Today the kids and I were having a bible study in the morning which we try to keep as a normal routine. Lately, I've been so excited to share with the kids when I have been learning in the scriptures. The mood of our studies have definitely changed over the last few months and our talks much, much more meaningful.
We always start our studies off with praise songs but usually just with us singing together. I realized I should put my smart tv to use and find praise songs for kids on YouTube. We could all sing together. I found the song I am a Friend of God by Israel Houghton.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
James 2:23 ESV
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. Sometimes I try to be a bit sneaky by throwing in a lesson about what we are currently dealing with behavior-wise. Today, we just started out with praise songs and when I saw this song I just had to share with the kids some things on my heart about this subject. It a fun interaction with each other and ended up going for an hour. That's great! That means everyone was into the discussion. Otherwise it is sometimes only 15 minutes. Each day is different. :)
An issue I've been really dealing with is sibling rivalry. Me and the rest of America. More importantly, the subject of forgiveness. Many of my kids in the past have said they don't know if God forgives them and they are scared. I saw them pray to God, confess things to Him, and really pour out their heart. Yet, they still felt fear. I really feel that it's hard to give forgiveness when we don't feel forgiven. It's hard to give love when we don't feel love. Hurt people hurt others. I held a lot of bitterness in my heart towards people the last few years because I really didn't understand God's love. I didn't really believe he forgave me. I didn't UNDERSTAND forgiveness. So how could I give it? We've been really, really, really focusing our morning studies around this area.
What a blessing it is I get to have all my babies with me throughout the day! My life is so ABUNDANTLY blessed. Kyle, my 10 year old, walked up to me today while I was doing my chores asked me, "No really mom, what did you REALLY want to do when you grew up?" I told him I always wanted to be a mommy. He was like "yeah right." For real! I told him in elementary school we had to stand up and say what we wanted to be and that's what I said. A mother. To me that was the best, awesomest, coolest job I could ever have. :D
The hardest part about being so in tune to my body and knowing I was pregnant since I was only one week along is... I'm only at 6 weeks! Haha! It's going by so slow! That's okay. I think there is a reason a woman's body takes 9 months. Not only does their body get ready but mommy's mind has to get ready. I have 8 more months to process the fact that I'll no longer sleep good yet again at night. I'll be nursing a lot and getting adjusted. Not that big of deal though. :) Done it a few times. It actually gets more and more enjoyable because the selfishness has died soooo long ago. At least it should!
I'm soooo excited that a new season of the Duggar's 19 Kids and Counting is coming out on April 1st. It's such an encouraging show to me. I've seen them since it was just 14 Kids and Pregnant again. It's such a cool video and their style has changed so much I'm gonna post it here! Haha.
I always figure if what they do can work for 19 kids then it can definitely work for my 7 kids. Often I've taken organizational ideas and homeschooling tips from them. They are the reason I use Switched on Schoolhouse with some of my kids. It is such a good program for a large amount of kids homeschooling. It's expensive to buy at first but you can use it for each kid after. I love those old vidoes!
I tried a 48 hour detox and it went fantastic. My only regret was not doing it for at least a week. I didn't really have much guidance on the detox so I didn't know it was normal to feel so foggy and out of sorts. I got worried. After watching the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead I found out it was normal for everything I felt. In just five days I lost 5lbs but the key note is I kept it off. Since I'm doing lots of weight training I'm gaining some pounds in muscle so it's hard to tell by the scale. The crazy thing is I've gotten rid of some of the mommy lumpiness and get shocked when I pass by a mirror and see myself. I'm lovin' it! Before I was doing a lot of working out but not changing my eating habits. They really do go hand in hand.
It's sooooo much more than wanting to be skinny. I'm changing a lot of things like understanding micronutrients and healing our bodies naturally through God's creation. The way He designed it before all this processed garbage! I've had some really serious illnesses and I realized how poorly I was treating my body. I can work out all I want but if I'm eating pizza, macaroni, and burgers all the time, where are the vitamins?
