Birthdays!

9 and 2, I can hardly believe it! How can the years go so quickly?

Eli has really found a love for reading this year, surpassed only by his love of audiobooks. He will often ask to go to be early to listen to a book on the ipod, or he can be found hiding on the side of the couch reading. He's got that goofy boy humor that brings me right back to 9 year-old Chance. I am so blessed to be his mom, and can't wait to see what God does in his life.

Banonna is our sweet cuddlebug. She is way to cute for her own good, and if we're not careful we'll ruin her completely! She is never happier than when she is snuggled into a lap with her thumb in her mouth and your hair in her hand. She is so gentle and sweet with Audreyanna, and loves her own babies as well. We love you Annaleise, you bring such joy to our lives!

We celebrated the birthdays of Eli and Annaleise with the standard Mimi's breakfast. But this time was likely the last, as one horrible experience is usually all my husband will tolerate. The meal was free, so there is that. The gas wasn't, so there is that. The day was pretty low-key because Mike was coming off the flu and I'm not really running at full speed yet. Tin Tin and the T-Rex kite were big hits with Eli, and I think Annaleise loves her doll buggy. She'll love it more if we can make the handle stay on :-)



She couldn't quite figure out the whole blowing thing, we eventually got them out though.

Introducing...

Audreyanna Brielle Elliott
Born May 11, 2011
12:34 am
10lbs 8 oz
22in long
15" head (I KNOW!)

Me? I'm fine, still gestating. Last week I measured 44 weeks, and my midwife estimated the baby to be about 10 pounds. So, clearly she needs every moment of this pack-on-the-fat period. I measured my waist yesterday, 51.5 inches. Seriously.

But I'm not here to talk about me :-) I thought I'd post a few pictures. No, they're not of Easter. Maybe I'll get those up later today. Just some random kidishness.

Tick Tock

So the baby ticker tells me that we will be meeting our sweet babe in something like 4 weeks. As always, that is a bit amazing to me. Physically, ugh, being not pregnant sounds very appealing. It's been a good pregnancy; no bed rest early on, no significant pain until pretty late in the pregnancy this time, pretty good energy (thank you Hemaplex!). The fall a few weeks back is when my hips and pubic symphysis pretty much decided to throw in the towel, but I made it a lot farther than last time. And for that I am exceedingly grateful. So, knowing that the birth of our baby will bring these physical discomforts to a close is encouraging. However...

One would think that after so many deliveries labor would hold no fear. I KNOW that my body can birth babies. I've had no significant problems. And I know that the only way through it is, well... through it. But I haven't been quite able to get my head in the right place. I have been spending a lot of time in prayer, but I just don't have peace yet. The thought of labor still makes me want to cry. Or throw up. As I think back over my last few pregnancies I know that this is standard drama for me as I near the end. I know that some measure of peace will come and that I will be okay. But now, tonight, the valley is dark.

Last night I dreamed that it was time to push. That is the moment I hate the most. I have never experienced the relief that I have heard others talk about when they "finally get to do something." I HAVE been doing something. I've been getting on the other side of every contraction leading to this moment, and now I am lost. It is too overwhelming, too primal, too...much. So that was my dream. That is was time to push, I awoke to that sensation. Scared.

I prayed until I fell back asleep. Because I know HE is there. He is with me, it is His strength that will take me across the valley when I come to the end of my own. I don't feel it now, but I know it. And I know I will feel it when I need it. And from the knowing will come the peace.

Scary

This is Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn speaking in Lebanon. Bill has an interesting idea, why not let every country with a U.S. military base vote for the U.S. President? Wow, what a great idea!

These people truly hate the very foundations of our country. Remember, Bill is a professor at the University of Illinois and has written textbooks currently in use at over 1500 public schools. He claims to have penned the Obama biography Dreams From My Father, and has a long-standing relationship with Obama. They are coming out of the shadows because after years of indoctrinating our youth the finally have a large support base and one of their own in the White House.

These people are crazy, but they aren't harmless.

Excitement

Hailey and Eli had to walk their dogs today, and Sierra decided to go along. They took my phone with them to keep track of the time and in case I needed to get a hold of them - or vice versa. It seemed they were gone a long time, but I was busy and didn't call. I hadn't told them when to be back...

Finally, the three of them tromped in. COVERED in mud. I mean faces, hair, arms, legs, ALL of their clothing. Covered. In. Mud.

