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We forget sometimes the sovereignty of God, don’t we? We, the American people, who plan and save and own blackberries and schedule books and dictate our own time lines. We schedule our lifetimes, our years, our months, our weeks, our days, our hours, even our minutes to our specifications and then curse the “interruptions” of our life under our breath. The car that breaks down, the unexpected bill….or the bigger things….. The unexpected loss of a job, the hardship of a “lean time”, the untimely death of a loved one, the waiting game for a new child or the surprising and overwhelming thought of adding yet another child. Yes, God uses us. He pushes us from ourselves and toward Him through times of joy and through times of trial. He brings glory from times of utter happiness and from times of utter devastation. Sometimes things go according to our “plan”.

Other times He directs us to take a fork in the path of life that may have been hidden from our eyes until we are right upon it. That path may be longer, more treacherous and far more work than we had originally planned.

More than likely, though, it will be far more beautiful, wondrous and insightful than any other because His glory awaits along the way. Each time we feel like we can’t imagine taking one more step on this “rugged” trail yet keep on going, faithfully following His lead, we die to self and something beautiful grows in us. Fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Setting aside self seems at first a struggle….then once done like a burden lifted. It almost as if the more of ourselves we give away the more Jesus can carry us along the way, lifting our own weight from our tired feet.

A few months before I became pregnant Mike and I actually discussed having a ceremonial burning of the baby gate that graces our home. We were planning to be out of the “toddler-into-everything-stage” and that called for celebration, right?. Plans……ohhhh, OUR plans…. They stank, honestly. As this baby reminds me (by the kicking going on from within) more life was in His plan for our family.

Life that we are tremendously grateful, humbled and blessed by. Another son for us, another sibling for our children, another warrior for His kingdom. Not every Christian’s journey is the same, for sure. But for us, while it may be hard to imagine, the months of prayer surrounding this pregnancy and our emotions toward it (and possibly future ones) have given us a great peace and trust. A peace that we are not ultimately in charge. A trust that, while sometimes hard and unexpected, our lives are in the hands of someone bigger, smarter and completely sovereign. What a relief it is to know that simple fact. It allows so much grace to flood in! Grace that blankets each decision and each surprise fork in the road. Everything seems simpler when we plan but still acknowledge and leave room for His plans…His blessings.

How has God stretched you this year?

Happy Birthday to me!  Yep, I am thirty!  No longer can I claim to be in my twenties….but with almost 6 kids…..I am far from pretending to be younger than I am!  The day was beautiful and I took the monkeys to the park to play, eat a picnic lunch and take a long stroll.  My husband and father in law even met me at the park for lunch. 

 

We had dinner here at the farmhouse and Mike was kind enough to cook (okay, we ordered my favorite pizza – but really, lets be honest, the pizza was way better!).  I had spent the day before preparing a black tie mousse cake for my birthday cake.

I really wanted one and they are about $40 to purchase one….BLAH….I am cheap remember?  So I found a recipe online and it turned out AMAZING!!!! I am linking to the recipe only because it is silly to re-write it.  I followed it exactly and it was so good I really wouldn’t change anything.  The only slight variation I made was on the final layer (chocolate ganache frosting).  I ended up doing the icing in two steps.  I first poured on a thick layer of chocolate ganache and swirled in the white chocolate, leaving the spring pan form in place. 

Then I put it in the freezer to set and when it was good and cooled I removed the spring form side and finished the side icing (with a much cooler, firmer leftover ganache) and crusted it with mini chocolate chips. AMAZING, simply amazing!  It was 5 layers of goodness….devils food cake, chocolate mousse, vanilla custard, dark chocolate ganache and finally a chocolate chip crust……mmmmmmm….

RECIPE HERE

We had our “big” sono last Friday and we were able to find out what we are going to be expecting late this summer. It’s a……..BOY! Yes, sir, it seems as if we are going to be evening things out yet again in this family. Three little darlings and three little men as well! I was super shocked when they told us, because, frankly I just KNEW we were having a girl. The only two pregnancies that I have ever had a feeling were this one and Georgia’s. I just KNEW Georgia was a girl and it turned out I was right so I thought my instinct would be correct on this one too. NOPE! It was….um….VERY obviously a boy so I am glad that I didn’t want to be surprised at birth. He made HIMself very well known to the world! Hehehehe, I guess he isn’t the modest kind!