Charles and I are thinking about a 10 day reboot (detox) but I know I'll not get much done around the house the first few days. Last time I was good for nothing the first two days. I wasn't tired but was just foggy. It can be a bit expensive too but so worth it. God gave us one body, right? I need to act like I'm grateful for it and not trash it.
My kids have been getting a hold of my camera a lot lately. I seriously need to get them their own cameras to be creative. They make videos and take pictures. I'm always in for some surprises every time I load all the pictures on to my computer. Here are a few of the funny ones... Of course I edited them for better color.
Above: Ashley put on goggles to look at the new doggy bone brought into the house for our big Great Dane.
I guess goggles make it so much safer to get near it.
Ashley posing with a kitchen tool.
Little chihuahua watching big Henry eat a bone. That's how I feel when I see my husband eat a candy bar and I can't have one.
Above: Kyle wanted to send a video of him singing happy birthday to a friend. Not a good quality video but creative and funny. LOL. I didn't know he was making this but it was pretty darn cute.
Caleb waking up in the morning....
Juliet and Caleb in a bucket
Even though I have to wade through hundreds of photos from the kids, there are a few great treasures in them. :) I need to give them the camera more often.
Kyle relaxing on his bed. Some day he's gonna mention all the teddy bears behind him. I think he was trying to look cool in this picture. Soooo cute though with the teddy bears.
Whoa! How could I forget the documentary called Fat Head? I searched for it today to watch it since it's been about a year and I forgot just about everything. I found it and watched it after I had already written yesterday's blog on calorie counting. Well, I feel sheepish. How could I forget? It's way too complicated to explain so if you have the time and you want to learn about healthy weight loss, watch this video. I am busy adjusting all my Sparkpeople settings since it allows me to. I'm such a meat and vegetables person so this diet suits me fine. I'm HAPPY! Whoo hoo!
I watched the documentary awhile back called Supersize Me. I didn't really agree with it and hated the whole veghan thing that was pushed. But it did worry me and I did start going on a calorie diet. Never was I more starving and had less energy than ever before. Also, the company that did Supersize me will not release records of his actual complete diet. It is obvious that he ate in between meals not shown because according to what he ate, he did not eat 5,000 a day like he said. Anyway, it's hard to explain. BUT, if you watch this new documentary, it'll explain the epidemic of diabetes that has been rising more and more. Even in young children. It explains why lowfat diets are not good and we it's more important to watch our carbs. Boy, Atkins sure was attacked for something that was scientifically correct. The government, however, pushes a diet that is actually not healthy for us. Just watch the documentary and it'll explain it so much better. It's REALLY interesting and an eye opener. This documentary is a MUST SEE for people that have health issues and are tired of struggling with their weight. It even goes into scientific specifics on how your body works and why certain diets work against you.
I watched a short documentary last night with my family about children being a blessing. One part talks about Margaret Sanger, the evil that just dripped from her lips. Whether or not you believe you should trust God with how many He gives you, there is never an excuse to kill a baby in the womb. Ever. There ARE other ways to prevent pregnancy without the act of murder that does not involve abortion of any kind (including chemical forms of contraceptives).
"This is the dawn. Womanhood shakes off it's bondage. It asserts it's right to be free"
"The most immoral practice of the day is breeding too many children."
"The most serious evil of our times is that of encouraging the breeding into the world of large families."
"The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
1.5 million babies are surgically aborted each year
Sadly, as a result of the abortifacient effects of the pill and other "contraceptives," an additional 8-12 million babies are chemically aborted each year in the US alone.
It breaks my heart to know I was on the pill (even though it was only for a couple of years) and I didn't know I could still get pregnant. I had no idea the pill would cause my body to reject the baby and get rid of it. Ack. I hate thinking about it. I haven't touched the pill since I found out about it in 2002.
