20 Years

Last November 5th my husband and I marked 20 years of marriage. But between my brother in law passing and the birth of our new son, it just sort of passed by... other than a quick "Happy Anniversary" to one another that morning we just didn't have the chance to do much else... In fact, that morning we were rushing around trying to get everyone dressed and ready to go to my brother in laws funeral. I commented to my husband that 20 years ago that day we were getting ready to head to the Church for a whole different reason...

So, I think it's WAY PASSED time to acknowledge this milestone that we accomplished, only through God's grace...

After 20 years it becomes all too easy to forget about what it was that drew us together in the first place... Lives become wrapped up in job, kids, chores, life... But I want you to know how very much you mean to me... you are MORE than just a provider for our home... you are my partner in life, in love, my anchor that I cling to when I am afraid... You are the father of our children that fill our lives with laughter, and tears, and remind us of our endless amounts of love for them and for one another because they are part of each of us. Sometimes you frustrate me to no end, but you make me smile more...

We've done it... We've come this far... there were those who didn't think we would... But here we are... It makes me sad to think of life without you, so I won't... We have been so blessed over the years... I pray that we continue to cling to our Faith in God and to each other, for richer, for poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health... till death do us part. I love you now and always... Happy belated Anniversary, my love!

Turkey Wrestling

This commercial just gives me the absolute giggles.... : D

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Mad Crabby Baby...

#4 is having a melt down of sorts... She has a runny nose... one of those change in the weather colds that we seem to catch whenever the weather starts to cool down... On top of that, she's dealing with her jealousy issues with the new baby... As I was concerned might happen, she took a little bit of a dive on her potty training, where I could take her around town or to any one's house and she would behave perfectly, using the potty and staying dry. But after we got home, suddenly she wet everything I put on her, continuously, no matter how much we would remind her or try to encourage and reward her...

Thankfully, the past few days have been an improvement. However, NOW she tends to INSIST on ME taking her to the bathroom most of the time. On occasion she will allow her dad and SOMETIMES even her siblings to take her. But if I'm holding the baby, I'm the only one... *sigh* makes for some tricky maneuvering... But hopefully this will all work itself out in another week or two... In the meantime it's back to school tomorrow for a short week, as we prepare for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

Please say a prayer that between the Zicam and some extra rest we can all get past the colds in time for the holiday festivities, and then Sam's baptism will be next Sunday morning at Mass. Yea!!

My Roosters are Gone Now...

I had to go get some Chicken scratch for our chickens on Wednesday. There is a small local feed store not far from our house that I discovered a few months ago and as I was paying for the scratch I asked the lady/owner if she wanted some roosters... I had had NO takers on our freecycle list and was getting desperate... I figured at the least they would just sell them from their store, if they could...

Anyway, surprisingly she asked, "What kind are they?" I really didn't know, but the kids and I did our best to describe the remaining 5 roosters that we had at home to get rid of. She then asked, "Do they fight or anything? How much do you want for them?"

Well, gosh, I was just looking to get rid of them, so I just told her, "They don't really fight too much, yet, because they grew up together and none of them have had hens to defend, so... You want them?" lol... anyway, about that time my oldest son came walking up from the back of the store where they have their chicken and pigeon coops and asks the lady how much her hens are and she tells them $8. These were 'teenager' hens, not quite laying age yet, but no longer babies... I asked, "would you trade a hen for the roosters?" She said she would have to see the roosters, so I told her I would bring them in the next day...

So, after all my other running around on Thursday, we boxed up the last of our roosters, who were none to happy about it, and took them back to the feed store. The lady happily dumped them in to the chicken coop with all the other hens and they seemed quite happy for the time being... She then told us we could have one hen for each rooster! Wow! GREAT trade!! : )

Well, we actually ended up with 3 little brown hens and one 'dominique' banty hen that she told me I could have, she was just SO adorable, I couldn't resist. Yeah, she's itty-bitty, and will only lay little eggs, but my daughter won't mind, since she has this thing about eating things that are "small"... and hopefully in another month or two, we will actually have them all laying eggs, and the kids won't have to wait until spring to get some new baby chick hens... woohoo!

So, for now, our remaining barred rock rooster has been separated from the group while the 4 new hens make nice with our one barred rock hen that we already had. She is trying to push her weight around pecking them away from the food and water, but she's out numbered, so I think that they will settle down in a few days... then we'll see if we can reintroduce Joe (the rooster) to the group. For now, he's crowing in 'protest', but even still, it was MUCH quieter this morning at sunrise! The kids didn't start emerging from their rooms until 8:30! lol...

