Life with Lots of Littles

How Blessed I Am. . .

2012-01-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

Four boys four and under! I'm so blessed to have this little crew! These are my "littles" and they bring such joy to the day! Most of the time we have a knight, a cowboy or a farmer somewhere to be found. Trains and cars are usually ready to be used stashed in every area of the house. Swords and Guns can be found in abundance! Snuggles and kisses as my little boys still love and adore their Mama's snuggles!

Recent Knits

2012-01-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

I finally started knitting again since L.'s birth :) A few pairs of overalls for the boys and my first peice for a customer since his birth. I have quite a few more orders lined up from customers and hope to have all those done in February so I can start on the boys spring/summer knits ahead of time! We're using the wool as diaper covers as well as clothes. I love it because they dont need to be washed very often as the wool is water resistant with lanolin and when it does absorb it can absorb up to 10x its weight and it barley feels wet, it's also naturally antibacterial and antifungal! Read this for more information about how it works! So I've got a lot of overalls, pants and shorts in my future but love seeing the boys in the things I made for them, and they are my husbands favorites on the boys!

Mama Knit Overalls and Hat

Samuel and Lucius in their overalls
Belle Romper - This is for a customer. I do love girly knits! :)

He already outgrew these pants. They were tiny :)

How To: Make Yogurt!

2012-01-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

I've been experimenting with ways to make yogurt, and I found a few that work pretty well! What you need to get started are just a plain yogurt starter (anything from the store, I find Greek makes thick yogurt, but a plain yogurt (just not low far) works well just is thinner yogurt), milk (whole or 2% is best) and a yogurt thermometer is nice for the stovetop method.

Place a washcloth in the bottom of your large pot, add jars filled with milk leaving approx 1" at the top. Add water and turn on medium heat and allow to boil. Put yogurt thermometer inside one of your milk jars and wait for temp to hit 185. (If you dont have a thermometer, its about 5-10 minutes after your yogurt gets "skin" on top.) Do not empty pot of water, you will need this in a few minutes.

Once it has hit 185, remove jars from heat and cool until temp is approx. 110 degrees (or until you can touch the jars with your hands without them burning, but its still very warm). To speed this process, you can put the jars in a sink full of cold water. It takes less then 20 minutes for mine to cool down this way.

After you have reached desired temp. add 2 TBSP of yogurt starter to each jar and put the lids on your jars.

Line a cooler (a good size one, like you would take camping or to the lake) with a thick towel and place your big pot of water that was just boiling inside it. On the other side add your jars and cover with a towel. There is just enough room in my cooler for my pot and 4 jars, they fit snuggly but thats what you want. Close the lid to your cooler. Do not open, this is how you are keeping your temp nice and warm inside there for your incubation period.

Now is the part where it's personal preference, you can wait just 4-6 hours and call it good, or you can wait up to 24 hours. The longer you wait the more time the bacteria have to eat up the lactose making it the most digestable. Its sweetest after a shorter time, but my family has no problem eating it with our homemade granola on top after 24. :)

If you choose to leave it for 24 hours, I suggest every 8 hours or so putting a pot or teapot on with water to boil and adding it to your pot in your cooler to keep the temp. up inside your cooler.

Once you have reached your desired incubation time, remove jars from cooler and place in fridge. They should be ready to eat!

So you can get 1 gallon of yougurt for abour $2.99 (the price of a gallon of milk) + $1 for a starter. You can re-use your just made yogurt as a starter making the next batch even cheaper! I suggest reserving some before eating for your next batch. If your yogurt starts becoming thinner and not turning out the same, it's time for a new starter from the store, but hopefully you can get at least a month before this happens.

Top 10 Baby Needs for Newborns

2012-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

After having 6 babies in 7 years, you become a minimalist when it comes to baby gear. I know what I need and what I don't. . .and there's A LOT of what I don't and a small amount of what I do. Some of the needs are obvious, but I will list them anyways.

My Top 10 Newborn Baby Must Haves: (Not in any order)

Diapers: I suggest cloth. They just hold the newborn poops SO much better then disposables. If you use disposables and find a problem with poopsplosions, I suggest putting a diaper cover over the top of it to contain messes! Super easy and well worth the price. (Of course you will need wipes as well, if you do use cloth I suggest cloth wipes!)

Baby Carrier: This is the only way I can get things done 1/2 the time) I suggest the Sleepy Wrap at first, it is SO comfortable and my babies adore it. Its very easy to use once you get the hang of it. If you want one carrier to last from birth to toddler, then I sugges the Beco Gemini.

Bouncy Seat : I use this instead of a swing, because its more compact and portable. It is easy to move from room to room without taking up much space. This doesnt need to be expensive or the fanciest one on the market. The basic ones work just as well!

Carseat: Of course! I prefer the infant seats that go up to 30 or 35 lbs because they can be used so much longer. The shell is bigger and allows for a bigger baby. When you have 4 kids in carseats like I do, its very nice to have longer before you need to move them to a convertible seat. We have a Graco Safeseat, and it's held up through 3 kids no problem! (And I suggest a shower cap style carseat cover for winter to keep baby warm! I love mine!)

Blankers and Burp Cloths : I like to have at least 3 soft warm blankets (so I have one when 2 are washing :) ) . All my babies overeat and spit up. It happens and its nice to have a supply of clean ready to wipe baby off cloths.

Baby Clothes : You really dont need much. I'd say about 10 outfits/sleepers and onesies and you'd be good to go. Socks and Hats are a need as well! Any more then this is just extras.

Diaper Bag : I admit this area is a personal preference. I want mine to be "cute". And, after having lots of baby I have settled on using a more expensive but better quality bag that can go through the washer easily, and hold up over time. My top pick is a JuJuBe. They are $$$ up front but I have a seceret: sign up on the site for the forums (The Pink Room) and buy it used! I got mine for $40 including shipping! Not too bad

Pack and Play with Bassinet: These are just awesome to have. My babies usually sleep in them, in the bassinet, in our room the first 6 - 10 months or so. And of course they are great for bringing to friends houses for a portable place for your baby to sleep that smells and feels like home.

Baby Wash: When babies are tiny I prefer a natural baby soap that is gentle on their skin and unlikley to have any adverse affects or allergies from it. My top pick is Dr. Bronners. (If you are in an area where Azure Standard delievers, it's cheapest through them!)

Nursing Cover: I love the ones with the opening on the top so you can see your baby. Makes it so easy when they are newborns and still learning to get a quick good latch.

Things I dont need:
- Baby Swing
- Full Size Crib: (At least not right away. I dont need this till they are about 6-12 months old, depending on the baby. Before that they sleep in the portacrib bassinet)
- Recieving Blankets: I never use them for actual blankets, only for spit up.
- Pacifiers: My kids never take them. My first few babies, I bought some hoping they'd use them eventually. They never did. The ones that needed to calm that sucking urge found their thumbs, but would never take a pacifier.
- Bottles: If you plan on breastfeeding 100% of the time, they may just sit in the cupboard. If you plan on pumping and freezing milk then they may come in handy, but for me they just take up unneeded space.
- Electric Breast Pump: I stay at home with my babies and breastfeed full time. I did need a double pump for my premies, but my hospital provided that. If for some reason your baby had feeding problems this would be a need. But for the average Mama who plans on breastfeeding full time, it is not a necessity.
- Stroller: I never use a stroller for my newborns. They go right into my baby carrier. A stroller is nice once they are about 8 + months around here. That may be because we have so many kids the stroller is already being used by bigger kiddos, but even with my first I didnt use it till he was bigger I used a baby carrier even then.
- Baby Baths: We are old fashioned and just put the baby in the kitchen sink for a bath. No big foam thing that molds, no massive baby tub to store, just simple! Baths only take a few seconds for newborns so there's no reason to make a big deal about it! Less then 3 minutes in the sink and they are clean as can be!
- Diaper Creams: These are not needed to stock up on. If baby gets red, just grab a bit of olive oil or coconut oil from your kitchen, dab on that tiny bum and you're good to go!

Happy 10th Birthday!

2012-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

T. is 10 years old today! Happy Birthday son! We are SO proud of you. The amount of change we've seen happen in the past 2 1/2 years is increadible. The Lord has worked in you so much, and we are so blessed to be apart of it. We can see you taking the Word of the Lord and applying it to your life and it's the most amazing thing to watch as a parent. As you sit on your own and read God's Word, and remember the teachings of your father from family worship it gives us great encouragment. You are growing into a wonderful young man, and we are so blessed to be your parents! We love you!

Terrel got a new fishing pole for his birthday, and broke it in yesterday on a fishing trip with Papa and Dylan. He had a blast!

Smoothie Fun :)

2012-01-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

Smoothies are a favorite around here. The kids love them, and so do Taylor and I! There's so many ways to pack lots of good for you stuff in a good tasting cold smoothie they never get boring! Although, with kids, it can get messy. Usually our littlest kids ages 4 and under end up with unibrows, because somehow when they tip up the drink, the end up getting it smack dab between the eyebrows LoL. Here's Samuel enjoying a smoothie.