I have been envisioning doing something Pintrest-worthy for telling the family (including Mike and my five monkeys). I originally wanted to do a big bouquet of (pink or blue) helium balloons in a large box that would float up when opened. Ya know....beautiful and picture perfect like this:

So, I went simple! I bought a small self-use helium tank and a small box (big enough for one balloon)and some decorations for it and sort of stuck to the first idea. The balloon popped out and everyone knew that it was a boy because the balloon was blue. While it wasn’t as elaborate (or beauiful or well photographed) as the Pintrest idea in my head, (lets be real now!….does anything ever turn out as great as the Pinterest inspiration?) it did the trick.

While at the cabin we trekked over to a local state park and did one of the short meduim/rugged trails that overlooked a waterfall and a siltstone bluff (most of us in flip flops, of course!...did I mention THIS idea was also sort of a last-minute-no-planning thing too!?).

We also ate amazing ribs while at the cabin (thank you Evil Dr. Pork Chops!)!!! I will DEFINATELY post this recipe for them because they are out of this world! Even I can make them with ease (and I am NOT the griller in the family!) YUMMY!

Free stuff…it always gets my attention!  When my dad told me he was tearing down an office building with built in floor to ceiling oak bookshelves, I really couldn’t say no.  But where to put them?...  We have a very open floor plan in our home which is SO nice for flow, but not so great when finding wall space.  We finally decided that the bookshelves would go in our living room.  We have been doing school upstairs now (instead of the school room) because the basement just seemed so disconnected to “life”. We had been keeping some of our books in the dining room, but not all would fit.  I have always wanted a place to store the majority of our books anyway.  So we went for it.  We decided that two built in bookshelves on either side of the wood stove would be great.  We definitely want to paint them and add crown molding to unify them and make them official “built ins”, but they are up and holding books at the moment so the first step is accomplished.  

Here is what our living room used to look like: (I totally stink at remembering to take “before photo when we all the sudden decide to uproot everything, so sorry these aren’t really that great, but you get the point)

{This is the wall where the leather chairs now reside}

Here is my very rough vision of what I wanted it to look like:

{drawing of how I was imagining it looking before bring in the bookshelves}

And now, here it what it looks like now – half completed.  Please envision this with the bookshelves painted the same as the trim and with crown molding running around the tops of the books shelves and extending around the room.  

{Chairs and table}

{One side of bookshelves}

{Other side of bookshelves}

{Full view of room}

Thanks to my awesome parents for the FREE leather chairs and to my hubs and father in law for hauling them here.  Also, check out the $50 craiglist table! Yeah! SCORE!

I will post a picture in a few weeks of the final product.  I am also thinking of painting the walls a Pottery Barn blue??..….  Hmmm….I am still thinking about that one…..

Next project on the list is to tackle the office/craft room.  A few months ago I had moved the “nursery” corner out of our room and turned it into my craft area giving Mike the entire office.  Well, as you probably have heard, God laughed hard at our “plans” to be done having children! LOL! (I am SO grateful He is wiser than I am!)  Now, the craft area is back in the office and in need of some organization.  The same building that supplied us with the bookshelves also supplied us with a nice set of upper cabinets, albeit in the same ugly honey oak tone (and brass hardware)! Luckily, a little paint and some new hardware can solve the worse of outdated-wood-toned-brass problems!  Stick around to see that room!  

Mike and I FINALLY got the garage mess under control a couple of weeks ago!  Since last year when we started our home based lawn business our garage has taken a turn for the worst.  Ever heard the expression “cramming 10 lbs. of stuff into a 1 lb. bag”? Yep, we were doing it! Our garage was bursting at the seams!  We bit the bullet and finally accepted defeat.  No way of arranging could untangle the mess of bikes, mowers, aerators, tillers and everything else that was now parked in our garage.  And don't even get me started on the van we now own that could quite literally eat and spit out an average sized minivan.  In another post I will show you the beautiful shed, concrete work and landscaping that we put in.  But this post is dedicated to my thrifty little ditty of a bike rack made for a cost of…..wait for it……$35!!!  This is my not-so-original design (that is a larger version of this one) for a bike rack that holds 8 bikes!

Or you can buy one for $350!!!

You will need - 

• 6 – 10’ foot sticks of ¾” schedule 40 PVC pipe
• 6 – bags of contractors pack (10 in each bag – so 60 total), ¾” PVC tees
• 6 – single ¾” PVC elbows
• Glue if you want (I didn’t glue ours – that way I can take it apart and add to it if I need to!)
• Hacksaw or PVC pipe cutters
• Rubber mallet to tighten joints.
  