From the Mouths of Babes...

H/T to the Mom, she apparently has BRILLIANT children... i couldn't have said it better myself...

Just What I Was Talking About

I got this from the American Family Association this morning...:

"Some elected officials in California - the governor and a number of legislators
- have decided that the vote of the people means NOTHING. For reasons known only to them, they have indicated that they want the vote of the people concerning Proposition 8 overturned. To date, 44 legislators as well as the
governor are petitioning the California Supreme Court to declare Proposition 8
unconstitutional."

Why do we bother to have an election?... If you would like to help, you can let your governor and legislatures know by contacting them. Ask them to respect the voice of the voters THIS time and uphold the words of our constitution.

No One Wants My Roosters...

Our last 'hold-out' for a hen has been dashed... One by one it became apparent that the 89 cents a piece chickens that we bought last spring were roosters... so much for our hen/egg laying venture... as it turns out, the ONLY hen we have, is the one we got for the one barred rock rooster we traded for her. So, the kids take turns gathering the egg(singular) ever day. Some days we get lucky and she'll leave us two...

So, initially I got really lucky in offering my roosters on our local Freecycle site and had two people that had lots of land and some lonely hens that they wanted to find "company" for... so I made two of our roosters VERY happy... off they went. When we discovered more roosters I once again turned to freecycle, and the only response I got was from a gal who suggested that I take them out to the local wild bird rescue center at the college, and they would take my roosters to use as "live bait" for the rehabilitating birds... uuuuhhhh... Okay, I realize "circle of life" and all that, but I guess we are just terrible "farmers" when it comes to that aspect, and the kids were kind of freaking, as these roosters have pretty much been "pets" to them. SSSssoooo...

I modified my posts to read something like:

"Offer: Roosters. Fairly tame. Would appreciate them not being taken for fighting or eating. Would appreciate you telling me that you just have some lonely hens that need company. what I don't know, won't hurt me!"

I've posted and re-posted 3 times now, with no response... *sigh* I'm not sure what we're going to do, now... The incessant crowing beginning at 3:15 each morning (not to mention the "crowing-wars" that take place throughout the day) is becoming more and more frustrating and I'm worried that we're really ticking off our neighbors... (though no one has said anything, yet...) My sister suggested that we advertise them for Thanksgiving... I'm starting to second guess the whole "not for eating" idea... We just need to get rid of them.

It's SO Frustrating!

The one good thing that came out of this past election was the passing of Proposition 8, defining marriage between one man and one woman. But it seems despite our efforts, once again there are those that charge forward to have the MAJORITY of California voters decision overturned. It really amazes me, (though I'm not sure why, given THIS day and age...) how conservatives are viewed as the ones that are not only "intolerant" but "violent". These are lables that are thrown at us by the "enlightened" liberals that just don't like it when people disagree with them. The "anti-Prop 8" crowd has been hard at it ever since election night. And it seems that no one is immune to their forced "tolerance"... as was experienced by Phyllis Burgess of Palm Springs. And I don't know that most of them even understand WHAT proposition 8 was all about... The proposition DID NOT take away ANY of their rights in their "domestic partnerships". The ONLY thing it does is preserve the institution of marriage as only between one man and one woman. Marriage was designed to preserve and promote the family unit and two people of the same sex were not designed to procreate and therefore cannot promote and preserve the family unit, no matter how much they love one another. Regardless of proposition 8 passing, same sex couples can still have the same rights of any other domestic partnership. My only question now, is "How long before California Judges once again take it upon themselves to over rule our vote again?" The last time they did (last spring), there was a sudden rising in fires that hit our fair land... coincidence?.... hhhhmmmm....

Attempting to Get Back to SOME Normalcy...

Things are starting to settle down and I am attempting to get back to our routine... We started with our schooling this morning... It's hard to get back after a break, but we had no choice...