Our favorite things to add to smoothies

-Milk Keifer

- Yogurt

- Coconut Water

- Bananas

- Frozen Fruit (Strawberries, Blue Berries, Magos, Peaches, Raspberries are a few favs)

- Wheat Germ

- Spinach or other greens

- Ground Flax Seed

- Acerola Powder

- Kelp Powder

The list is endless and tastes fantastic! A easy way to get kids all sorts of good stuff!

Snow Days!

2012-01-19T19:51:00.000-08:00

We had a few snow days this past week, and the kids have had a blast. The first day we were running erronds when it started and by the time they got home and got ready it was melting fast so they were thrilled to wake up the next morning to a few inches! It melted before the evening, but it was fun while it lasted!

Welcome Lucius Bradley

2011-12-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

Lucius Artorious (Lucius means Light and Artorious means Noble Strength) made his way into this world on 11/11/11. He was born at 34 weeks and 2 days. He weighed in at 5lbs 7oz, and did great. I went into active labor and the hospital staff was getting ready for his delievery when my entire labor just stopped out of no where. We thought contractins might come back but they did not. So, the next day they started pitocin, which after 12 hours or so and being turned up and up and up did not work. This is not normal for my labors as all, and they couldnt figure out why. I was offered the option to weight and see what happened, or go with a c-section. Seeing as how after starting pitocin I had an epidural, and I had not eaten in over 24 hours at this point and wouldnt be allowed to eat again till after he was born, as well as the fact from the moment I got the epidural I was nauseas and was throwing up off and on, we opted for the C-section. I told the nurse it was not normal for my body to stop labor like that and I bet you, God would show them why the C-section was happening, there would be a reason why everything stopped. Sure enough, his cord was wrapped around his body twice, as well as around his legs! God was gracious and allowed no complications to come from that for which I am so thankful. Though he was early, he was alive and healthy! After his first night breathing was getting more and more difficult and he was really straining, so they put him on cpap to help him. He had a hole in his lung which was another concern. He was on cpap for 5 days, and the air in his chest and around his heart was seen larger on the xrays then before. After coming off cpap, we prayed the hole would close, as its difficult to close when air is being forced into the lungs from the cpap. After coming of the cpap the air spots were smaller but not as small as theyd like, but they were not going to do anything at that moment about it because of how small he was, if the xray they would do right before discharge didnt show enough of a change it would be followed up as he grew. A few days after being off cpap he took about 1/2 his feeding by nursing or bottle, which was wonderful! After being in the NICU for 12 days he came home. Before he left they did an xray and the air was almost completely gone, God had answered our prayers and healed the hole in his lung. He was able to nurse right away and did not have to go home on bottles! God is so good in his answer to prayer, and I am so thankful he gave us Lucius and can clearly see his hand in keeping him healthy and safe, during pregnancy and after his birth. He is now 3 weeks old and happy and content. He loves to eat constantly, and sleeps wonderfully. He only cries when he needs to be changed or fed, I'm so thankful God has given us such a content sweet little man.

2011-09-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

This month celebrated P.J.'s birthday! He is now the big FOUR! He's grown so much and we are so proud of him. He is the easiest of our boys by far, and that has been such a blessing to us. He aims to please and loves to help. We pray the Lord continues to grow him into a mighty man who will serve the Lord with all his heart.

P.J. at a few weeks old - he was the tiniest of any of our babies. I beleive he was under 5lbs in these pictures!

This is a size Premie outfit that he's swimming in!

Now at 4! He loves to dress up and pretend to be any kind of "hero" (to him that means a guy who can protect/save people and gets to dress up to do it)

Adventures in Homemaking

2011-09-28T10:11:00.001-07:00

Our one and only little girl is growing up way too fast. She's been starting to learn her way around the kitchen, with a little help from Mama. Last week she made her own muffins and this week she made dinner on her own. She roasted a chicken, made baked potatoes and green beans. She was quite proud of her accomplishments, as were her Papa and Mama. She was a little worried about touching the chicken at first, and not quite sure about stuffing it with onions, but once she got used to it she was a pro. :) I wish I had taken pics of the entire meal she made, but sadly I forgot to! Dinner time is usually crazy time around here with 6 hungry little kiddos. I'm thankful the Lord blessed me with a daughter so eager to learn to help in motherly ways.

Adventures Becoming Men

2011-09-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

As the boys are getting older, this summer has been one of more random adventures with their Papa then any other. This summer they have many random late night fishing trips with him that they greatly enjoy. Last weekend the big boys enjoyed a camping trip with Papa. They came back with lots of stories of fun adventure with their Papa.

Some Summer Fun

2011-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't blogged pretty much at all this summer. We've been super busy with life. We had our first camping trip in years, for sure with that many kids! It went pretty well. The weather was beautiful and we played in the lake most of the days. We had the company of great friends, which made it even more enjoyable. Although, there was a aweful stomach bug that went around that next year can stay home away from our camping trip. My husband discovered a new love for fishing there, that he has continued through the summer since coming home. :) The kids are greatly enjoying the fishing trips with him. In fact he took Dylan and Brooklyn last night (poor Terrel was sick) and they couldn't stop talking about it! :)
Lots of days beating the heat by staying close to the water. We discovered our favorite spot up in the mountain to spend the day. It's perfect for the kids, and so long as we have a cooler full of food and lots to drink it's a great all-day trip! It takes an hour to get there, so we usually camp out there on Saturdays with our good friends :)
Brooklyn was a flower girl for the first time in her Auntie Carly's wedding. We welcomed David to the family. They had a beautiful Christ-centered wedding that was such a blessing to be apart of.
We didn't take any big vacations, camping was the longest away from home trip. Since Taylor's job gives him no time off in summer but lots in winter, we usually plan get aways for the winter months. :)
We found out that the Lord is blessing us with another sweet baby boy, and we couldn't be more excited!!! He will be here within the next 3-4 months and everyone couldn't be more thrilled!
We ordered our school books and today (9-6) was our first official school day, which overall went pretty well. It is quite challenging to keep the littles quiet while I do school with Terrel, but we'll get into a routine and figure it out. For today they went to play in the water outside on this 90 degree day!

Playing hard. . .

Makes very tired kids by the end of the hot summer day. . .

Grandpa Bradley, Taylor, Terrel, Dylan, Preston and Max

The Beautiful Bride, and the Pretty Flower Girl

Mama and Papa

Lots of teething. I think he's cut at least 6 teeth this summer alone!

Samuel's First Birthday!

2011-06-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

Samuel is ONE! Time flew by, like it seems to do and my baby is now one year old. He had a nice day filled with yummy food, a few new toys and ending it out with a nice big piece of cake. :)

Not sure about this big chunk of food in front of him...

Okay, I guess I'll try it...

Wow, that's pretty good...

Okay, it's REALLY all over my face, my my hair, need a bath good!

You know it's good when you need a bath when you're done eating it.

Bradley Life

2011-06-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a few months since I posted so I figured we're due to start updating. :)

Life has been busy. Around 11 weeks into pregnancy I found out I had a subchorionic hemorrhage which increases chances of a miscarriage. Thankful at the ultrasound baby's heartbeat was great at 163 and measuring ahead of my dates. We did 2 weeks of bedrest with help from our amazing church family and at 13 weeks went in for an ultrasound and the bleed was completely healed! Baby was still healthy as can be.
I did learn from that experience, before it I was quite caught up with praying, wishing and hoping this little one was a little girl. After it, all I wanted was a healthy baby to keep growing until the day the Lord had for him/her to be born healthy! :)

The kids are all growing very fast. I find as I watch them it seems to be that I don't just have a life with lots of littles, but a life with many littles and a few getting big really fast kids. :) Terrel, Dylan and Brooklyn are learning to be quite helpful and are amazing me daily. Sure, they have their trials, and as they get older the trials change, but they are learning to work hard and be a helpful part of the family.

The "babies" which in our house means Samuel, Victory and sometimes PJ, are doing quite well! Samuel is now 1 year old, I'm not sure how the time went by so fast, but it did! Victory is probably the most trying child I have ever had in need of constant training, but hey, at least he has a really cute side as well! :) LoL And PJ is so easy going. He is a very well mannered, sweet little boy (thank the Lord, because I can't imagine a 2 and 3 year old Victory!).

Taylor's buisness is doing well and growing! We're quite excited for the growth the Lord has blessed our buisness with. It's busy for sure! But we are excited to be taking a little mini "vacation" (can you call camping a vacation? lol) in a few weeks so he'll finally get a break for a few days!

Otherwise, life is busy! But it's good for sure. I'll try to update a little more often. ;-)

Christmas Sneak Peak

2011-04-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

Not everyone is able to get a sneak peak into the blessings that will unfold in their lives at Christmas nine months ahead of time, but the Lord has granted us a "sneak peak" into the wonderful blessing awaiting us due to arrive 12/25/2011....baby #7!! :) The Lord is so good!

