Prayer

So much has happened between now and my last post that I almost dont even know where to begin.

I will start with this. I am so glad October's hectic schedule is over and that Novembers is halfway over. As much as I LOVE I love the income I miss just hanging out with my hubby and doing stuff together. This work schedule has been demanding but I know it will be worth it when we are debt free!

We got some pretty upsetting news about a family member this month and will know more later about it.

Of course then there is the election. I will not really rant and scream about it because nothing can be done at this point. I voted for Romney because I believe out of the two choices he was the best for this country. It makes me sad that our country wants to depend on the government instead of themselves and each other.

On that note: This past week our Pastor spoke about prayer. and my class teacher spoke on something near and dear to my heart: Anger and bitterness. So instead of being angry and bitter I vowed to pray.
I vowed to pray for people I consider my enemies-those who hurt me. then to pray for my husband, my children, my family, and myself. I also wrote on my paper that my challenge was to stay in the word and pray for that list for ten minutes. Can I just say this is NOT easy by any means. I really do not want to pray for the people I do not like but I have done it the past three days. I dont like it, and as of yet, it doesnt make me feel any better. However, as I pray for myself..I am praying my heart and attitude will change. I guess you will have to see if it does just like I will have to wait and see.
Even though it is hard, I am determined to do it. I challenge you and encourage you to do the same.

I have not been in the word as much as I intended but I will read today. Im reading the book of Ephesians.

I am excited about this month and Thanksgiving! Next month will be even better!

This is why I love October

My day started early with getting  a shower then trying to get ready and get the baby ready to meet up with friends who I had not seen in probably over ten years. or  spent time with! We were really close friends in high school, one of very few at my new school. :/ That was a harder transition than I realized it would be. Jamie and Candra definately helped me feel better and welcomed :)

We had lunch then saw the movie "Here comes the Boom" and it was an awesome movie! We laughed, we cried, (haha)  and simply enjoyed each others company. I love that true friends can pick up right where they left off and just have fun together.

My van is on its last leg I think. Its running hot so after the movie my mom and I took it to our car friend that can fix most things. I'm praying it isn't too expensive bc I need this to last me at least one more year.

After I finally got that finished I went to the kids Halloween party. I loved that they were able to go to their friends house and spend time with their friends. Cera said that it was the best night of her life and it felt good to be back with our old buddies. The family that throws the party is extremely sweet and I admire them for even having a party after the loss of a close family member.

Jacob is going as Thor, Cera a witch and Ezra..well that depends on the day. He has a Thomas outfit , a monster dinosaur thing, and several other options from his older brothers old costumes. Tonight he was a blue dinosaur.

There is so much on my mind and I am so sleepy, not to mention getting sick with a nasty cold that wont go away. erg! but I have three trips, glasses and a camera I am trying to save up money for! Hoepfully I can get it all worked out but not tonight. I'm falling asleep as I am writing this.

BTW- Ezra had his first dentist appt and he did GREAT! He had NO cavities and was thrilled about his goody bag. The only downside was on the way home he threw up everywhere..and when I called the dentist they said nothing really helpful. He has been fine ever since!

Well, its been a fun day but I am about to fall asleep writing this and things are getting blurry bc I am SO tired. ALL my kids are in bed and asleep so I am going to go to sleep too! :)

PS: DAWGS BEAT FLA TODAY!!!! I am THRILLED ABOUT THAT!

Superwoman: Where is my cape?!

AHHHH!!! Ok today is going to be an OMG I am so overwhelmed. Again, this blog is to show the reality of my life lol

Today started just like any other..with the exception that it was 3:30 AM. Ezra had wet his bed (through his pull up, clothes, sheets) so I give him a bath and let him sleep in my bed. James came home and sure enough Ezra does it again in my bed. UGH so I strip the sheets and give James a blanket.

Ezra's tooth looks funny to me so I call the pediatric dentist and he has an appt 9:45 AM.

Then there is school: Today was a day of forgetfulness. Apparently my kids forgot how homeschooling works because they were determined NOT to do any work even if it meant them just staring off in space. I have repeated myself so much that my head hurts even thinking about saying something twice. One of my children didn't pay attention and wanted to hurry through their test and ended up failing it. First failure and its on my watch. Erg :/  They wanted to go out for recess and I had decided that it was a good time so I let them go out...only to hear constant coming back inside and arguing and questions they already know the answer to about a hundred times. Seriously?

My 6 month old DOES NOT want to be put down for anything...which leads to other various chores in my house that are INCOMPLETE because I am simply worn out. I would be embarrassed for somebody to come by. My laundry is a mile high, my floors are disgusting, and I desperately need to dust. I DID get to vote today so if I can do it NOBODY has an excuse. Sam is screaming as I am typing this and my 3 years old is waiting for me to put his jammies on.

Today was a definite feeling of defeat. I need to find that cape so I can finish everything and do it in a manner that my house is peaceful. lol

Tomorrow is another day, I just hope I can finish getting through this one. The noise is about deafening. Time for all to be asleep including ME!

Do it on my own?!