Newborn Caleb (2009)
Since finding out about the pill I started practicing a loose form of Natural Family Planning, yes, I've had a few "surprises". So what? What incredible blessings they have been to my life. So did NFP work for me? Yes, because I could easily get pregnant every year since nursing doesn't prevent ovulation. I calculated it and I'd have at least 12-13 by now. I only have 6. Some believe you should trust God with how many children you have, some don't. I guess that is something each person needs to pray about and come to their own conclusion. Either way never involves murder though.
My sixth (Caleb)
Ever since I got pregnant with my 6th (in 2008) I have been attacked mercilessly. Within a week of finding out I was pregnant I had attacks that blew me away. Online and even in my personal email box. A friend even spread lies for everyone to see. They later said they didn't know the details, but just had some "assumptions" about our life. It still hurt very bad and bad enough that we left out of state for a week to get away from it. You can imagine how scared I was to share when I became pregnant with my 7th in 2011. I had miscalculated my ovulation and it had been a year and a half since my last baby. I was surprised but yet again I had the attitude and understanding that children are a gift. I was still terrified to share knowing that with each one I had would come with more persecution from every side. Online and in my personal life and surprisingly even from Christian folk from church.
8 months pregnant with
baby #7 (Juliet)
This whole pregnancy I've received about 80% negative from people. This time I'm putting my foot down. I'm not gonna allow myself to be bullied any longer. I'm not gonna allow my heart to be sad nor will I let anyone make me feel ashamed. Sure, I worry about what people think. Don't we all? I have to be stronger is standing up for what is holy and righteous. Even Christians attacking large families is wrong and completely unbiblical. I've been cornered (literally) with accusations, assumptions, and anger from people. This precious child in my womb is a gift from God and I won't allow her to come into this world wrapped in shame and negativity from others. If you don't want kids, that is your life and no one is forcing you to have any. Welcome to the land of the free. Are you able to murder your own babies here? Yes, and the government and even your friends will back you up. But don't attack those that choose to cherish life. Enough with all the Save the Whales and Hug a Tree. Those are nice but what about Protect Human Life? I've yet to see a film like that in the theaters. If it seems I am upset in writing this post, I am. This world is so backwards in how it thinks and I am tired of seeing what is pure and clean be so attacked.
This is an EXCELLENT video and answers all the questions I've had about vaccinations and the dangers of it. I've just seen too much in my own life and families around me that are hurting from vaccinations. I'm talking about FRIENDS in my personal life that I know who are effected greatly from giving their kids vaccinations. That's shocking. People have been really pressuring me to get my kids vaccinated because there has been an outbreak of some things. In this video she says that there was an outbreak in Iowa where 67% of the children who had contracted mumps had already gotten the vaccination so they "should have been protected." Same with the pertussis outbreak in California. A vast majority already had the full series of the vaccination. This is a great video to watch.
Funny yesterday's blog was kind of on this topic but this weeks bible study in the morning with the kids has been on Anger. I found a lesson on anger for the kids and had them draw a picture for me. I used this lesson on anger called "Anger Scars" and was really wishing I had thought ahead because I would have done the actual demonstration with them. So instead they each drew it. I had them draw a piece of wood. Then told them to pretend they were making holes in it. Imagine every time you lost your temper and say mean things you were hammering a nail into the piece of wood. After that I explained that when when we go back and say sorry to someone, it's like taking the nail out but what is left behind in the piece of wood? It leaves a hole. That scar will forever be there.
Then we looked up the definition of anger and the definition of meekness and wrote them down. The kids really, really enjoyed having our morning bible study be more interactive.
Each of the kids had some really cute drawings of the piece of wood, stick figures looking angry and making others cry.
Since this whole week we are looking at Meekness vs. Anger, we'll be using this story tomorrow called "Don't Be Angry" and draw pictures of a beautiful scenery with a volcano in the background. Well, since volcanoes can erupt, it causes major damage and even death. :(
I'm always looking for tools that can help with bible study and stumbled on this site called "The Child Training Bible". You just have to see for yourself how it helps to quickly find scriptures for kids when dealing with certain issues.