Diaper Deals (Disposable)

2011-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm all about saving money where ever I can. I also prefer better quality items without paying an arm and a leg. Well, I just found a pretty good deal on brand name diapers so I wanted to share with you all. At http://www.diapers.com/ you can get a Pampers XL Case of diapers, (Size 4 has 192) for $34.79. Cheaper than a box of Costco Diapers. If you spent $39 you get FREE overnight shipping. I ordered a box of diapers and wipes, got free overnight shipping and saved my time, gas and money! You save 20% on diapers using code DIAPERS20PCT and then they have an place you can click to save $1.50 on pampers as well, and then use code GET10PCT to get 10% off everything else, so my 9.99 box of wipes was only 8.99. You do still have to pay WA tax, but you have to do that at Costco too so, no biggie. They equaled out to 0.18 cents a diaper. Luvs are usually 17 cents a diaper in store, but not as good of quality in my opinion. So I thought this was a pretty good deal. Especially since I could do it from the comfort of my own home and have it delivered straight to my door for free!

Oh and added bonus you get the 20% savings for the next three months!!!

Wanna Be A Cowboy Baby!

2011-04-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Life with Fussy Babies

2011-04-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

Diligence has had a little cold this week and been more needy than usual. I usually use my Beco (Baby Carrier) about every few days. But, this week, he's pretty much been in when hes been awake. He's so content just hanging out with Mommy and I love the fact that I can hold my baby and keep up with daily tasks. A good Structured Baby Carrier is worth the investment, especially if you have lots of littles!

Loading the Dishwasher

Making Breakfast

Standards

2011-04-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

For some reason every human feels the need to have and have others meet certain standards. Sometimes we can't even meet our own standards. We base them not off of scriptures, or, as wives, off our husbands desire for us, but off of being "super mom" or "super woman". We decide if we can't school the kids in a perfect classical education knowing greek and latin, if our kids don't know the entire shorter catechism by 6, if our 4 year old can't read, if our house isn't spotless every moment of the day, if our day isn't filled to the brim with jobs then, we are not good enough. We aren't meeting *our* standard. I have learned a lot about standards in the past 6 months. I have learned that I constantly feel the need to be like everyone else. If it works for them and I'm not doing it something must be wrong. However, this is far from the truth.

I have finally come to the realization that God has every family in a different place for a different purpose. We are the Bradley's, we live like the Bradley's, we eat like the Bradley's, we're those crazy Bradley's!! See, I thought I needed to be like other families because they seemed to have biblical practices that worked so well, they must work well in my family too, or else I'm not doing something right. This is not the truth. The truth is that 6 families can sit down and do a study of scripture regarding biblical ways to lead, move and purpose your family. And each family will walk away applying those principles to their lives, and be honoring God while doing it...*but* each family will do it differently!

Wait what?! How can each family apply biblical principles and honor God without doing things the same? Well, I believe it's because God has a different make up for every family.

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body through many, are one body, so it is with Christ....For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say "Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If we were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." 1st Corinthians 12:12, 14-20 ESV

See, we are all the body, but we all have different functions. It took me a long time to realize that. I was not raised to raise my family the way I do, in fact I think most of the time my parents have no idea how I ended up where I am now. :) But, God leads us all to different places at different times but we are all the body. Most of the things that people mark us by are also not salvation issues and need not ever be disputed. As women, the things we choose to do (with our husbands permission) with our families may all look very different, but they are our own self imposed "standards" and we are never to hold other people to them. One may choose a hands on learning education while another is more strict on a classical education. One may be wonderful at imparting games for their children to accomplish tasks while another just prefers to talk and have it be done. One chooses home birth another chooses a hospital birth. We feed our families different. We cloth our families different. We talk, walk and act different. The list goes on. BUT we are all the body. There is no right or wrong in most of these things. If as women we are honoring our Lord, by honoring our husbands, and raising our children's and loving our home life then we need not worry about what our neighbor is doing. For maybe we are a foot and they are hand. A foot can not accomplish what a hand can, and you may see things that you can't do that seem so lovely that the hands does! BUT - the hand can also not accomplish what the foot does!

Whatever you may be, take joy and pride in it for the glory of God and do not condemn your neighbor in thought, word or deed for being who they are in Christ. For we are all one body in Christ. I've also learned that no one is perfect and everyone has their trials. We may look at another family and *think* they have it together. We may wonder why we're not as together as they are. Truth be told though, they may think you have it all together. None of us are in each others homes dealing with each others struggles so we do not know what their life looks like, but we do know that we are *all* sinners who fall short of the glory of God (John 3:16) so what may *seem* like perfection in another, is not truly perfection. We all are saved by the grace of God. We are *all* sinners in need of a savior. So, we need to learn to stop comparing ourselves to anyone else and take *JOY* in the place the Lord has put our families. Praise God for trials and for blessings. He is shaping you and molding you through them all, and we are each a different piece of clay being molded beautifully, but differently. :) "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

DIY: Laundry Soap

2011-04-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

I just made my first batch of liquid laundry soap. I have made powdered before which always worked great, but I decided to try liquid this time. It was SUPER easy and it washes the clothes just as well as my store bought stuff for a fraction of the cost!!

What you'll need:

Water (3 gallons + 4 cups)

Washing Soda (1 cup)

Soap (1 bar)

Borax (1/2 cup)

Optional: Essential oils

Step one: Grate your bar of soap into small peices. I went a head and used my food processor to save time and just washed it really well after.

Note on soap: it's really up to you what you use. You can use Fels-Naptha like I did since it was loacated right next to the other ingredients I bought or you can use pretty much any thing you can find. Next time I think I'll use an all natural soap, I've read great things about the results with Dr. Bronners Peppermint or Lavender soaps!

Add soap to 4 cups boiling water. Stir to dislove.

Mix 3 gallons warm-hot water with your washing soda and borax. Some people don't like borax in their soap as they think it's too harsh but I have used it in my homemade soaps and in my laundry and really like the boost it gives. Stir to disolve.

Add your soap mixture to your water mixture.

COVER - Store overnight. Stir the next day. It'll prob. be really thick and goupy and you'll have to stir it up good to get it thin and more liquid like.

Transfer to your storage container and it's ready to use!!!

If you don't want to wait over night and want instant satisfaction there's also the powdered version which is just as easy to make.

What you'll need: Washing Soda, Soap and Borax (optional: baking soda)

Grate your soap into small peices. (to get it small enough I graded it in the food processor, then I pulsed it. You want REALLY tiny peices) Add 3 cups washing soda and 1.5 cups borax. I also added 1 cup baking soda. Mix well. Store in a air tight containr and use approx. 1 TBSP for HE washers or 3TBSP for regular washing machines.! Easy peasy!

ETA: If you want to make your own cloth diaper safe soap you can use the same dry recipe here but do not use the soap. It is too harsh and will cause build up on your diapers. When I make it for diapers I use 2 Cups Baking Soda, 3 Cups Washing Soda, 1 Cup Borax and for some extra scent you can add essential oils. I actually use tea tree oil in every diaper load bc it helps kill any bacteria and makes them smell better. (Re: Borax ~ Some people don't like this, especially on diapers, as they think it's too harsh but I need my diapers really clean or I get stink issues. I like how it cleans and I also use bleach in every diaper load. I always have clean diapers that are stain free with no stink, it works for me!)

Mama's Baby Boys

2011-04-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

Finished Knits

2011-04-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here's some recent knits I've done for other people. For some reason I never remember to take pictures of the things I knit for Diligence :) . It's a blast to knit for others though, especially since I get to knit tiny girl things which is fun!

Little Coffee Bean v2 Sweater

Bloomers Shorties

Ruffled Longies

Behavior Cards

2011-03-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

So I totally stole this idea from a sweet friend who babysits my kids. :) They are called Behavior Cards and they work like a charm! Each day I have been making the kids their cards, one side contains their "snotty points" and one side contains there "good points" based on their actions throughout the day. Cleaning up your messes, helping your brother or sister, doing a chore for Mama, having a good attitude = good points ... Throwing fits, Talking Bad, Disobeying = Snotty Points

Each child wears the card around their necks. When Papa comes home at the end of the day he wants to see MANY more good points than bad points. If you have more bad marks then good marks, you're going to have to tell Papa what they are all for.

Knowing that Papa will come home and see them motivates the children to do more good! While I always told Taylor how the children acted during the day, it didn't phase them the same as they watched each mark being added to their cards. They do NOT want bad points, and if they get them they want to know what they can do to earn more good ones. It's been a great learning tool for the children!

Jessica - you will be a brilliant mother one day! You're children will be greatly blessed, as mine have been from your influence in their lives!

Knit With Love

2011-03-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

I love knitted things. I love to knit! I love it when others knit for my sweet little babe. I just recently finished up these sweet little pants for Diligence. They are a bit big because I made them so they would fit him through next winter, but they are great because if you just cuff them they fit great this year too! I paired them with these super sweet booties, knit my a very sweet Mama! You can find her shop at Happy In Dole Valley , she will do custom booties as well, just message her! GREAT customer service! It's her own pattern so there's nothing else out there quite like it!

Though sometimes it is expensive and it's not always in my budget, I love shopping for handmade items from other Mama's on Etsy and Hyenacart ! :) Great way to get one of a kind hand made items.