Many times I hear "I dont know how you do it!" Honestly, I don't do it alone at all. I have an amazing support system that helps me out on a daily basis. For example, I have a friend Nicole that is AWESOME with couponing and she never fails to tell me when a good deal is around the corner or even offer me some of her extra coupons so I can get the most for my money. I am truly thankful for her and her ability to do that! Another great example is my church family. There are SO many people to name but a few stick out like Melissa and Jon, Lee, Kim, Jennifer, and Chelsea are just a few that do what may seem like little things but are huge helps to me. Chelsea takes my little Ezra to his side of the church (which is her side too after she drops off her lil ones) Jennifer takes my older two to the upstairs for their classes. Jon helps me when James is working to pick my kids up and meet me somewhere since he is going to get his kids that are close by. I can't even begin to name all the things Melissa does but she knows :)These small gestures are huge to me! My best friend Ashley is always there for me to call on whether I need to laugh cry or just vent about my day and she knows I will do the same for her. Its not often you find a friend like her which is why I love her so much. Her encouragement means the world to me.
Then there is my husband, He is a great worker. He can be so tired but will help me on a dimes notice if I need it. He will watch the kids if I need to go out to shop, or just need a break for a little bit. I know I can depend on him and that is reassuring in itself!
My parents are a HUUUUGE support system! They have given so much of their time and even finances just to keep us going at times. I love that they are so close and that usually I can call and ask if the kids can come over and they let them come over and enjoy every minute of it. My dad has helped James find work opportunities that we are sooo grateful for. Because of the extra work we are soon going to be out of debt!

I do a ton of work..however I couldnt do it without the support of my family, friends and church. Anyways, I just thought that should be known :)

A Fun Trip to Indiana

This past weekened we went to my great uncle Johnny's 80th birthday party. My mom and I took all four kids on a 12 hr drive.

All in all it was a great trip. I loved seeing family members that I had not seen for years..and others that I had never met! I loved introducing my children to the family also. One thing I really enjoyed was seeing the culture of my family. My great grandmother was from Mexico and had 11 children. Four of her boys went to Indiana to find work. One brother married a little white country girl and the other married within their race. I happen to belong to the one that married the little white country girl :) Most of my second cousins are extremely dark skinned yet. I loved that Jacob saw that we are a multicultural family!

I was extremely proud and saddened when a cousin got me confused with my aunt Dee. I had just posted on my fb on her birthday how I missed people saying how much I act like her and in some ways look like her. I think its more a personality likeness. Then my own uncle topped it off when we were talking when he said "OK DEE" in his sarcastic funny joking way. It made my day...I have missed those two little words more than anybody knows. I hated them when I was little..but grew to love them as I knew I was just like her. One in the same. :) I saw my four uncles (my moms brothers) and got to spend quality time with them. I also was able to take a pic of my grandfather with my mom, me and the four kids!! My great aunt cuca was there and was proud that I had four children :)

The kids were able to see their second cousins which I was thrilled about. They are triplets and they are only 6 months younger than Jacob. I love watching them all play together and laugh and have fun. For being so far away they are very close and I think it is because they see the value I place on our family. I truly treasure the time I get to spend with them.

All in all, it was another fabulous weekend...the drive was crazy long with stops every two hours for potty breaks..or this or that lol but I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed traveling with my mom and having that time with her as well. I love my mom so much and I am so thankful that God blessed me with her as my mother!

I would post pics..but they are not working right now and coming off my phone. :/ oh well! I will hopefully get a chance to post soon!

Craziness and Excellence all in one beautiful day!

Oct 13 We had our annual trip to Burts Farm and the Apple Festival in Ellijay Ga. It was SO much fun. As I watched my kids going around looking for pumpkins I couldnt believe how blessed I am. I joked with James that it seemed like every other time we are at Burts we have a new member of the family in the picture. I wish I could find all our pics from over the years and line them up but I have no idea where they are at the moment! (Something to do later for sure!)

The kids had a blast and picked out pumpkins rather quickly..I think they were the most excited about the hayride. Ezra and Sam had on tractor shirts and when they driver of the hayride saw Ezra's shirt had a John Deere tractor on it he asked him if he wanted to sit on the big tractor. I really think that it was the highlight of Ezra's day. It was gorgeous because they had sunflowers growing along the path this year. It was also exciting to see Samuel enjoy his first time at Burts.

Samuels first visit to the pumpkin patch

Ezra gets to go on the big tractor!

Enjoying the Sunflowers

The most exciting part of the day was watching the kids play and do the activities at the Apple Festival. Jacob and Cera had been asking since last year to go back and go in what they called the hamster balls. It was blown up balls and then they put the kids in a small pool of water to go in. I was shocked that Ezra went in! I was even more shocked that Jacob went on the HUGE blown up slide. Cera went down and wanted to go back on right away.

Jacob gets read to get into the pool

Ezra waiting for his turn



Cera jumps in

Samuel enjoys being outside

"Team L"

I heard the song "Your gonna miss this" by Trace Adkins yesterday. As I listened to the song and thought about how my kids played and just had so much fun I wouldn't trade it for anything. Seeing their excitement was so much fun. I know I will miss it and I try to enjoy it as much as possible while I still have them little. Saving money for stuff like this is worth every penny :)

Our four precious babies

 

No time to be sick!

Instead of cleaning up the house, making dinner..etc I am sitting here listening to music while I blog. I'm frustrated because it is about the only thing I have enough energy to do. James has picked up the slack for me the past two days. He even took off work :/ I'm not too thrilled about him missing work however I am thankful because we have four children to take care of and I just can't do it lately. I'm used to getting EVERYTHING done by the time he gets up for work. He really helped with the kids and their school work today. The kids are already ahead by about two and a half weeks! Makes me one happy lady :)

On another note I was able to pack up the kids clothes for Alabama. We are leaving to go see James' family since we couldnt go earlier this summer. We may not really have a chance to go back anytime after this too because we are praying God will allow James the opportunity to get some part time jobs. I don't really think his family understands that we are trying to get out of debt so that we can actually live our life with nothing hanging over us.

We have actually been working on this for a little while but we are slacking in getting ahead. We have used the extra money James has gotten for little things here and there but also some big bills we needed to pay off. I will be glad when we don't owe anybody anything and we can truly be in peace!

I need to finish getting ready to go to Alabama tomorrow. I'm sure I will blog tomorrow :)