Turns out Mara got away from Hailey, and in an effort to keep their guardian angels from getting bored, the kids decided to give chase. Now, to fully appreciate this story you should know that at the end of our road (the part that is paved), there is a metal guard rail and a beautiful view. Which is to say that it drops off into a steep valley rumored to hold all manner of wildlife.

Back to the kids... They come tromping in talking over each other about how Mara got away and she wouldn't come back, and they went after her, and Eli was stuck, and they fell, and, and, and... Then Sierra starts bawling. Just sobbing about how scary it was. I guess they were on a ledge and it gave way and they all tumbled into the valley. Eli ended up stuck in mud up to his waist, screaming that his bones were breaking. They couldn't pull him out for quite a while, and were slipping further down and getting themselves stuck in the process. Sierra had my phone in her jacket pocket, which was tied around her waist and fell off as she started to fall. So it was at the top of the ravine. The finally extricate him and begin attempting to climb out. Which I gather was also quite a process as they kept slipping back down.

But they are home, and safe, and showered, and warm. Their clothes may never recover though. And they have strict instructions NEVER to chase that stupid dog.

I Used to Read

I used to read, a lot. But now, looking back over my 2010 book list, I find that I just don't read much anymore. I suppose it's not surprising, what with 7 kids at home. But it is disturbing. I find that when I pick up a "difficult" book, one that makes you think, it isn't as easy for me to read as it once was. I don't like that. At. All. In 2011 I intend to begin to remedy the situation. I Intend to read more. One the one hand it will be unavoidable, because I am reading the majority of Hailey's school books in order to keep the discussions meaningful. It is shocking how few of them I have read. So, we will broaden our horizons together this year. But I also want to get to some of the things that I have been wanting to read. For me. I have many on my shelves, and I check books out from the library regularly. Only to return them 6 weeks later with the covers barely cracked. But I AM going to do that less often this year. Really. I am. Stop laughing.

These are the books I read last year. They are shockingly few, and the majority were read-alouds to the kids. Do those count? I sure hope so, because otherwise I was almost a non-reader last year.

Nick of Time - RA
Cowboy and Wills - Me

Hatchet - RA
Guts - Audio for all
Rats of Nimh - RA
Maggie - Me
Wrapped in Rain - Me
The Dead Don't Dance - Me
Time Pirate - RA
Swiss Family Robinson - RA
When the Tripods Came - RA
The White Mountains - RA
The City of Gold and Lead - RA
Pool of Fire - RA
Atlas Shrugged - Me

What is that, 15? Not much weight there either. Maggie, Wrapped in Rain, and The Dead Don't Dance are all novels by Charles Martin. Entertaining, but not too deep :-) The kids loved Nick of Time, a time-travel tale full of sea battles, chivalry, and love of country. Its sequel, Time Pirate was enjoyed as well.

When the Tripods Came through Pool of Fire was an interesting series. Sci-Fi I guess it was. About a group of people fighting to remain free men after an alien invasion that takes over the minds of people, causing them to become complacent and servile. Lots of good conversation about what it means to be free, and what is worth dying for. We enjoyed it.

Right now we are reading Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper, which is the first of the 5 book The Dark is Rising series. It was slow to start, but yesterday they begged me to keep reading for 3 1/2 hours straight. It seems it got exciting :-) I'm still undecided about whether we will read the whole series, but this book has been great if you like King Arthur legends and are comfortable with myths and and such. It is about the battle between good and evil featuring children as the main characters. It isn't a book I would hand them to read alone, but it has fostered a lot of great discussions. I'm interested to see how they develop it though.

I'm also reading The Woman in White to the girls, which is one of the first mystery novels ever written.

I am also reading Birth of Britian and How To Read a Book (very slowly) with Hailey. And we are reading (each of us separately) and discussing:

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The Life of King Alfred - selected passages
The Brendan VoyageThe Once and Future King
Ivanhoe
The History of English Literature
The Lay of the Land
Watership Down
More Than a Carpenter

Well this post got a lot more full of things no one cares about, but see I AM reading more this year!

Dr. Gosnell's House of Horrors

As always, great coverage of an important topic. Dr. Gosnell is a monster who operated right under the noses of the authorities charged with monitoring him. But shutting down an abortionist doesn't fit the pro-death agenda, so he operated with impunity, a blind eye turned to his many horrific violations. In the name of "protecting women" he maimed and murdered. The Common Room has lot's more to say. Read it.