Above Rubies

2011-03-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

If you have yet to hear about Above Rubies I highly suggest heading on over to their site to sign up for their free magazine! It's www.aboverubies.org and they have a magazine that goes to print whenever they receive enough funds for it, as it's by donation. I have been getting the magazine for years and I save each and every one because they are just so wonderful I re read them over an over. It's a wonderful encouragement to us as christian wives, mothers and women. And since your start up is free, I can't suggest enough that you take advantage of this wonderful resource!!

Typical Victory

2011-03-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Make Your Own Diaper Rash Cream

2011-03-26T09:49:00.001-07:00

Have you ever priced out how expensive all natural diaper creams are? They aren't cheap! Usually to get ingredients that you know what they are and how to say them makes the price 2x as much! Well, I figured out a super basic recipe out of things you have in your everyday kitchen. And it's cloth diaper safe!

3 Parts Coconut Oil

1 Part Olive Oil

Melt coconut oil (I use a little metal coffe thing on the stove top) and add in olive oil. Pour into a contatiner and allow to harden before use. (Put in fridge to speed up this process)

TA-DA! You're done!!! When you put this on it will start to melt on your finger making it super spreadable!

If you want to get fancy you can add shea butter, essential oils, whatever your fancy but this right here is a basic of basics recipe that works! I use it on my little guy all the time and it always helps clear up any rash he has!!

Also, I have another contatiner I use as a moisturizer on face, hands, whatever needs it! It works great! Coconut oil in itself is a great moisturizer!

Getting Kids to Love Their Greens

2011-03-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

If you're kids are anything like mine they don't usually like to just sit down and munch on a bunch of greens. While Kale and Spinach may be things that are in their diet I have found the best way to make sure they get a good supply of dark green leafy vegetables is to hide them to some effect. There's many good vitamins found in dark greens and many ways to hid them in food! Last night we had hamburgers and here's how I added in greens to that meal....

First I put a bunch of fresh spinach in the food processor....

Then I added it to my hamburger mixture...
After mixing up my hamburger's I made them into patties and my children never knew of the secret ingredient... :)

Spinach us a favorite around here. We put it in our tacos, smoothies, scrambled eggs and so much more! It's really easy to process it into small pieces and hide it in many things!

Pre-Garden Work, Pre-Cow Pasture

2011-03-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

This is where our garden area is. You can see where they are working, that area will be doubled when we plow and plant making a garden that will provide lots of food for our family, Lord willing. We're starting some winter crops in summer as well as enough of things we eat a lot of to last us through some of winter such as tomatoes and green beans! One of the ways I'm plannign to eat organic locally grown whole foods is by preserving this year. I plan on finding farms that do not use pesticides on their berries and berry picking with the kids. Picking peaches, using our pear tree. Whatever we don't have we will find another local farm and benifit, Lord willing, from his crop. :) Lots of planning but it will be well worth it in the end.

The kids love to help

Working Hard The barn to the left already has a stall set up and ready for the cows. The pasture to right and behind the barn is what will be fenced off and where the cows will graze.

This is behind the small hill in the above picture. Our soon to be cow pasture.

Make Your Own (Healthy) Baby Formula

2011-03-22T11:25:00.001-07:00

When you are trying to feed your family whole foods and nourish them, it is sometimes hard to figure out where feeding the baby fits in. When Samuel was about 6 month old I started introducing him to a bottle so Taylor and I could go away for a night. Though my milk supply made it through just fine, his interest in nursing became less and less. I tried with all my might to get him to continue to breastfeed but he was just too busy. He didn't want to sit still long enough for a good feeding session.

I had him on commercial baby formula, but he was spitting up all the time and quite fussy. I couldn't help but wonder if his tummy was hurting from it. Commercial formula is highly fabricated concoctions composed of milk powders produced by high temperature processes that overdenature proteins and add many carcinogens. They often cause allergies. The lack many essential fats that breast milk has.

There is however an alternative for mothers who are unable to breastfeed.

This recipe is from Nourishing Traditions and can be made in about 10 minutes. It's super easy.

Milk Based Formula

Makes 36 Oz (I double the recipe when I make it)

2 Cups Organic, Clean Raw Milk (Or Pasteurized not homogenized piima milk)

1/4 Cup Homemade Liquid Whey

4 tablespoons Lactose

1/4 teaspoons Bifodobacterium Infantis

2 tablespoons good quality cream (not ultra pasteurized)

1/2 teaspoon high vitamin, or 1 teaspoon cod liver oil

1 teaspoon unrefined sunflower oil

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons coconut oik

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons gelatin

1 7/8 cup water

1/4 teaspoon acerola powder

First gather all your ingredients...(I found them all on Amazon.com , though they all can be purchanced from Radientlife.com, but I find they are more expensive)

Add 1/2 water to a clean pot. Put on stove on low heat (very low!) and add lactose, nutritional yeast, gelatin and acerola powder. Stir. Heat till dissolved, stir again and set aside.

Mix milk, coconut oil (I start heating it up when I get my ingredients out so it's liquid), cod liver oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, cream,, liquid whey and bifodobacterium infantis together.

Add the rest of the water to your pot of warm water to cool it down so it doesn't alter your raw milk. Then pour it into your liquids. Mix together well. Pour into bottles and storage containers. I prefer to use glass bottles, as they are easier to heat.

You're done! Healthy yummy formula for your little one! (Smells 100x better than commercial formula! Good sign!)

NEVER heat bottle in microwave. We use a big beer mug and add hot - boiling water to it then set the bottle in it to warm up for a few minutes.

Within a day or two of being on this formula Samuel rarely ever spit up and didn't have the problems where his stomach seem to hurt him as before. I love knowing what he is eating and that he is getting everything he needs and I prepared it myself!!

Note on liquid whey: It's SUPER easy to make! Take one container of good quality whole milk organic yogurt. Place cheesecloth or coffee filter in a strainer over a bowl or cup. Dump yogurt into the lined strainer over your catcher bowl or cup. Allow to sit for about 12 hours. All the liquid that was strained out is your whey. The rest is cream cheese - yum! Super easy!

Life with Sick Littles

2011-03-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

The past few weeks have been long. They have not been easy. They've been days with sick littles. How does life look for you when your littles are sick? For us there's lots of comprimises. We bring the TV and DVD player out and it pretty much plays none stop. We don't have fancy meals and we do bare minimum cleaning and laundry. Lots of snuggles and kisses. Blankets and pillows overflow in our living room. When Mama gets sick, we learn to be humble and accept help from wondeful friends who understand when we admit were not super Mom, and in fact I'm just as miserable as the kids when they are sick but I don't have a Mommy to take care of me. I do however have the body of Christ, and a particular sister in Christ who I am blessed to exchange "blessings" with. When she is sick I will take her kids or bring a meal, and when I am sick she will do the same. :) God is quite good in the people he places in our lives and when we as mothers are sick with sick littles we are blessed to have help. Today my older boys who are well are off playing with friends while I lay on the couch with a 2yo on my chest as I write and a 3yo and 5yo snoring away while Little House On The Praire plays in the backround. My 9mo is napping peaceful and I am content with the fact that I am resting as the dishes pile up, the floors wait to be swept and mopped and meals have not been prepared. How do you deal with life with sick littles? You rest in the fact that it in only a season (even if it seems never ending) and compromise. Relax and don't worry about cooking or cleaning. Your kids don't care what your house looks like or what they eat, they just want to snuggle and feel comforted in your arms.

Emotions and After Pregnancy

2011-03-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

So the past nine months since Samuel has been born have been crazy. I battled what I guess you could call "After Baby Blues" but really it was just CRAZY hormones! After seven months I got my bloodwork done and my progesterone was lower than a post menopausal woman! It gave me all kinds of crazy side effects physically and emotionally. I cried all the time, pretty much ever day. It was a good day if I didn't cry at all, and it was very rare. The thought of having any more children COMPLETELY overwhelmed me. I wasn't quite sure what God was doing giving me six! I mean, the first four were fine. Then in one year I got an 8 year old who needed serious training and a newborn! That right there was enough to make a postpartum women emotional, but then add serious hormone imbalances and you've got a recipe for disaster!
It seems many christian women think that there's no reason to ever think women might have what the world would call "Post Partum Depression" and in some senses I agree. As Christian women, we have hope in the Lord. We have faith and we have promises to cling to. It is NOT okay to ever think about harming yourself or you baby as the "books" say. That should not be part of your post partum life. Bonding with baby shouldn't have much to do with your birth or your pregnancy. Being a mother is just following God's plan for our life and we are not to deny such things.
However, being unable to control your emotions or feeling overwhelmed and crying a lot can be be addressed faithfully as a daughter of the Lord. I was so thankful to have my wonderful midwife there to help me figure out what was wrong. After having a lot of babies our bodies are sometimes deprived of certain hormones, vitamins and minerals that are essential for our bodies to function as normal. Your thyroid could be off, your progesterone could be abnormally low, you could be seriously vitamin deficient.
My wonderful husband helped take the load off in any way he can. We cooked what was fast and easy. While this may have been helpful in some senses, I also wasn't getting the nutrients my body needed from the food I ate as we weren't really focused on eating a whole foods, real foods diet.
Since being willing to admit my emotions were NOT "normal" me and seeing my midwife, letting her test my hormone levels things have been great. I started progesterone treatment with a organic progesterone cream and have not looked back since! We're in the process of switching back to a whole foods diet to help as well.
It was so hard for me to admit something was wrong because I felt like as a Christian women it was my duty to just move on with my life after pregnancy and not let it affect me. I didn't believe in "baby blues" or anything to the effect. So, what was wrong with me? Once I realized there could be valid hormonal imbalances that had nothing to do with the secular mindset of depression and was willing to admit I may have something wrong and ask my midwife to test what she could, it was SO much better!!
I'm so thankful the Lord allowed us to see the problem and therefore be able to find an answer. Now is the time to live life to the fullest and enjoy my small children without crying over nothing every day!