Make the truths of God’s Word foremost in your parenting by taking your child directly to the pages of Scripture with this colorfully tabbed Bible with highlighted verses.You will be ready with The Holy Word of God at your fingertips in the moment you need it!
I'm definitely ordering it and can't wait to use it. :D
Do you ever neglect to do something that you know is SO important but figure nothing bad will ever happen? That is so me. My two older sons school on the computer through Switched On Schoolhouse. Every single time they are done homeschooling it asked me if I would like to back their work up onto a disk. I always just back it up onto the computer because I wouldn't know where the blank CD's were. I knew I just needed to do it one day.
Well, the other day when the laptop pooped out on me I did a scan to delete any viruses. Guess what got deleted? Chaz's SOS and work! Aghhhhhh! I was so excited to have 3 computers again to work on and this had to happen. I spent the entire day yesterday trying to figure out what happened and see if it can be fixed. I cried not knowing what I was gonna do. Sure, I could reinstall the program but I had not created backup disks. Oh my. I literally spent the entire day searching for deleted files using a program. Most cost money and even with the scans I did I wasn't finding anything. I finally had to quit so I could get everyone ready for church but I was soooooo vexed. I tried to be a good mood when I got there but I was just sooo sad.
Once we got home I decided to try and do a system restore for 3 days ago rather than 2 days ago that I tried before. I told Charles I would stay up all night if I had to till it was fixed. Around 12:30am the system restore was finished so I tried to pull up Chaz's homeschool and WOW, it worked!!!! I checked and even his backup was there on the computer so I immediately backed it up onto disk like I should have looong ago. Then I started the process up uploading all my pictures onto Picasa online just in case something like this happens again and stuff is lost. Wow, lesson learned!
Since I got the black laptop fixed, which meant all 3 computer were working again for homeschool, do you think anything else went wrong? Of course. The next morning the power cord on my silver laptop broke. We are back down to two working computers. Phooey.
If system restore doesn't work there is a program you can use that find things you did not mean to delete and can't be found. Here is the video of how to do it and what program you can use.
I was reading on Snopes about a rumor surrounding how chicken nuggets are made. The picture they show is disgusting but I guess there have been some regulations put in place over time. Still..... here is a really gross and interesting video on how chicken nuggets are made. Jamie Oliver wanted to see if kids would eat something if they knew how gross it really was. For example, a chicken nugget.
I'm super excited about this post because I want to share something I just stumbled across this morning. As I was drinking my coffee and lazily scrolling down posts on Facebook, my eyes widened when I saw the post 31 Days to Clean on Facebook. What? Yeah! Sure! I'm so excited to finally have a simpler house to clean as of late that something like this doesn't feel like I'm adding more of a burden. I love a good challenge because I just completed one and still am feeling the victory dance.
Sooo, I don't have a Kindle but it doesn't matter. You can go HERE to download the ebook or you can just go onto Amazon like I did and download it. I just installed the Kindle program for my PC but I could have also installed the Kindle App for my iPad if I had wanted. Anyway, it's only $4.99 so it's super cheap. Since I use Swagbucks as my search engine, I get free Amazon gift cards so technically, I got the book for free. :D
Anyhow, I didn't see the Facebook post till Day 5 but better late than never, right? Day 5 is about Priorities and gives two tasks to do just for this day. I think this can be every ones struggle throughout life. Everyone and everything can pull on us in all directions.
Jeremiah 31:25 “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” Mark 1:35
This one is a little hard for me because my favorite time to read and pray is at night time when the whole house is quiet. I have kids with super sonic hearing that as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning, at least 2 kids are immediately following behind me. Soon after comes Ivy, then Kyle, Chaz, and last is always Ryan. So, when I wait to read and pray when they pass out, I don't have to worry about that. I don't know. Would love your thoughts on that one.
