Love notes

My sweetheart is in Mexico this week on a protective service mission and all the sudden I feel very sappy. So, I started writing him love notes. I used to write him love notes when we dated and when he was in Basic training but they were always hard for me to write. I am NOT a "words of affirmation" girl. (Don't know what I'm talking about: read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman) In fact, Gary loves words and uses them for everything. He talks people to death at work with his interrogations, when the kids get into trouble its like a 5-15 min discussion on what they did, he tells me he loves me all the time and is quite content to leave it at that. I have frequently sang him the refrain from My Fair Lady, "Don't Say a Word, SHOW ME!!!" He knows I am a acts of service person. Don't tell me you like me or admire me or love me, show me. You don't have to buy me anything, just do something nice for me. I often tell him to do a chore without me asking, write me an email or call me in the middle of the day for no other reason but that you were thinking about me, etc,etc.

So here I am: 7 months pregnant with my 4th little boy, in constant amazement at my other 3 and how beautiful they are and how blessed I am and I am finding myself the sentimental sap writing love letters via email to my gringo husband in Mexico.

Man, I love that man of mine! This morning in the shower I thought about the first time he kissed me. What a great memory to relive! So I wrote him an email all about it and hopefully, he will smile all day long knowing that I am still completely in love with him!

This is Gary and me in his room at Ricks College (past the chasity line...gasp!) My scanner is going out so we are a bit washed out but you get the picture. So cute, so young, so in love!

House Offer

Yep, we got an offer on our beautiful house in Texas. Too bad the offer was pathetic! OH! I hate negotiations. I hate feeling like I'm being had and I HATE feeling desperate! I am praying for divine inspiration. I know that if this is God's will-all will work out for the best. I have to believe that, know that, and act upon that. Wish me luck!

I love my boys

(oops sideways pic-"Best Friends")

Many people wonder how crazy I have to be to have 3 boys with another on the way. I hear all sorts of stuff when I am out and about with them:
"Three boys? You have your hands full!"
"Are they all yours?"
"Is the next one a girl? (I answer nope, my 4th boy) Oh you poor thing!"
"Are you going to keep going until you have a girl?"
"How do you do it with 3 boys?"
On and on, yada, yada, yada.

Let me tell you why I am not going crazy and lossing my mind. Is it b/c I have a wonderfully supportive husband that does anything I ask of him?...(insert HUGE laugh here) Sure, Gary is a wonderul daddy and the boys adore him but he is AWFUL at multitasking. He has gotten LOADS better though so I cannot complain. If he watches the boys, they are watched, that's it. He is actually great at the bed time routine: He feeds them, gets them in their PJ's, reads them books, says prayers, sings songs, and then says goodnight. Pretty good huh?!?
No, it is not Gary's wonderful abilities as a dad or my amazing house keeping, child rearing skills. They are just good kids who play nicely together.

Seriously, I have to buy a camera just so I can video record them playing together. It's amazing! I can be cleaning the house for hours, paying bills, talking on the phone, etc-and they are in the toy room playing Legos or Star Wars figurines or cars or ....the list goes on and on. Now, this does not mean there are never any disputs or fights-it just means they are few and far between. My kids do not get into things they are not supposed to. No BBQ sauce on the rug, no crayons on walls, no glue stuck in my carpet. (Thank you Father for sending me OCD kids!)

All in all I feel like a very blessed lady with extremely wonderful children whom I adore and cannot even express how much I love them!

My favorite song in the entire world

Found this and knew I had to share it. Enjoy!

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! :)