Baby Chicks

2011-03-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

The kids just love the new baby chicks! This is when we had 12, but we now have 25!

Spring is Springing!

2011-03-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! Garden planning, baby chicks, sunshine, flowers, Spring is on it's way! What's in store for the Bradley's this spring? Well, we currently have 25 Baby Chicks and counting! They are pretty cute and the kids love them! They were in the house for a few days for the kids to enjoy but, they got a little smelly so now they are down in the barn.
Garden plans are large. We're planning a bigger one than before. We do have 2 more people added to the family since our last garden. 8 people can consume quite a bit of produce in just one week...really in just one day!
We're also trying to get cows. This is a new adventure for us. We're waiting on approval to finish our fence in our back pasture. Then we need to fence it in and then Lord willing, add two cows to it. We're debating on what to do, 2 meat cows or one meat and one dairy cow. Dairy cows are LOTS of work, but the fresh milk you'll get from them, the butter, cream cheese, whey, keifer...oh the endless possibilities a milk cow provides! But they are LOTS of work! You have to milk them every 12 hours! But Terrel is coming to the age where it could possibly be a job he rather enjoys. And I am learning how to accomplish a lot in a day!
Spring has sprang for me, that's for sure! I'm one busy Mama! I will add more details about that lately, but I think I could handle such an addition to the family as the cows or any other animals my husband may decide he wants to venture into. Meat rabbits and lamb were also thrown out in the brain storming!
But for now, Gardens and Chickens are in full planning and preparation mode! I love spring! It's so busy and cheerful!

Getting Back To Life - A Day In The Life Of The Bradleys

2011-03-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

I've heard it said many times...blogs are for the good stuff. And they are. We put on the smiles, happy faces and good moments. We tell all the wonderful things about our family. But when times are crazy, tough, busy, insane! We forget to mention it...

Well our life has been all of the above lately and I finally feel like it's settling down. It's settling down because I'm learning to let go of the little things, relax, trust that God wont and didn't give me more than I can handle. Take it one moment at a time.

See, if I'm being honest my day usually goes like this. Wake up to a poppy diaper and a fussy baby who wants to eat right away, but is also mad when you don't change him right away. Then I make the bottle or nurse him, and change him and he's happy as can be. Then before my eyes are adjusted to the light everyone is telling me how hungry they are and asking "When is breakfast? What are we having for breakfast?"...and if we're being honest, at least once a week the morning continues like this some one usually falls on someone else so they are both crying, another child peed his bed and smells the whole house like urine, all while another child is in his own world getting into another kind of trouble. Good Morning Bradleys! In the mean time my husband is ready for us to be set up for family worship so we can have our scripture reading and prayer time before he goes to work. But before this can happy we need to get them happy, calm with fresh diapers on forgetting about the fact that they are hungry. This is not easily accomplished when 1/2 the children wake up with a bad attitude. But if we as mothers can keep our attitudes right in the midst of these situations, it's much easier!

Family worship is great. I love hearing my husband walk my children through the scriptures. Recently we went through 1st Samuel and are at the very end of 2nd Samuel. We have prayer time, and each of the kids prays as well. This time truly is a time of blessing. Victory and PJ both now pray on their own without help, and it's the cutest thing ever! Often PJ's will have something along the lines of..."Help me not to steal yogurt, or always say I'm hungry right after lunch, help me not to want to steal granola bars..." BUT - Family worship was not always this way. It used to be a time where NO ONE would seem to pay attention and no one could pray for themselves, it was all lead by Papa. Which is fine, it's a time for teaching. But I do remember getting discouraged being tired of teaching ready for them to pick up some things on their own.

After family worship is breakfast. Depending on the day it may be eggs and pancakes, or it may be cereal...okay lets be honest, some days it's just granola bars!! I know how horrible of me, but I'm trying to be honest here! On days where we got a late start or errands need to be run granola bars all around!

Then we clean up - have you ever tried to get a 6 year old and 5 year old to clean? Oh my! It's not an easy task! They are so LAZY! Seriously, if you think you're kids are lazy you are not alone. It's natural. They are sinful, and laziness is bread in them and needs to be broken. It needs to be broken with love and grace, not with frustration. Children need to learn to work and enjoy it, or they will not be successful teenagers or adults. Life is work, and they need to learn it. Have I got down the recipe of training for this? No of course not! I'm still working on it! BUT I can say, on the days where I can really get my kids hearts in the right direction, they are AMAZING helpers! My 5 year old daughter can make her baby brother a bottle, feed him, change his diaper, change his clothes, hold him, burp him, take care of him. It's wonderful! My 9 year old can unload the dishwasher, clean any room, sweep the floor, do laundry and so much more! My 6 year old can sweep the floor, clear the table, set the table, make beds, and again much much more! If we can get our children's hearts, and encourage them in their work, to take pride in it and teach them how their hard work is honoring to the Lord, our houses run much smoother.

School usually goes pretty smoothly. We don't stress on it too much yet as no one is very advanced in age or abilities yet. We usually get done a minimum of math, reading, writing, phonic and try to get done as a group science and history. The funner it is, the better.

By dinner time, everyone is starting to melt down. For some reason "hungry" kids get nasty. Mama is ready to loose it and well, sometimes does. BUT on the days where I can keep a smile on my face and give my kids a job, oh the peace abounds! Cutting strawberries, making a salad, stirring the sauce, all of these jobs are SO much fun to kids for whatever reason! While it may be hard to get them to clean their rooms, getting them to help with a meal is done to their delight!

I'm learning, slowly but surely how to keep a smile on my face in the midst of chaos. I'm learning it lean on the Lord and trust he knows the way I need to go, and I don't need to know what tomorrow holds for He knows and that's good enough. Life is crazy at times, but, when you put on a smile, are constantly in prayer for the Lord to help you, try to keep things tidy but are content when they are messy, life is better! Much better.

I love my life and I love my children. I pray the Lord blesses us with more children. But, for those of you who wonder if you could ever do it, or wonder how I do. Truth is, it's by the grace of God. It's because this is his calling, we are his children. If he has called us to it, his grace with get us through it. Is it easy? No. Is it work? Oh, YES! But when we find our contentment in the Lords work, great blessings flow there! So take a deep breath and go clean up that huge puddle of milk that just spilled all over the floor, change that diaper with a smile on your face and make clean up a fun wonderful game. Because when you do so, contentment and happiness will overflow! The Lord will be honored and your husband will feel blessed. :)

Bradley Family February 2011

2011-03-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

How To Vacation with 6 Littles

2011-02-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

If you've ever attempted any kind of trip with lots of littles you know it can be quite crazy! If you add in Taylor and I there's 8 people for Mama to pack and prepare for! The amount of clothes for 1 day is crazy, let alone 3 or 4! We recently were blessed to be able to go and relax at the beach with some wonderful friends for a few days. There was a time I wondered how Mom's of many little kids prepared for such an adventure, so I thought I would share it with you!

First of all, I am a list person. I love lists! I like writing them, I like crossing things off them. It keeps me focused and organized even when I can't think of the next step I need to take, my handy list helps me. So first off, and most important with lots of little ones, is food! Careful detail needs to me taken in order to assure there is plenty of food for every meal + snacks! Meals need to be simple, but yummy. Nothing that takes too many dishes or too much time. Our first night we had pizza that we brought, nothing fancy but it was easy and fast! Another night was Spaghetti and Meatballs, another simple easy to bring and prepare meal. Last night was Salmon, Asparagus and Baked Potatoes. All quite simple, something even the kids are going to like (well, a few kids picked at their salmon instead of eating it all...). Snacks are also very important for little kids. My kids love to snack on carrot sticks, apples and granola bars! It's the main thing we have to snack on around the house. Well, they prefer the carrot sticks with dip, but none the less they do eat it! :)

Clothing: this is very important for a good trip! Hats, jackets, sweatshirts and extra shoes are all a must for an enjoyable time at the beach! Thankfully there was a washer and dryer at the house we stayed at which makes any trip MUCH more enjoyable with 9 children! I packed 3 outfits per kid, and 2 pairs of PJ's. We did have to wash clothes, but I knew that would happen and am quite used to it! Jackets and hats were well used as well as sweatshirts for underneath jackets when we went to play at the beach as it gets quite cold!

