid and what he knows and where he struggles.I can get a whole day of learning in 2 hours at home. It's great and beautiful and I love it! Yes, it is hard work! But if this is what the Lord wants for me to do for my children-I will do it!

I look at my husband (who was homeschooled most his life) and he is able to answer questions on and about any subject. He can think, reason, retain, and apply knowledge. I can't. Seriously, I memorized for tests and it was gone from my brain. I have little applicable knowledge. It makes me feel stupid when my son asks me a science question and I have to say, "I don't know hun, but I know your dad does". Thank goodness for Gary! I want my children to know things. I want them to be able to think, process, reason, apply, express themselves eloquently, and know where to look if they do not know the answer. Right now the best place for them to learn these things is at home because public school sure doesn't teach them to think for themselves. I cannot even tell you how many times I got into trouble in school for questioning/ challenging my teacher.
I was a "bad" kid. How dare I?! No, original thought is frowned upon in that arena.

So I will homeschool and plug along as best I can for as long as I can. I will continue to ask for the Lord's help because it will only get harder as I have more children. However, I know I can do it with His help.

P.S. I am still working on my Christmas post. Thank you Cortnie for the pics! Now if Movie Maker would only cooperate with me! :)

Obama, what the heck are you thinking?

I usually do not write about the political scene but I can no longer stay quiet when Congress is about to pass an "economic stimulus" package that is a crock of CRAP! It will increase taxes and our children and grandchildren will be suffering and paying for it for generations to come. It is loaded with new goverment spending that has NOTHING to do with stimulating the economy. Give me a break! Do a little research into history: Never has increased governement spending and programs stimulated the economy and gotten the US out of a slump. We are looking at a debt so huge that we may never recover. This is absurd! Obama says economists agree that the stimulus plan is the way out. Really? Check out what they really think here. It is eye opening.

Next I can no longer sit and say nothing about the genocide/planned parenthood law that Obama is sooo supportive of. Yesterday, I had the amazing and miraculous experience of going to my Ultrasound to see my beautiful baby boy that is growing inside me. Elijah Aaron Griesmyer is sooo beautiful! He is a person!!! He was yawning and covering his ears and turning over, smiling, and hicupping! Yes sir! At the fetal age of 24 weeks-this is a baby, a person. To call it the 'unwanted', 'the fetus', 'the embryo' is just an attempt to dehumanize what is in fact a baby, a child. Why is abortion not called what it truly is... MURDER? And Mr. President wants another child? Oh no wait...a dog first right? What is our world coming to when people value dogs over children? It is disgusting and makes me want to puke! OK, I have vented my feelings and my next post will be much more upbeat-I promise. Just please...speak up, do something, don't just take this lying down. Stand up and let our voices be heard!

For a much more eloquent dialogue on these issues check out my phenominal brother, Scott's blog.

Gratitude

I am grateful for healthy children. Sure, we get the occasional cold in my house but honestly, I have very healthy children. When the "bug" is going around we might catch it but it lingers for 3 days and is gone instead of the 2 weeks that seem to plague all my friends' children. So last night my best friend and neighbor called 911 because her extremely overactive, headstrong, strong-willed 3 year old was rolling around on the floor completely out of it and then lethargic and shaking. The day before he looked like he had a yucky nose with thick mucous. Yesterday he was having trouble breathing. She gave him his breathing treatments to no avail, took him to the doctor for them to give him some steroids and send him home. Only for him to get worse and worse and more unable to breathe. I about freaked out when I saw the cop show up. I had never, NEVER seen Sethman (that's what we call Seth) like that before and I have known him since the day he was born! I had never seen Kelsie so worried and frekaed out before either. It is such a desparate position to be in as a mom wanting to help your baby and nothing you do works. It's frustrating, infuriating, and devastating! Off we went to the hospital: 5 hours, one 1hr breathing treatment, chest X-rays, and IV antibiotics and we were finally home at 12:30am with the diagnoses of para-bronchial pneumonia. WHAT??? He was fine 3 days ago! Seriously, he was fine. Him and Gabe and Zech were riding 4 wheelers in the front yard for about 2 hours that day! I just don't understand but know that I am extremely grateful that I do not have trials such as these. Sure mine come in other ways, but sick children is not one of them. Thank you Heavenly Father! Thank you Dr. Schultze! Yes, I give my kids one multi vitamin, a green vitamin, and a B-complex everyday. In cold and flu season I also give them Dr Schultze's Children's echinacea everyday. So far, so good. We eat like normal unhealthy Americans. I just try hard to follow the word of wisdom and use vitamins and herbs to keep their immune systems up. So far it has worked. However, I have found that there is little if any rhyme or reason to why one child is prone to asthma and another is not. I just hope and pray for the best and am so grateful that my children right now are healthy and happy.

