Zoo Fun!!

We went to the zoo for Eve's birthday! We had a great time. I made a quick scrapblog............Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Eve!!!!!

We say it all the time.........'I can't believe my child is getting so big,' or 'It seems like just yesterday...............' or 'Where has the time gone.' Although I didn't think much about those things they did cross my mind for a brief moment on September 18th. My oldest, Eve, turned the big 10 last Friday and she is so excited to finally be 'double digits'. I asked her how it felt but she really didn't have an answer except that she would let me know soon. We went to the zoo and then had a small family celebration with the usual pizza, cake and ice cream. She asked specifically for hot wings, a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and chocolate peanut butter ice cream (she really likes chocolate and peanut butter)! It was a good day!!!


Eve at 10 years old!! Turning into a little lady!!
Eve made herself a birthday hat...........She was princess for a day!Grammy helped by making the cake which was quite good!!

staying busy........

The weather here is sooooo not like Florida. We have been enjoying 78 degree days with a few scorchers in between (like 85 or 86 degrees HA HA)! The kids have not been inside at all for most of the last two weeks. Of course, when winter time hits it will be a totally different story I am sure, but for now we are staying busy outside.

Since Joshua is unemployed and money can only stretch so far we have been learning how to garden and can from my mother. My parents have a small garden with all kinds of vegetables and the kids have been helping with that. In the last two weeks we have gotten green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and a few squash from it. We also went with my mom to pick blueberries. We picked over 60 lbs. of blueberries. We went to a farm and got a bushel of corn (approx. 50 ears) and a bushel of peaches to can (we got about 21 quarts of canned peaches from all those). We plan on getting more but not until we rest from all the canning and freezing and picking. We didn't get here in time for strawberries but maybe next year!!

It has been a lot of hard work, especially for my mom, but it is well worth it when we can look at the cupboard and freezer and see them all full with fresh fruits and veggies to last us through winter.........YUM!

Here are some pictures of the 'FRUITS' of our labor..................................

Jack, Eve, and Abby helped pick blueberries. They were really a big help and they seemed to enjoy it. This was only the first trip to the blueberry patch..........................................

Everyone is pitching in to shuck the corn. We had one bushel that we cut off the cob and froze but we will probably go to the farm and get some more........................................................This is only one bushel of peaches (it is really a lot) but my mom wants to go back and get another 1 1/2. Eve and Abby helping their Grammy make relish from all the cucumbers and onions in her garden.....................Grammy then canned it all.Sammy had his turn to grind stuff for the relish. He loved doing it sooooo much he stayed at it the longest out of all the kids...................................Only one row of green beans and still three more to go.........Not to mention that tomorrow there will be this much more in each row...............................After many long days of VERY HARD work, Farmer SAM found some nice quiet music to put him to sleep................No one even knew how long he'd been there......................

Random..........

OK. So I usually am good about posting at least something new fairly often. I have been so scatter brained lately I just can't think of anything to post when I have a free moment at the computer. My mind just goes blank................It probably has something to do with all the transition we've been going through lately. It never fails, we start to settle and then something happens and we are faced with the big question.......Now What?????
Sooooooo, I will elaborate on that one a little.....................
--As of August 1st we no longer live in Florida (ARGH!) (Another story for another day). We are temporarily residing in Pennsylvania waiting on a job opportunity. Hopefully we will know something soon.
--I have no idea how I feel on a daily basis about all this.......I am just trying to be supportive of Joshua and keep the kids from going absolutely nuts.
--I am 6 & 1/2 months pregnant and I now have no midwife or insurance. Who will deliver my baby?? Where will we be living in three months when the time comes??
I am trying to stay positive. Too many things are going on right now I don't even know what to say........We all just need prayer!

On a happier note, We did find out that we are expecting a boy!! We will have 3 girls and 3 boys! We are all excited for the new little one. Can't wait 'til he's here!

I do have some other things to post. Hopefully I can get to them soon.

Marriage...........

Joshua and I have been married for 12 years now. We have our habits and rituals and they work well, most of the time. Things like hello and good bye kisses, good night routines etc. But, we have children that occasionally like to give their opinion even when things are none of their business........... You know, 'kissing is gross' or 'you guys talk too much.' Most of the time it is innocent but recently it has begun to get ridiculous. Our 2 older children have been getting very dramatic if they see us kiss or hug. They will scrunch up their noses and whine, "EWWWW, that's gross! Stop kissing! We don't want to see that!" Some of the time I think they are just trying to be silly. Of course we have explained that we are married and it is perfectly fine for us to do it and we have approached it from a biblical stand point. They agree that it is all true in theory but in practice it is a little far fetched how married people act. So we have just kindly asked that they mind their own business and keep their comments to themselves. They are still working on that one..................... On the other hand we have a 4 year old who thinks that marriage is awesome and encourages the kissing and hugging in a very dramatic and demanding way. She will hear Joshua come in the door after work and run to him and demand, "Daddy, Daddy! Kiss Mommy! Kiss! KISS!" I am not sure what is going on in her head. Yesterday in the car, Eve, Jack and Abby were sitting in the backseat and there was a bit of commotion (go figure). When I asked them to calm down and try to get along Eve whined, "But Abby keeps trying to kiss us and she won't stop!" I turned around to address the issue and said, "Abigail, please stop trying to kiss everyone. I Know you love your brother and sister but one hug and kiss is enough!" Abby frowned and pouted, "But Mommy, I just want someone to be married to me!" She definitely has a big imagination and a 4 year old grasp of things. She is going to be a handful (blessing) and I think (know) I will need to keep my eye on her.....................................

Even though things can be frustrating at times I am glad that we have children who desire to be a part of our lives. And we get to use the everyday things as teaching opportunities and tools for learning especially when it comes to the sacredness of marriage and purity.

Just some pics......

These are just some recent pics of the kids cause you know how much I LOVE to take pictures of the kids..........

Congratulations Grad!!!

I have so many things to post but I just haven't been on the computer much. The first is Joshua's Graduation. Yes, Joshua graduated, AGAIN. On May 9th he received his M.Div. (Masters of Divinity) from Liberty University. We traveled to North Carolina and stayed with some friends of ours for 4 days. They watched our kids on Saturday while Joshua and I drove to Lynchburg, VA for the day. We were able to attend the ceremony and overall we had a great trip. Oh yeah, He started his Doctorate the same week he graduated so he doesn't even get a nice summer vacation. If all goes well we will be attending another ceremony in about 3 years!! Anyway............ Congratulations Daddy (Josh)! We love you very much and are very proud of you!!




This is a picture of the commencement ceremony and the graduate processional. There were over 6,000 grads that day. WOW! Most of them being under-grads.......



This is a picture of Joshua walking in the processional...........This is a picture after the entire ceremony. It is official, Joshua has graduated!!