Quiet Toys...it's supposed to be relaxing. If you know me, you know that I can't handle noisy toys. Yes, I deprive my wonderful children of noise making machines. I figure its for the best because it keeps my sanity in tact! So we went with Mega Blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Trains/Tracks and Play Food/Kitchen toys!

Something for the road: our choice this time was Jonathan Park...keeps kids quiet, happy and entertained!

Very important for Mama: Baby Carrier! I love my Beco, but any carrier will work. Though it was so cold (it snowed!) so we weren't down at the beach much, I can't imagine going without a carrier! We also brought our backpack carrier Victory could go in but never ended up using it as it was just so cold outside we were never out with the babies for long.

There was much planning in what clothes, toys, food to bring but in the end all the preparation paid off as I can't think of any items we needed but went without. Thank the Lord for a wonderful time of fellowship with friends!

"Me Time"

2011-02-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

So I keep meaning to blog but...never get around to it. Life is full and busy. I figured I'd come up with some grand blog post to bring back the blog again but never get around to it...
I did find something blog worthy, but its not from me. I'm reading the book "Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches" by Rachel Jankovic (Doug Wilson's daughter) and it's SO great! I can't tell you how good it is, you'll just have to buy it and read it yourself! If you have lots of littles, I highly recommend it.
There is one part I just had to blog, because it just hits home for me and know it will for many other women. You have no idea how many times us mothers complain about their bodies. As you know having lots of babies can really do "damage" on your body, it will not be shaped like it was before having kids. This is hard for some women. I've heard the conversation over and over again. Well, Rachel addresses this with such grace I have to share....

"...There is a sense in which we must really guard ourselves. Motherhood is a demanding job. It is so demanding and intrusive, in fact, that it takes over your body. It uses your body, often times rather roughly. This can start to bother us. You may have some weight to lose, and you might start to resent that. You might have permanently damaged something during a pregnancy. You may have big scars, stretch marks, and loose skin that bothers you. You might not have time to exercise the way you used to. All of these things can be seen as an offense against us - against our bodies.
There are really two separate points I would like to make here. First of all, our bodies are tools, not treasures. You should not spend your days trying to preserve your body to its eighteen-year-old form. Let it be used. By the time you die, you want to have a very dinged and dented body. Motherhood uses your body in the way that God designed it to be used. Those are the right kind of damages.
There are of course ways to hurt your body that re outside of God's design for it and disobedient. But motherhood is what your stomach was made for - and any wear and tear that it shows is simply the sign of a well used tool. We are not to treat our bodies like museum pieces. They were not given to us to preserve, they were given to us to use. So use it cheerfully, and maintain it cheerfully. When you are working hard to lose the baby weight (as you may need to), think of it as tool maintenance. You want to fix up your body in order to be able to use it some more. It might be used for more children, or it might be used to take care of the children you have. We should not be trying to fix it up to put it back on the shelf out of harm's way or to try to make ourselves look like nothing ever happened. Your body is a tool. Use it.
Also, your body is a tool - maintain it. Having sacrificed your body for your children is no excuse for schlepping around in sweatpants for the rest of their childhood. When you were eighteen you might have been skinny without trying. In your thirties, after having a pile of kids, the chances are good that you will need to try. And in the case you care, this word is not coming from one of those miracle mothers who comes out of the hospital more svelte than she went in! My children, bless them, have left their mark!
Scars and stretch marks and muffin tops are all part of your kingdom work. One of the greatest testimonies Christian women can have in our world today is the testimony of joyfully giving our body to another. While so many women choose to not have children or to abort the children that they were given, the testimony of women who know the cost and joyfully pay it is profound. So make sure that you aren't buying into the world's propaganda. While there are a great many rewards, the sacrifice is very real. The reason so many women don't want to do it is because it is very hard and has very real costs. But the answer to these obstacles is not to run away in fear as the world does, but to meet it with joy, and in faith.
My very kind and wise husband once left a note for me on Easter morning, two weeks after Daphne was born. He wrote, "To my wife, before she even goes near the closet on Easter morning," or something romantic like that. In it, he encouraged me to realize that there was no more fitting way to celebrate Easter (or any part of the Christan life) than in a body that has been undone on behalf of another.
So realize that your body is a testimony to the world of God's design. Carry the extra weight joyfully until you can lose it joyfully. Carry the scars joyfully as you carry the fruit of them. Do not resent the damages that your children have left on your body. Just like a guitar mellows and sounds better with age and scratches, so your body can more fully praise God having been used for His purposes. So don't resent it, enjoy it."....

Wow! She goes on to her 2nd point which is also great, but you'll have to read to book to get that. I just though this was such a well worded encouragement for us women who's bodies are well used tools, as I know mine is. It's being used to teach and train 6 crazy children. It's being used to nourish my 8 month old. It's being used for the glory of God and it shows. But I need to carry that joyfully and enjoy it! Which if I am honest, I do not always do....

Winter Fun

2010-12-31T09:59:00.000-08:00

Zoo Lights 2010

2010-12-30T12:50:00.000-08:00

We went to Zoo Lights with Grandma, Uncle Shane, Aunt Ciera and the kids cousins. The kids had a lot of fun! Here's a few pictures from our visit.

Organization in Small Spaces

2010-12-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

We have 8 people in a 4 bedroom 1400 sq ft house. Sometimes this can make for challenges in storing everything needed for 8 people. I have learned there's no room for junk. I like things to have their space, and their space needs to be small. Christmas brings it's own challenges as you are bringing alot of things into a house in one day. I had to re-organize after Christmas, but I needed to keep it simple. Old toys went in the garbage to make room for new toys. My children have a lot of toys, in my opinion, but there's not much room to bring in extra toys. Not only is there not much room but it's just too much for them to keep up with! So, 2 days after Christmas there rooms got a makeover and their toys got organized. It's now 5 days after Christmas and working quite well. Here's my toy storage solution for now....

Terrel and Samuel
Terrel and Samuel have a pretty small room. Since Samuel still needs a crib, there's no bunk bed option to save space. Terrel also has a desk for when he needs somewhere to close the door and do school without distraction, but since Terrel is bigger it's easier for him to keep things neat.

Samuel just has a small section as most of his toys are in a bin in the living room. He has his dresser, a basket with diapers, his shelf has his hats, binkies, blankets and toys he's not yet big enough for, and some toys just for looks. :)

A nail keeps up Terrel's cowboy hat and he keeps some of his guns and Lego's on top of his dresser.

More organization by a nail in the wall - he hangs up his dress up clothes. His swords just rest on his shelf.

His basket for his "special stuff" all his random small toys, rocks, papers, beer bottle caps :), ect...

His cape - hangs over his bed

Dresser - Lego's, all his library books go in a basket and his huge gun goes under his desk.

Brooklyn and Victory's Room

This table's top reverses to be a train table as well. Right now they are using it to play kitchen. All kitchen stuff goes on top of the table. This looks a little nicer than usual, but they usually set it up pretty cute and make it look nice. Once it gets old to set it up everything will just go in a bin on top of the table instead of set up nice.

This is the bottom part of the bunk bed. Brooklyn's bed doesn't take up all the room so she has her baby doll stuff around her bed. At the food of her bed she has one big basket for all her baby accessories and then she also has her baby gear down here as well.

The left basket is for Brooklyn's stuff and the right is for Victory's stuff.

Big toys that don't fit in bins get lined up against the wall.

Dylan and Preston's Room

Gun Basket - Easy for the boys to throw them in there when they are done, and they know where to grab them when they want to play.

Some toys just have a little corner to be in their place such as swords and bows.

The boys got these awesome capes from their Grandma for Christmas! I just put a nail in the wall for them to hand them when they are done. Super easy.

Drawers - Everything has a place. For the most part they keep this pretty organized although about once a week I go in and help them make sure everything is in the right place. There's a drawer space on the bottom for dress up clothes, a drawer for playmobiles, a drawer for army guys, a drawer for books, a "special drawer" for all their random things they love such as flashlights, rocks, papers, special little toys, cards, ect...

Samuel Diligence

2010-12-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite sure how time flies so quickly lately, but it does. Samuel is now 6 months old! He's enjoyed his first foods and is taking formula part time to keep up with his big appetite. He adores his Papa and his Papa adores him. :) I love watching them together. He has fun playing with his siblings and being the youngest of 6 kids leaves no dull moment for him. He can sit up on your hip now while being carried. He's rolling over and starting to try to be more mobile. He is a very content baby and we are so thankful to the Lord to be blessed with him.

Our Front Yard...

2010-11-21T17:22:00.000-08:00

Looks like this today...

Accomplished?