You can cut all the lengths first or cut as you go.  I cut as I went so I could try out a section or two before I assembled the whole thing!  Now just assemble it according to the photo above. Obviously, use elbows on the ends and not tees.  I would say that if all the bikes are the same size I would make the sections (6” ones) separating the bikes a bit longer.  Staggering the handle bar height makes 6” work, but with two of the same size bikes the handles bars get a bit tangled.  Also, if you have any bikes with oversized (wide) tire you will need to add a little length to the 2" piece (2-1/2" to 3").

I even color coded so everyone knew their "assigned parking spot"!

Eleven years ago today I was a young 18 year old woman-child in love with a handsome young man of 21.  Yep, we were those small town high school sweethearts who got in trouble for kissing in the hall and skipping morning classes so we could have a bit more time together before school. 

Would anyone have thought that we would sit here, almost 16 years later, and remain……exactly the same?!  Except instead of getting caught kissing in the halls by teachers it is now by our children! 

Instead of the sterile walls of a public school, we are now in the hallways of the home we built ourselves.

Halls that are lined with years of family photos weaving a story of love and new life every couple of years.  Photos of beautiful, tiny faces that God has created through our love and faithfulness crowd the walls and fill me with a sense of immense gratitude. 

We may have been “too young”, or “too naive”, but we were in love…..real love.  That love only grew and multiplied and finally…..humbly found its way into the sweet embrace of God’s direction for us. 

I still look at Mike occasionally and see Mikey, a 17 year old with wavy blonde hair, braces, a crappy little car and those amazing dimples.  Although I must say the wisps of grey, the HUGE van full of kids and those same dimples smiling down at a new life that we, together, have created are far more attractive than anything he ever could have been at his “prime” of 17.

He is a man of dignity, faith, and hard work.  A man I am so proud to call my husband.

The best decision of my life was made on April 28, 2001 when I walked down an aisle to the man who would co-author the story of my life adding touches I never would have been able to even dream up myself!  It has been an awesome ride, those past 11 years.  I am hoping there are many, many more years and adventures ahead of us.  Happy Anniversary, Mikey!

Baby Essentials: Clothing and Diapers

Clothing:

This probably is going to be a short post considering that clothing is usually the easiest part of the baby gear!  You can buy your baby’s clothing second hand in a consignment store, at a garage sale, in a department store or even make your own.  

I think the biggest mistake new parents make is that they get too many outfits for their child.  I would encourage getting only a few newborn outfits.  Only one of my children thus far was ever able to squeeze into newborn size clothing.  Faith (my smallest baby who was right under 8 pounds) was able to fit in them a week or two before outgrowing them.  All of my other children skipped the size completely….especially our oldest (the one that had the MOST newborn sized clothing) who weighted a whopping 10 pounds 1 ounce!  Bag sleepers are great for this size as they can be used for large range of kids because there is little structure to them.  This item of clothing is also easy to sew even for a beginner.  Also there is a free pattern for a newborn dress that is darling (Faith wore it as her coming home outfit).  Here is the link for it if you are interested.  It is perfect for a summer baby.  If you tend to have large babies I would suggest making it a bit bigger (wider).  Faith (my smallest baby) barely fit in it.   Even in the larger sizes; don't go overboard!  They don't need 30 sized 0-3 outfits! I would suggest enought for a week or so; maybe 10-12 outfits at most.  At this point in our lives, with soon to be 6 kids living here, closet space is at a premium!

{Faith in the Itty Bitty dress}

Diapers:

Of course you will need diapers.  With my oldest I wasn’t using cloth diapers yet.  I never really needed newborn sized diapers for my oldest either.  He fit right into size one.  Most babies could benifet from at least one or two packs of newborn, but don’t go crazy with them either.  Full term babies are usually only in them for a few weeks.  As for cloth I would suggest skipping the newborn size as well.  Most newborns will fit into the infant size prefolds, albeit they will be a little big for a couple weeks.  If budget allows I would suggest between 2 and 3 dozen infant size diapers and 2 dozen premium size.  For each size I would also suggest to have at least 4 covers.  This should get you all the way from newborn through potty training.  

I am not going to get into the all the options of cloth diapering because it gets very overwhelming very quickly.  We use prefolds, snappis, cloth wipes, Bummis and Thirsties covers with the occasional mama-made fitted diaper thrown in.  If you want to see the options and read more about cloth diapers go to my cloth diaper tab or CLICK HERE to be redirected to that page.  Also I did a post a while back about starting with cloth diapers that shows how prefolds (both infant and newborn) fit and also how my mama-made fitted diapers fit a newborn and a toddler. 