I am SO thankful for all the prayers that were offered up during my pregnancy, as it seems that God has answered with an ABUNDANCE of graces, from pregnancy, to birth to my beautiful son! I have to say that this was probably my most physically UN-eventful pregnancy of all. Except for the morning sickness, which seemed to last only the first 3 or 4 months, as opposed to it lasting throughout, as in previous pregnancies... I really managed quite well. My blood pressure was NEVER an issue, despite my history of hyper tension and developing preclampsia. I went in to deliver 15 lbs. LIGHTER than when I delivered my previous baby... and it was only in the final 3 weeks or so before I delivered that the weight shift on my body REALLY began to affect me and became more and more uncomfortable... but then, what mother-to-be in her 36+ week of pregnancy IS comfortable?? : )

After only two nights in the hospital (with EXCELLENT nurses, I might add...) Sam and I were ready to go home. And SO FAR, Sam seems to be the "Mellow-Jello" baby that the Nurse Practitioner deemed him to be... Contrary to the doctor's and specialists "predictions" because of my (ahem) age... Sam entered this world at a happy and healthy 8 lbs. 12 oz. All his fingers and toes and every bit as beautifully perfect as my previous 4 babies... VERY attentive to his surroundings, and will lie awake looking around for up to 45 minutes to an hour a couple of times a a day! And he is sleeping REALLY well at night, which makes mommy EXTREMELY happy! I figure since I was already getting up 3 or more times a night to use the bathroom, getting up around 2:30am to feed him and then not again until 7:30am or sometimes later, is GRAVY! And getting my body back, a little more each day, isn't bad, either! I'm already down about 25 lbs. since surgery... God is GOOD... and I am grateful to the many friends, family and readers that helped pray us through... Thank you, again! We were able to SEE God's wonderful plan unfold before us when we were still afraid and unsure...

So, without further ado... here are a few pics of our newest member making the rounds in his "mellow-jello" way... : ) Before long we will have a date set for his baptism...

The Day After...

Things have settled down a bit, but it's not over yet...

Tuesday was election day, and we all know the out come of that, now... I did my best to stay out of eye and ear shot of any news coverage that day, as it only caused me more anxiety... I did not want to face what in my gut already knew...

Wednesday morning I woke to the day of my 20th wedding anniversary, thinking back that 20 years earlier my husband and I were up and preparing to go to the Church for entirely different reasons... THIS morning we were preparing to get to the Church for the funeral of my brother in law...

Knowing that America had spoken and Barak Hussein Obama is the new president-elect, I felt sad, thinking that my brother in law had the right idea. I was sad at the loss of my brother in law and the loss to my sister and her son and I was feeling sadness for our country, but most especially for the future of our children. What does the future have in store for them?...

But God IS the God of miracles, and NEVER ceases to bring GOOD from EVIL. It is not right to be "alarmist" or to feel hopelessness, as God is STILL in control... He will spare the city for but one believer... and our beloved Pope has told us that the future Church will be smaller, but STRONGER. This may be what is needed to sift the wheat from the chaff. He has allowed it for a purpose. As heard at my brother-in-laws funeral yesterday morning, "cling to the old rugged cross..." Now, more than ever, cling to your Faith and draw your family near. The road may get rocky, but Jesus and His Mother still walk with us...It is well worth remembering:

“Let nothing disturb thee;
Let nothing dismay thee;
All thing pass;God never changes.
Patience attains all that it strives for.
He who has God finds he lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.”

--St. Teresa of Avila

Shepherd Me, O God...

There is a variation of the 23rd Psalm that we sing at Mass that goes:


"Shepherd me O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death in to life...."


It has been going through my mind for the past week or so since we learned that my brother in laws battle with cancer had taken another bad turn... Between that and the pending arrival of our newest little one...


I know when I first learned of this pregnancy and wondering the "why" of it all... though I wanted to be happy, I just couldn't bring myself out of my fear and anxiety ... And now, here we are, full circle and I am once again amazed at the timing and outcome of God's perfect plan...

"Uncle Chuckie" passed and was born in to eternal life at about 2:45 last Thursday afternoon. It was only an hour and 20 minutes later that Samual Charles was born and taking his first breath of his life here on earth... My sister said she is sure that Sam and her beloved husband must have waved at each other in "passing"... It is a bittersweet time... We mourn the loss of a wonderful man that was so good to my sister and their son. We mourn the loss of a man that I admired for doing so much to especially step in and help take care of my mom, after my dad passed away 5 years ago. He was a true, honest and hard worker who spent most of his time worrying about taking care of others, either at home or at work. He will be missed...

and now we have Sam as that constant reminder that our birth in to this life is to be lived in honor and glory to Him, that we may live with Him forever, in the next life. As my pastor so sweetly wrote to me this morning, "God rest Chuck’s soul, part of which lives in Sam!" Amen and amen! This is a picture of Chuckie's son, my nephew, and Sam's soon to be Godfather... "from death into life..."

Continued prayers for our family are truly appreciated as we get through this tough week... The funeral will be Wednesday morning...