2010-11-19T15:05:00.001-08:00

Today I feel accomplished. Why? Because I see results of the work I did. I cleaned the whole house, I did laundry, I re-arranged furniture, I moved kids rooms, I did detailed cleaning, I was productive. I accomplished a lot.
I did not accomplish reading with the little kids, I did not finish my meal planning list for next week, I did not finish the last math problem with Terrel, but yet I still feel accomplished...why? Why is it that in our time we need to see results in order to feel as if we have done something.
I find I struggle with this. When I do the most important thing which is invest in my children, in their schooling, in their scripture memorization, in their learning, in their play, at the end of the day I don't feel as accomplished as I do when I sit back and have a neat and tidy house.
I am working on this. I'm trying to teach myself that it's not the physical day to day trials of cleaning the house and everything being tidy that matters but it's the long term goal that a day helps to accomplish. The long term goal is the children, who they will be as adults. What they do today shapes who they are tomorrow.
We forget so often that as Mothers the little things matter. Soothing a fussy baby, nursing a baby who needs comfort, nursing a baby who simply needs his nourishment needs met is a wonderful accomplishment! It's bonding with your little one the Lord has given you, it's the beginning of the process of winning his/her heart which matter so much in the later years. Spanking a child throwing a fit, teaching how to solve a new math problem, working on the sound "S" makes IS important! It is the long term goals we need to look at and remember each day. Whether our house is clean and our laundry is done really is irrelevant to the overall well being of our family. If the house is clean but there is no peace, it is not worth it.
Now, today wasn't a horrible day because we did all clean the house together. There was discipline and teaching and it needed to be done. We all worked together today. This isn't how it always is. Sometimes Mama has a goal and gets very frustrated when it can't be completed because children need so much...this is not right. The goal isn't right if it's at the expense of the children, or of the peace of the home.
As mothers and wives I think it's so important we sit back every once and a while and view our priorities. Line them up in order of importance and figure out how we can accomplish to large task while also getting the small one done at some point.
We need to remember what accomplishments are important and what is not. While we may not see the results of discipline today, we will eventually in the days/years to come. We need to look forward to the end goal and not loose hope.
"Let us not loose heart of doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Galatians 6:9

First Tooth

2010-11-18T13:37:00.001-08:00

Yup, this little man already has his first tooth. I couldn't figure out why he'd been so grumpy the past week and sure enough he has a pearly white tooth! :) Although you probably won't see a picture of his cute little toothy grin for a while as it's increadibly hard to capture here is one of him and his favorite toy to teeth on...

Super Yummy Dip

2010-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is a Thanksgiving tradition around here. It's SOOOO yummy. It's a copy cat recipe of the Olive Garden Artichoke Spinach Dip and it's just delicious.

1 Can Artichoke Hearts, Chopped
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Spinach, Chopped and Thawed
1/2 Cup Parmesean Cheese, Grated
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Pepper
(Crackers or Bread to dip with)

1.) Boil Spinich and Artichoke Hearts with 1 cup water over medium heat until tender (approx. 10 min)
2.) Drain
3.) Heat Cream Cheese in Microwave approx. 1 min until soft. Add to Spinach and Artichoke Hearts and stir well.
4.) Add remaining ingredients to mixture and stir. Serve hot.

Brooklyn's Photography

2010-11-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

It seems every family has one. The family photographer. It seems Brooklyn will be ours. She LOVES taking pictures. It is her favorite thing to have the camera in her hand and snap away. For Christmas we're hoping to get her one of the Fisher Price Tough Cameras so she can snap away whenever wherever without worry of her camrea breaking. :) Here's some of her shots from the week.

Samuel Diligence - Play time on the floor

Victory - Cheese!

All the Bigger Boys

Papa and Samuel

You can't forget the "Real Life" pictures she loves to take :)

Terrel - Doing Laundry

Diligence - Screaming because he's being clobbered by Victory

Dylan putting things away & Mama Making Dinner

Dylan Sweeping The Floor

Sweet Little Babies

2010-11-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Diligence is hitting one of my favorite ages. Where he's cute, interactive and always smiling. His little cousin is just 3 days younger than him and they enjoyed some play time together yesterday. :)

Time Goes By...

2010-11-17T09:28:00.001-08:00

And before you know it your little ones are crossing over into bigger ones. Terrel is getting to that point. :) He's getting bigger every day, more helpful, more responsible. This week he earned his first airsoft gun which he gets to use today at a friends birthday party where they will be having an airsoft fight. He's very happy with his older kid privilege and I hope it will encourage him to continue on the right path, knowing that doing good is rewarded.

The Simple Things

2010-11-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

When I was doing my make up I put Diligence on my bed and three of his siblings came to entertain him. They were so cute. :) It's the simple things in life that make it so wonderful.

Chores with Littles...Dishes....

2010-11-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

How do chores look when children are young? Well, they for sure must look different from when they are bigger! Everything is in a smaller scale and has to relate to little people.One thing I find music makes chores much more enjoyable for the children and they will accomplish much more with better attitudes if I set the "tone" with music first. You have to change things around to allow the children to do what they need to do. You can keep your plates and cups up high and have them use a chair to put them away...but then you can't be upset when one falls to the floor and breaks every day! :) I choose to put things at their level. Unloading the dishwasher is a GREAT help to me. I load it, they unload it. Remembering that my children are all still half my size I had to rearrange some things.

Here is a picture of where our bowls, plates and some cups go. As you can see it's on the lower level right next to the dishwasher. Less travel means less chance of breaking. It makes things much more manageable.

Here is our everything shelves. Yes, it is a mess, but, no one knows that! :) It's behind closed doors. I learned quickly I had to lower my standards for the house to be peaceful, so these messy shelves have clean dishes in them. That's good enough for me! Again, this is on the bottom level where they can put away dishes with ease.

How The Time Flies...

2010-11-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

This little man is going to be two tomorrow! Happy Birthday Victory! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by!

Rewarding Chores and Helpfulness

2010-11-11T10:56:00.001-08:00

Okay so I'm totally not above bribing my children! LoL :) An idea for getting kids to do their chores, be nice to their siblings, do their schoolwork with a good attitude and any other thing you may need your children to do. Have a family reading/movie night every week. (Friday's we watch a movie or Papa reads a new book or chapter in a book we're reading). Throughout the week the kids can earn money for treats for movie night. You can print out money (just do an online search for printable play money). Or you can use real money such as pennies, nickles and such. Each time the kids have a task you need them to complete they can earn "money" for family night. At the end of the week they can purchase from your "store". Buy a big thing of candy from Costco, get some Popcorn Popped, maybe have some little Bagel Bite Pizza's or some treat that isn't common in your home. Set a price for each item and allow the children to "purchase" their snacks for movie/reading time. Throughout the week the kids will be excited to keep adding to their funds. It also works for discipline, as in, "You did not take out the garbage like Mama asked (or clean your room, whatever :) ) now I need you to give me $1..."

Silly Kids

2010-11-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

The "Big Kids"

Check out my boots!

Terrel - Him and Dylan would live in their camo shirts every day without any problem at all. :)

This is how the kids play "Isrealites"

Dylan - Now 6 years old!!

Brooklyn adores her baby brother. She's such a big help!

Little Samuel Dilligence is getting so big!

Sometimes Victory still wants to be the baby too :)

Sweet Knits...

2010-11-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm so enjoying knitting for others! It's been a fun way to help fund Christmas! Here's a few of the finished project's I've done!

These will be the prefect Thanksgiving Longies for a little boy. :) Preblocked pics.

This was for a two year old who loves "funny hats"
For a sweet baby girl

For a newborn sweet baby girl. My first time doing double ruffles. Yes, it makes my ovaries twitch for a little pink bundle of joy! LoL!