Other:

Shoes: I don’t generally put any shoes save for the mama-made cloth/crochets booties until they are walking.  There is a pattern called Stardust Shoes for sewers that is great for babies and actually stays on a newborns foot quite well.  I made some for Faith when she was a wee one and have made several pairs since then.  They sew up easy and you can adjust the pattern to be reversible as well.  

{Stardust shoes made with leftover diaper flannel}

Socks: I have a strict rule about all the same socks for each child so that I don’t have to match socks and it applies to my littlest ones as well.  I don’t do colored, matching, patterned socks.  Plain white for me, please.  Borning, yes, I am aware, but the ease of it makes up for the pizzazz of multicolored socks any old day.  

Feeding Essentials:

Full disclosure: I have never bottle fed any of my babies (they are boobie-babies all the way), so if you are bottle feeding this may not help you too much. You also may need more feeding paraphernalia than what is included in this list.

Boobies: Most of you gals have these. They are normally found under your chin and are large, round bumps under your shirts. Just kidding.....I am sure all you ladies know where your ta-tas are! But if you breastfeeding, you will need them, so that is the number one "essential". Big or small, round or flat - every pair works just as well as the next (99% of the time).

{Nursing Maddie Jo while AJ was playing knights}

Breast Pump: Now that you have found your boobies, lets move on to pumps! Breast pumps are on my "essentials" list! They can releive a too-full breast that needs to be emptied a little to get baby to latch on or can give you a bottle of milk so you and your hubby can take a night for yourselves once in a blue moon. If you stay at home most of the day and rarely leave your nurslings you will be just fine with a single hand pump. The two I would recommend are the Avent Isis and the Medela Harmony. Both are reasonably priced and work well. Actually, the hand pump is what I used most often. If you are going to be working or leaving you little one frequently, skip the hand pump and get an electrical double pump. I recommend the Medela (Pump in Style?). I bought mine used 10 years ago and have used it here and there as well as it being loaned out to about 3 of my friends and it's still going today. GREAT investment! They are pretty darn pricey, but you can find them used. If you do buy them used, make sure you purchase new tubing, "horns" (the part that touches your breast and funnels the milk into the bottles), valves and bottles.

{Medela Harmony Manual Pump}

Bottles: I used to do plastic and it seems in the last decade they can't make their mind up as to which chemicals are safe to use on them and which are not. This is the reason I started to use glass bottles. At first I was a little scared they would break when dropped and the baby would cut himself with them. This insecurity was shattered when my son literally chucked this bottle onto the hardwood floors from his crib time and time again without even a chip in the bottle! While they are not completely unbreakable, they are pretty darn durable. I use the Evenflo ones. They are super inexpensive at $5 for a pack of three. Three is usually more than enough to get us by (if you are bottle feeding I would assume you would want more). I think you can still buy them at Target or ToysRUs too. If not, Amazon has them I am sure (they have everything!).

Sippy Cups: Normally I try to introduce a sippy cup at about 6 or 7 months to get them used to it. I generally don't give my babies juice, but I put water in them. It is nice when they go to wean if they can go directly from boobies to sippy cups without needing bottle. At about 2 to 2-1/2 I switch them to a regular (non spill proof) cup.

{Faith and with sippy cup at 12 months}

Highchair: I like a stand-alone highchair, but they do make boosters with attachable trays. The thing is, at our home, seating is at a premium (especially when we have guests) and putting the baby in a highchair frees up one "regular" chair. While these items are a little pricey they usually hold up. I am still using the high chair that I received from my baby shower with my oldest almost a decade ago.

Baby food: I will have to admit, I use very little baby food. The only reason I really use it is to get the baby used to A.) eating with a spoon and B.) the different textures of "real food". I usually steam and blend my own baby food at first, and blend whatever we are eating for the baby once they are a little older. Normally I don't start the baby on real meals until they are over 6 months old. Then they have a little food at our normal meal times and I gradually increase the amount of food as they get older. Slowly they will start taking less breastmilk and more food. I make the switch to whole milk with meals and snacks at about a year. Easy weaning!