“She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27
Training my children up in the Lord and teaching them every day is SO IMPORTANT. More than just teaching them their reading and writing, I love to have some bible time with them geared more at their level. In fact, yesterday the kids and I sat down to read from the bible and we decided that since it's the beginning of the year we would just start from the beginning again with the creation and Adam and Eve. The kids absolutely love this time and always want to sing songs and have discussion afterward.
Yes, stay at home mom do more than this... :D
The hardest part for me is saying no to people who have requests of me that would interfere with the priorities I have for my family. I think people with smaller families, especially with kids in school, don't understand the challenge that can come with a large homeschooling family. There can be misconceptions that people have about homeschooling and just don't understand all the work that goes into it. It's more than just caring for our kids at home, I want to train them in other ways as well. I don't want lazy kids that have a mom to do everything for them. Lately we have been emphasizing that work comes before play. It's important to finish our homeschool and daily chores before we can run off and play. It was different when my kids were in school because they had such long school days and I knew they needed that break to just be kids for a bit before having to do their chore. So, all this homeschool talks reminds me of a funny video I saw today. Would love to share!
Another thing is making time to be there for my family without it being only about work. Often, no matter what I am doing, if my husband or kids come to talk to me I give them a full listening ear. There is no book or TV program (if I had a TV) that is more important. I save my book reading time for when my kids are resting. Otherwise I'd be reading one or two sentences at a time before someone needed to come to me about something.
31 Days to Clean gave me two tasks to do today. :) I'm getting right to it.
Just when we thought we were free and clear from the whole lice nightmare, 3 of my kids came down with bronchitis and had to go on antibiotics. The others ones sick but it didn't get too serious
We were so happy to be back in church and that lasted just one service. We were back at home again. The thing about it is the kids are supposed to be practicing for the church Christmas play and they haven't been able to. So, tonight they'll finally get to practice at church. Caleb will have to stay on my lap in church though because he's not cleared to go into nursery yet. Then again, it's extremely hard to hold a baby in church because babies are always in the nursery until 3 years old. The kids that are sitting in church are well trained to be quiet and stay sitting in their seat. Often when I bring Caleb I have to get up and just stand in another room so we're not a distraction. Then I figure since I can't hear anything we should just stay home. I don't know.
Ashley and I waiting in Urgent care
The thing about the kids is that they usually come down with sickness one at a time. I first took Ivy to the ER and then Caleb and Ashley another time. So after I came back from my second trip, literally within a half hour Ashley was crying when she'd go potty. If only I had known that when we just were at the ER. So, we had to wait till the next day to go to an urgent care and get her some medicine. The kids were burning up in fevers, Ivy hacking like crazy, and Ashley screaming about pain. I feel bad as a mom seeing them that miserable. They are finally getting better though. You know what's crazy is ever since I pulled my kids from public school (6 months ago) my kids have been pretty darn healthy. They used to catch what all the other kids had and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why my kids were always coming down with something. So, to be dealing with this now is no big deal in comparison. In fact, when my kids were in school they were sick so much that I had to pull out of platform music ministry at church. I had never connected the dots till seeing how healthy they've been since then.
You know, through all that and having to sit in waiting rooms for each kid, I realized that we had such good times talking and cuddling. Just being alone with each one. Often we take kids separately on errands and appointments. It usually follows with a treat. Oprah (this is the only time I'll ever quote her) said that moms often feel they don't spend enough alone time with each one. We forget though that every time we change a diaper, often we're talking and playing with them. Giving them kisses. Whether it's to show them how to tie their shoes, potty on the toilet, reading them a book, going on an errand, those all count. It's so true.
I found this video about how a mother's touch saved her baby's life. It's so amazing I wanted to share it with you.