Christmas 2010

Another year has come and gone and we're a week into the new one. We are back in the thick of things here, working from dark to dark. There is much to do in order to be able to take a break when the baby comes.

Christmas was very nice, we had all the kids together for a moment. It doesn't happen nearly often enough now that we are spread out and they are busy with their own lives. Chance did his best to win over the little girls, garnering a bit more success with Cadence than Annaleise. Anna is a tough sell. But the other kids were all thrilled to have a few brief days with him.

Cadence doesn't really like to smile for me, my camera annoys her. Or maybe it's my incessant attempts to get her to look at me.

The big ones. I'm about done with that brown wall...

Time with big brother always includes lots of wrestling. The bigger boys loved being tossed around like this, Ty - not so much. He was not amused and told Chance never to do that again :-)

Army clothes that fit, JOY!

It's Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

We finally got the tree up and decorated and the house looking a little more festive. The kids did most of the heavy lifting while I took pictures and picked out background music. Which was nice, because while I love looking at the decorated tree, the actual decorating...not so much.

Tree selection took all of 3 minutes. We all loved the first tree and we promptly brought it home. I love it when that happens.

Christmas is less than 2 weeks away. Every year I'm surprised at how fast it got here. Chance is coming home. He'll be here for far too short a time, as always, but we can't wait to see him. It just doesn't seem right to be the people in his life that see the least of him. I hate that.

We get Kirstyn and her family on Christmas Eve. Yay! So the delimma is whether to do the full blown Christmas thing on the Eve, or just do presents with Kirstyn and Zac and wait another day for the rest. Hailey votes for Eve, but just because she can't wait. I'm leaning toward Christmas Day. I'm a purist :-)

A Little Bit of This

Yes, I know I'm writing strictly to myself at this point. People can only be expected to stick around for so long with nothing to read. I just haven't felt very inspired. Perhaps I have too high a view of myself, feeling like I need to have something interesting to say. Most of what I say is probably only interesting to me anyway... And lately I barely seem to have time to put together one coherent sentence, much less a whole blog post. The thought of adding another tiny baby into the mix a frankly a bit overwhelming. Of course, I felt that way when I was pregnant with Annaleise too. Sure that I was going to sink under the weight of all that would be on my plate. And, I was right. But God knows. And when I can keep my priorities straight and my knees bent, I can feel Him standing in the gap.

Having a large family has definitely been an act of faith. There is a big difference between the mindset of, "We are ready for another one. Let's try now." and "God has chosen to bless us with another child. I will trust him to provide for the finances, the patience, the needs of the other children..." It has been a humbling journey.

I am half-way through my pregnancy now. And I am so looking forward to meeting this little person. I am so grateful that God given me this privilege, this gift that I would not have chosen on my own. The pregnancy has been amazingly easy thus far. A true gift from the Lord that reminds me of his mercy toward me, reminds me not to be afraid. He is good, all the time.

We tried another new church yesterday, one I've resisted for a long time. I don't know that we will end up there, but the sermon was a blessing. Have a conviction, know where you stand and be fully convinced that you stand with God. But diversity in the gray areas. Know that your convictions on the things the Bible does not explicitly speak to will not necessarily be the convictions of others. God calls us all to different paths. Walk your path, don't worry about theirs. But know what the Bible says, because we must agree on the black and whites. A good reminder.

So, I'm walking my path. Trying to keep my eyes on Him, that I may one day cast glorious crowns at His feet.

Summer Time Recap

Ah, so summer has come and gone and it doesn't seem I have shared any of it here. The kids had campouts on the trampoline

The upper 4 competed in the Bible Bee, with the girls tying for third in our local competition We celebrated the birthdays of Ezra and Titus by renting the Tehachapi pool for a joint party.

I spent a lovely birthday with Ezra, breakfasting together, seeing a movie and playing in the river. In which I utterly forgot the presence of my camera.
Ty and I spent an equally lovely day doing many of the same things, minus the movie.

We watched Foyles War and the European Faith and Freedom Tour.

We finally finished our school year, swam as much as we could, spent time with friends and family, looked for a church, and got Ty potty trained.

We were blessed with another child in the womb.

There, I think you're all caught up. See, it's like I was never gone at all.