Baby spoons: You only need a couple and mostly we use the little ones that supposed to be disposable. We wash and reuse them but also have a couple of antique silver ones as well. The silver ones stay here at the house (don't want to lose them) and the plastic ones we can take with us anywhere.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Linked to: www.SouleMama.com

Moving on in our Baby Essentials List is another "traveling" accessory that is a must in my baby gear:

The Baby Carrier: There are many types of baby carriers on the market now-a-days.  Back when I had my first it seemed the only ones I knew about were a structured carrier (think framed backpack thing that my "hippie" - sorry, mom and dad, I know.....it was the 70s/80s - parents used to take us in on camping/hiking trips) and a ring sling.  Now there are a myriad of different styles, sizes, colors and textures!  I will list my 4 favorites:

The Ergo: My all time favorite baby carrier!  Can be used from birth to toddler hood and beyond (but at that point, in my humble opinion, they can WALK!).  They are comfortable, adjustable, unisex (this is the only carrier my husband will wear) and come in some really cool colors now (like lime green, swoon!).  They also have a hood so that you can snap it up if the baby falls asleep and it keeps their little head from bouncing around.  Along with a dandy little hood it has a pocket that can hold keys, pacifiers, a small wallet or what ever else you need it for.  I have two of them.  One of them I picked up new and it is a little pricey.  They usually retail for a little over a hundred bucks, but (especially if you are planning more than one baby) they are worth their weight in GOLD!  The other Ergo I have I found at a consignment shop for TWENTY bucks!  I already had one but couldn't resist the deal and my love for Ergos MADE me pick up this deal.  I keep this one stashed in my car, just in case my other one gets dragged off into never never land and is not put away after use. Hypothetically, of course! The only thing that is a draw back of the Ergo is there is no "forward facing" carries with it.  But the back carry all but makes up for that!

{Ergo back carry with Georgia when she was about 5 months old}

The Moby: I like these carriers for very tiny babies; from birth to about 5-8 months.  Theses are basically a LONG piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself in a variety of different ways.  This wrap distributes the babies weight very well across your entire back and it is not a "one sided sling" simply meaning that all the weight isn't placed on only one side.  Once the baby gets a bit heavier the stretchiness in the fabric is a bit much for me and I feel it starts to sag.  Perfect for lightweight or little babies, but I usually lay it aside once they are a little heavier.  Some cons to this wrap (although I would say it is worth the investment) is that it is a LOT of fabric and can be a little intimidating to a first time baby wearer to tie this one.  Also, because of the sheer amount of fabric it can get a little hot in the summer. The retail price of these is about $40.

{Front forward facing carry with Georgia when she was about 7 months old - the other beautiful girls in the photo are my two other daughters, Maddie and Faith and my mother and sister (from Waves In The Water) and my sweet little niece, Ava}

Here is my video tutorial on how to tie on and place a baby in a cradle hold

Here is my video tutorial on how to tie on and place a baby in the front facing hold

The Ring Sling: This was my very first baby carrier and I still use it.  It is perfect for a quick trip because it can be put on and taken off very easily (no tieing).  It is a perfect sling to nurse in and even has a built in "cover up" when you utilize the "tail" of the sling.  Mine is a Maya wrap and it even has a small pocket in the tail to place a pacifier or nursing pad or whatnot.  I paid $40 and am very happy with it still, almost a decade later.  I purchased in a light off white/cream and I am amazed it doesn't look too bad for such a light color.

I don't have a photo of myself with this sling....not sure why?  But here is one I found on the internet.  Photo credit HERE.

Fitted pouch sling: These have the advantage of folding up really small and they are practically FREE.  If you have any sewing experience at all you can make one in about 20 minutes.  The only special technique you have to know is how to make a "french seam".  I have a couple of these in various prints and they are good for cradle holds and occasionally an older baby that is in the kangaroo or hip carry hold.  I have to say I don't use these much, but I have before had a "season" where I used them quite a bit.  HERE is a tutorial on how to make one.  Obviously this is the most economical sling, but it is also the least comfortable out of the four. 

Don't have a photo, sorry!

Now I am not saying run out and buy all four, BUT if you plan on baby wearing (which I strongly suggest you at least try it) then I would research further and find one to fit your needs and budget and give it a go.  If you have the money to spare or if you are registering for a baby shower - GO FOR THE ERGO! Why not, right?  You will be smitten!  While I usually don't use them for the first 6-10 weeks, once they are a little bigger they are AMAZING.  They can be used even with a newborn (they have an insert for newborns, that I have to admit I have never used).  If you are looking for something on a REALLY tight budget, shop your fabric stores for on sale fabric and sew yourself a pouch sling or have a sewing-talented friend or relative do it for you!