This video really hits home for me since my parents and I experienced this when I was in school. I was raised Christian. Not just where we called ourselves Christians, I mean that my parents had higher standards than most but only to protect us. Thank goodness. Well, my school disagreed and forced me to go through counseling in middle school. What was my parent's big offense? We didn't have a TV and we weren't allowed to listen to any radio station that was offered. Especially a particular one that was very vulgar. Well, while sitting in one of my classes, I was surprised when the principal himself pulled me out for questioning. He said he had found out that I couldn't listen to that particular vulgar radio station. He told me that he set up a meeting with the school counselor. While in the counselor's office she found out that we also didn't have a TV. So she wrote up a letter, I wasn't sure what for at that time. When she found out I also got swats when I was bad, well, that made her really upset. Never mind that it was perfectly legal. What I didn't know was that she was writing that letter to CPS. She talked to me about how my parents were abusive and over sheltering me. She successfully turned me against my parents over time and I began to think of my parents as my enemy. Eventually I ran away to seek a "normal" family that would let me do whatever I wanted. Of course that "normal" family had much more freedom but I ignored the fact that the father was an alcoholic. Sometimes the kids had to protect their mom from their dad. Over and over I would run away looking for a family where I could do whatever I wanted. However, each time I saw that it came with some major consequences having those freedoms. Eventually, I fell into deep depression as I was constantly told my family were freaks. The school had taken a confident girl on honor roll and made her into a grade failing girl with serious depression and suicidal tendencies. I started cutting myself by high school and would burn things in my room. I felt like I could find comfort nowhere. Especially since the school told me my parents were my enemy. "You have to go to church 3 times a week? You have NO choice?" When you have an authority figure constantly feeding this stuff into a kids brain, it's gonna do some damage. It wasn't until I saw family after family after family who looked like they had it all and had all sorts of worldly freedom did I start to understand the love of my parents. Those families had some major issues and weren't so happy after all. To this day those families are torn apart. I began to find comfort in my parent's protective boundaries. It was because they loved God and they loved me. The scary part? My parents NEVER knew the school did this to me until recently. They had no idea why their honor roll daughter was spiraling down hill at an incredibly fast pace. Don't think schools are out to protect parent's rights. I know.
So now I'm 15 weeks along and into my second trimester. Thank goodness. I've always disliked the first trimester very much. It's just not much fun at all since it always comes with morning sickness. In my first trimester I was hungry every two hours and if I didn't eat, I'd get very sick. That can make weight gain just go out of this world. So, now I'm hoping my weight gain slows down. Babycenter says I should have only gained 5lbs. Hahahahahahahaha! Now my appetite has gone down to normal and so it's a lot easier. Now the fun finally begins. ;D This is the trimester of finding out the sex, feeling the baby move, and getting my energy back. The house is finally clean again!
I'm having a serious issue with my Great Dane and I can stand it right now. Just recently I had to clean all my carpets because of dog pee. This is a new thing. He was always trained before so I don't know what to do. I rented a cleaner and worked on all my carpets for 8 hours to get the smell out. Just yesterday I walked into my closet and there was dog pee on my laundry. Smoke was coming out of my ears and I banned my dogged outside till I know what to do. Today he threw up on my carpet because he had been eating out of our garbage in the middle of the night. I'm pretty much done with dogs or cats. I'm not gonna find another home for him but I think he's our last dog for sure.
On a light night, I found some favorite videos that get my family cracking up every time we see them! This is one of my favorite. These guys go into Home Depot and cry about everything. Soooo funny.
Can you imagine living in a place where just having light to light up your dark home is hard to come by? This video really touched my heart. These people are really poor and have houses right next to each other. Even in the daytime their homes are very dark. Someone comes up with an incredible idea.
Whoa. We are sooooo spoiled here in America. Wow.....
My sister lives in South Africa and she's told me stories that just make my jaw drop. Such as babies being left in the field abandoned every day, gang fights right in front of their church. I know you say that happens here but not in the magnitude and frequency it does there. Or the man they tried to help that was having a heart attack but the ambulance takes sooooooo long to get there, they just have to watch him die because there is nothing they can do.