I need a camera!

I left my almost dead camera at my in laws over Christmas and cannot upload all the cute Christmas photos of my kids. Well, I told them to keep the camera, just send the memory card since the camera would work about 30% of the time anyway. So here I am in cyberspace with no fun pics to post and really nothing too exciting to say. Except that I got a phone call from my dear friend Lia Hopper last night and it just thrilled me! Why is it that in the world of no long distance charges and everyone over the age of 8 owns their own cell phone do I still think that friends who live across the world cannot be reached over the phone? Honestly, I'm not a big talker on the phone. Ask Kelsie, my friend and neighbor who calls me but I never call her. And we talk like 5-20 times a day! Yes, I am a pitiful friend. It is truly not because I do not think of my friends. I just don't think I could be too interesting to talk to them and take up their time. I mean I can barely homeschool, clean house, play with my kids, and get all the other duties done in a day without spending it on thew phone. Can you imagine if I was a phone talker???

This morning I was proud of myself. I told the boys all last week that they could play and chill at home before we got back into our routine and schedule. Everyday I reminded Zech of this. "Monday we start homeschool again and your chore chart". So this morning, my boys snuggled with me in bed when they first got up, we talked then had breakfast, then read our scriptures and had prayer. I sent the boys to their rooms to make up beds and get dressed, then we did math and reading lessons. We were done by 8:30am!!! I told them they could go play while I got dressed and did some chores (which ended up being me playing on the computer) then we would make crafts, have snack, and do a science lesson. I guess its time for snack, crafts, and science. But I do feel good. I was worried that I wouldn't have time to do homeschool and get the house ready to sell and take care of all my other duties.

Today I am Wonderwoman!

SOOOO happy to be home!

Oh my gosh! Has it really been a month since my last post? Well, I could blame it on a whole load of things but the honest story is...I don't care! teeheeheee Is that bad?
Oh bloggers, I am boring anyways, my camera is dead, and I have had a very long, tough, fun, and exhausting vacation.

On Monday December 22nd @ very early in the morning my superhero husband, 3 little boys, 2 very large black dogs, and my pregnant self loaded into my van to embark on a very long journey to Ohio for Christmas. Monday night we stopped in Memphis, TN for the night. The next day we were on the road again and would have made it to my in-laws had the roads not decided to ice over and become treacherous for all vehicles. We stopped for a rest right on the Kentucky/Ohio border only to find out roads were being shut down. I was sooo tired and stressed (and sick-let's not forget how sick I was)! And then my sweet husband suggested we stay at the Holiday Inn that I swear just appeared from the sky next door to the gas station we had pulled into. "Ok!", I said as I choked back tears of relief. (another night's stay was sooo not in our budget plan) Of course the next morning when we set off the roads were clear and sky was too. So we arrived at the farm on Christmas Eve night. We stayed through Sunday and were able to see all Gary's siblings (except for one- Sarah and Daniel couldn't come down from Maine). Oh, the day after CHristmas I called in a favor to a doctor friend of mine and he called me in antibiotics to the local pharmacy! Let the healing begin!!! YIPEEE!!! Oh my gosh-what a blessing! Monday Dec 29th, we were in the car again driving from Ohio to GA to meet my brothers for a week in a lake house at Lake Lanier. It was soooo much fun! I couldn't believe we were actually all there for the whole time! That rarely happens. I was able to go see my Aunt Sis, and family in Powder Springs, GA on New Years Day and had a blast testing out the Wii Fit she just got for Christmas. Saturday morning presented another trip in the car as we loaded up to drive to Florence, AL for my niece Kayla's baptism. She was so beautiful! She sang an awesome song with my brother, Jason that I can't wait to find on lds.org too. We camped there Sat night and hit the road AGAIN Sunday morning for the looooong trip back to TX. I got home at 9:30pm last night and was overwhlelmed at the beauty, relief, and happiness that I felt to come home. I love my house and am going to be sooo sad to say goodbye to it, my friends, my neighbors, etc. come April when we pack up and head to VA.
Needless to say the boys are playing and playing and playing-they are SOOOO stoked to be home! And I am wasting my time on the computer. Oh, life is grand! Did I say I am happy to be home?

I AM SOOOO HAPPY TO BE HOME!!!!!!