I'm amazed this guy in the video not only comes up with a way to light up his home but he goes out of the way to bring light to others.
In the same way Christians bring light to a very dark world that is lost. Imagine when the bible was being written and being chosen to write down about the end times. I always wonder what they thought when writing that portion of the bible. "Man, it's gonna get that bad?" Yep. Moms will murder their own babies. Even go as far as to birth them only half way and then take scissors to jab them in the back of the head to kill them. No one will just have one person in marriage but many will just casually have one partner after another. Maybe one day settling down with a kid from here or there. Lovers of money, boastful, proud, mockers, itching ears. Only hearing what they want and picking a religion from a buffet line. "I want this but I don't want that. I'll take that part in the bible about not stealing, but I would like to have the adultery and fornication, thank you." Kind of scary how it's become just like the bible warned, huh?
Proclaiming Christianity but never surrendering to Christ. "Maybe someday when I'm ready I will." Don't wait! You don't have to wait and see what consequences you end up with before finally giving your heart to Christ. God loves us so much that He gave His son to pay the price for our sins. We don't have to wreck our lives into the ground, have regrets. But if you have, God is a merciful God. He's only a prayer away. Eternity is only one breath away. One heartbeat away.
I don't know why I've been thinking a lot about the tragedies of abortion lately. Maybe it's because I knew of someone through someone that recently decided to go ahead and have one. Even though others reached out and offered their help. The promise of a boyfriend who says he'll stay if baby is aborted only to leave as soon as the deed is done. That life is snuffed out FOREVER. Boyfriend is gone. Friend's disappointed. At night, I wonder if a tear falls down onto her pillows? If she ever thinks about how many weeks she would be? I wonder when her due date comes if her heart will hurt. My heart hurts for her.
By 3 weeks her heart begins to beat. By 5 weeks, the baby's nervous system is formed. What does that tell me? That the process of an abortion is a painful one for her. By 7 weeks she's already moving around. By 8 weeks all her vital organs are formed. By 12 weeks her skin is already sensitive.
Satan's lies that are so easily seen by some, have blinded others. Sin has blinded many. My heart aches for those that truly don't know the heavy, heavy price they are gonna pay for the rest of their life. Of course some hearts are so waxed cold they will never care. But many, many, many regret that choice. Some never even get to have children after an abortion.
I am not angry at those that do snuff a life out but my heart BREAKS for them. The act of taking a life into your own hands and silencing it, will never truly be silenced in their mind and heart. No matter how much alcohol they down, how many drugs they use, how many sleeping pills they consume over the years. There will be thousands of reminders over their lifetime. Satan didn't offer to give that information when thinking about the abortion, huh? He never does. Like any sin, we just hope we can do the deed and put it behind us.
I thank God I was raised by my Christian parents. That they shielded me from being slowly boiled like a frog not knowing he's being cooked. Sin is the same. It starts out with a little lie. Just taking one candy bar at the store. Reaching into mom's purse. Trying that drink. Taking that hit. Believing a boy's whispers of love (lust). Then when an unplanned pregnancy comes, believing he'll stay if she just aborts. "Friends" urging you to. Family angry at you. Sitting on that table of cold doctors removing a life that's "just tissue". Telling the boyfriend it's done. He leaves. You are alone in your tormenting thoughts, every day for the rest of your life. So you drink to erase the memories. Take a hit to make you feel happy. Take sleeping pills to help you sleep to make those thoughts go away. See how it progresses? Sin will eat away at your conscience. It never comes without a price.
I never have! I'm seen a lot of clips of her family but never heard how she came to know Christ.
Last night I ran into this video on Youtube and was surprised to see Michelle Duggar at a speech giving her testimony. I've always wanted to hear her testimony. She takes you on her journey from growing up, to asking Jesus in her heart, meeting Jim Duggar, miscarrying her child after Josh, and trusting in God about having a large family. She shares scriptures that God spoke to her and also how she prayed that God would give her a love for children. They only wanted 2, maybe 3 kids. Whoa! Big difference from what they have now. But a lot of things she says really hit home in my heart so I would love to share the video with you.
My mom and dad visited the other day
It was so nice having them! My dad holding
Caleb with Kyle behind him.
Last night I took Ryan, my 10 year old, couponing at the store. I had to avoid the store I normally go to because it's always a nightmare there using coupons. So we went a couple more miles down the road to another. Ryan really wanted to come but I told him I needed to focus. I really do go into The Zone when I'm in there. Finally I said yes but only if he only talked when I had a question or if I didn't need to concentrate. He said it was no problem.
So we get in the car 9 o'clock at night and it's dead quiet all the way to the store. I wondered why he wasn't talking and then I realized he thought the no talking rule started immediately. I said, "Ryan, we can talk on the way there." He said, "Oh man, all that wasted time I couldn't been talking to you." Haha. So for the last 5 minutes of driving we chatted up a storm.
Caleb stacking cans
So we get there and I start to see what's on sale and go through the aisles having to pin point "fake sales" vs. really good deals. The fake sales are the ones where they make big signs looking all important for that one product. They'll even put it out in the open away from it's normal aisle. But of course it doesn't show original price. So then I would go to the aisle to see and, yep, sure enough it's not a sale at all. OR, it's be only 2 cents off. 2 CENTS! Sadly, you would see a whole shelf cleared because it always dupes people.
I'm not an EXTREME shopper so of course I don't only pay $50 at the end. But I did only spend $200 for 4 carts of groceries. Yeah, Ryan and I had to keep taking stuff back to the car. Back in the day, I would spend much more on one cart of groceries. It was just amazing the money I saved yesterday. Around $600 savings. So that's not bad at all. I spent 6 hours cutting coupons yesterday and had the kids rotate in to help give me a break. That was only cutting the food coupons since that's what I needed. I haven't started on all the others. I was extremely exhausted with a bad headache but sales were ending so we had to go before midnight.
I have no space in any pantries, cupboards, in my second fridge or even in the hallway closet. No where. So we are trying to figure out a space today where to put it.
A friend asked me a fair question today, "Why do you buy it if you don't have space for it? Wouldn't that save you even more money?"
I replied "Our plan is to have 3 months worth of food stocked up for emergencies. Every family should do that because we never know the future. Things are kind of crazy right now. That doesn't mean that I get a variety of things each trip. I get a bunch of one, two, or three different items that are on major sale. Then I use my coupons on top of it. But since I have overstock from last month, the month's stuff will make it more variety. It's just good to have a plan ahead of time".
Dacil, a fellow couponer I met at the store saved my bacon and sent me this video on saving time with couponing. I do this in some ways but this idea is even better. Would love to share with you! :D
Last night my family played our newest favorite board game together and it was so fun! I had been looking for a game like this for so long and it can be played with kids. Do Tell makes it to where we discuss issues in a light way or act out funny things.
We were even able to add in my younger ones and would just help them along. Sometimes I just get so frustrated with video games and how much it takes us away from each other. Well, not me. I don't have video game issues of course. I'm too busy, ha! My love is blogging and couponing. But blogging only takes about a half hour a day so no one can really complain about that. Oh, and the couponing hugely benefits our family. My husband says I have awesome hobbies so he doesn't mine the time it takes. :D lol.
Anyway, I made a video of when it was my turn and I had to read a card. This is how comical my family is! I had such a hard time talking because I couldn't stop laughing.
Ivy
Ivy acting out what she wants the most. An ice cream! I'm pretty sure that was one of Ivy's first words. She has this absolute love and devotion to ice cream and talks about it a lot.
makes it to where we discuss issues in a light way or act out funny things. 