The Lord's Perfect Time

2010-11-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

I know that when my kids get older life will not be "easier". I know there will be many more demands on me than there are right now, there will be much going on I am sure. But, it will not be so demanding in the same way it is right now. While I am not sure as I have not experienced having older children yet, I think that raising your young children may be one of the most physically exhausting time. It will pass though. I will admit, right after I had Samuel, I was not so trusting of the Lord giving me any more children. I was not sure He really knew what He was doing giving me five children in five years. I mean, that is a lot! Not only did he give me five in five years, but he gave me a oldest son who had many problems and things he learned that needed to be unlearned. I honestly believe this last year may be one of the hardest years we will go through. I'm sure there will be hard times in the future but this one will probably always be top of the list. See, in August 2009 we went to pick my son, Terrel, up from his mother's house for our usual monthly visit. At that time we learned of some things that just broke our heart, and I remember looking at my husband telling him if he wanted to do this, if he wanted to see if Terrel's mother would allow him to raise him again, that I would support him and raise him. I had NO idea what saying that meant. The year of gaining Terrel was one of the most emotionally wrenching years of my life. There was SO much to undo. How could I take a son I didn't birth and suddenly relate to him as my own? How on earth could I ever find a place in my heart for him the way I have for my other children? I had no idea how it would happen. I cried many nights. I had emotions going on that just tore me apart. My husband had no idea what to do expect to pray. Life was hard. The kids rarely ever got along, Terrel didn't really know how to function with other children. He had no grasp on reality because of being exposed constantly to movies and video games, things he learned in public school, undoing it all with a mother's heart seemed impossible. It seemed as if I was always going to be trapped inside this "blended family" and pretty much daily I wished the Lord would have given that to someone else. I honestly thought he picked the wrong woman. There's so many women I admire who have such wonderful hearts, THOSE are the women who might be able to do this. Not me. I am a woman who barley feels like she knows what she's doing with her own children. I wasn't raised with a multigenerational vision for my children. I had no idea how to do anything homemaking when my husband and I first married. I have a temper and I yell too much. I'm not graceful, he picked the wrong woman!!! I prayed, I cried, I begged God to change my heart...I felt no results. I had no idea why God did this. I thought I was going to loose everything because of taking on this...
Then, the most amazing thing happened. At my baby shower for Samuel, a wonderful woman from our church gave a devotional. She talked of how everything we do we do before the face of God and it's not just in this world but we do it in two kingdoms. She talked of how each thing we do for our children is building them and shaping them. She gave many scripture verses (of which she gave me a poster board I still have on my pantry to remind me daily) and...I can't explain it. The Lord completely changed my heart towards everything. I have no idea why it took almost a year. I'm not sure why I had to go through all the heart brake and be so broken for the Lord to change me but, without any explanation. I love my son. I became so proud to be his Mom. I knew without a doubt that we could do this. We could be a success. His father and I could make him a man who would go to marry a woman one day without any doubt he overcame every obstacle. I knew the Lord had changed us. All three of us. I know it sounds crazy I can pinpoint the day, but I can. That was the day that in my heart, Terrel became my oldest son.
Giving birth to a child does not make you a mother. Pouring your heart and soul into your child, training him daily, teaching him, investing in his life, taking a lost little boy and shaping him into a young man with a purpose...that is what makes a mother. You would never know the child he used to be. The Lord completely changed him as well. He is nothing as he used to be. The things we used to battle with him are long in the past. His heart is for his father and me and I have no idea how it happened except for the simple fact that is was by God alone and for his glory. We can without a doubt say it was nothing of our own accord, but all His holy will and his holy purpose.
In one year I went from having four children to having six. I went from having no idea how to manage a family so large to feeling as if I am starting, by the grace of god, to get everything under control in a wonderful way!
Having 6 kids 8 and under is in no way easy...but if the Lord can do with my husband and I everything he has done in the past 3 years (especially the last year) I can't wait to see what the future holds.
I was not sure about having any more children...and now, I'm excited for whenever the Lord blesses us again. You can't look at today and judge tomorrow by it. You have to day everything one day at a time.
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble." Matthew 6:34
The Lord is so good and in his time he will do his will and his will is good. His timing may not make sense to us, we may think we know better, but he is good. It's on my heart lately to try to not be anxious and not to worry. Not to stress the days or years to come for we know not what lies ahead.
As I remember just a few months ago thinking I didn't think I could handle anymore children, I know look back and think...I also probably never thought I could handle the ones I have now, and here I am. With six wonderful beautiful children growing daily in their knowledge of their Lord and Savior.
While I never thought about it till a few days ago, I love Romans 12:1 relating to our bodies and having children. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Sometimes that may mean our hands, our feet, things that we easily think of using daily but I think it also applies to our womb. To our intimate relationship with our spouse. Our bodies are sacrifice unto the Lord, and he knows best. He knew what a wonderful joy my six children would be. He knows their purpose. So, as each day may not be easy. Being pregnant and nursing years on top of years may not be what the world considers a blessing, the Lord blesses us with it and I want to take joy in it. :) I do it not of my own ability, but of him who strengthens me.

How Do You Do It...

2010-11-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

I get asked this question quite a bit by friends and family. See, as you already know, we have 6 very young children. The oldest is 8 and while he is quite capable of accomplishing many things in a day he's till only 8 and still needs his father and I very much so every day. The days are busy from morning to night. Some days, I am so overwhelmed I want to cry by the time my husband comes home from work. Some days, I sit back as each of my children are happy and content and think it's so simple to have a big family. Like everyone, there's good days and bad days. We have somewhat of a schedule. We live very simple.
But bottom line the answer to that question is...By the grace of God. There are some days I am not quite sure what I am doing, but each day the Lord provides the means to get through the day. He provides the desire to raise my children and constantly do better. He brings us through times of trial and times of joy and through it all I am constantly learning ways to be a better mother.
You are not just magically born and equipped to handle a household of so many dependant on you. The Lord grants it in his perfect timing. There are some things I wonder why he didn't give me the wisdom I have right now earlier, but it's not really for me to question. I honestly think it really is just for his own glory, so in the end there is no question that I learned it on my own skill and accord, but of the Lord working through me, changing my heart one day at a time.
I don't have a lot of time to sit down and blog but over the next few weeks I am really going to try and go into detail about the life of having so many young children. After receiving many comments about it, I would like to share our good times as well as the hard times so any of you who may occasionally read my blog and think "I could never do that..." but really do wonder if maybe you could will see, we are not a gifted special family. We are just a family who trusts the Lord through what he gives us, including the amount of children we have and the timing in which they come. If that means a crazy 5 years having babies all the time as it did for us, you can get through it. I'm not promising there won't be sweat and tears, but the Lord will bring you through it as he did me. :) Stay tuned in the next few weeks for more thoughts on this...for now my many small children are calling and I must go tend the herd!

So Cute

2010-10-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

So a pair of these (a little more boyish though! :) ) is next on my knitting list for Samuel. It'll probably be a Christmas present since my knitting schedule is getting full taking on customs for other people! But I just love the overalls, aren't they adoreable! Pattern can be found here.

And I already started everyone's winter hats. I bought this pattern and love it! It's so cute. My first is almost done but not quite! It'll be nice to have the ear flaps and ties to keep them really warm and cozy and to be able to tie it on the ones who rip them off! Pattern can be found here.

Recent Knits :)

2010-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here's some recent finished projects. The first pair is a set for Samuel and the 2nd was knit for a friends baby boy. I just opened up for testers for knitting for other people which is really exciting! I have 1 more slot opened but all the rest filled up the first day! It'll be a fun way to earn a little extra money :)

I have had lots of people ask me for the pants pattern. I have modified a pattern over time to pretty much be my own but I haven't written it down. I did start with a pattern that achieves the same look. I decided I would just link you guys to it. It's written by a Mama who stays home with her kids and has a small business of her knits and patterns on the side if you want it you can purchase it here. :)

Happy Anniversary

2010-10-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." Proverbs 18:22

"Let marriage be held in honor among all..." Hebrews 13:4

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Genisis 2:18, 23-24

"And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it..." Genisis 1:28 "Your wife will be a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord." Psalms 128:3-4

"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth..." Proverbs 5:18

Three Peas In A Pod

2010-09-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Like Mother Like Daughter

2010-09-30T15:14:00.001-07:00

Note: Her Baby, "Cute Bag" and Baby Carrier.... :) LoL

Free Baby Carrier

2010-09-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

So I've researched it and it's real. Seven Everyday Slings is giving away free baby carriers! Use code "onefree" when you checkout and your baby carrier (value $40) will be free! You do have to pay for shipping which is $11.95, but that's not bad for a brand new baby carrier! These fitted slings are great for newborns to lay in cradled and for a little older babies once they are steady holding their head up all the way to the toddler years! They are super fast to get on and off and fold up nice and trim for the diaper bag. Go check it out here.

Meet The Family

2010-09-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

It was quite the event trying to get 9 kids ages 8 and under (7 of which were 5 and under!) to smile for pictures, but, it went pretty well! Here's a little peak at the outcome

The Whole Family

The Bradley's :)

All the little boys

My little cutie nephews

My adorable niece, isn't she the sweetest thing??

The Girls

All the kiddos

The Whole Gang

Taylor's Parents

Taylor's Sister, Brother In Law, and their Children

All of Us

Aren't they cute...well, ignore Victory :)

Taylor's other Sister and her Fiance'

Shane and Ciera

Mama and Papa :)

His Only Girl

2010-09-20T19:13:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how he's gonna handel it if we aren't blessed with any more little girls when he has to give this one away. Brooklyn went out with her Papa on a date and they had a wonderful time.

Happy Birthday Cowboy Preston

2010-09-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

The Big 3

What A Face

2010-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

One Man's Garbage Is....

2010-09-08T14:25:00.001-07:00

His Children's Treasure :)

One old box can make an Oven/Stovetop, Fridge/Freezer and Dishwasher

Brooklyn next to her dishwasher
Dylan next to the Range Their Pantry (Empty boxes of food, old containers with no lids... )

Hurry up and get dinner ready!

Healthy Dinners Made Easy

2010-09-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Want to make healthy traditional whole food meals for your family? Find coming up with new recipes a challenge? Have limited time to find new recipes, put together a grocery list, plan when things need to be prepared and so on? Does your head spin thinking about it all on top of school, baths, lunch and breakfast, laundry, house cleaning, and everything else there is to do in a day? Yeah...me too! :) My wonderful husband just bought me a subscription to the weekly menu mailer at cookingtf.com. You can check it out here. You do have to buy the subscription but it's really not that much for what you get. We made our first recipe last night and it was SO good. She puts together the grocery list, the recipes, the "how-to's" it's all seasonal and recipes are repeated no more than every 13 weeks. If you are looking for an easy way to begin making Traditional Food Meals without too much though, this is the way to go! The woman who owns it is a stay at home Mom and puts them all together herself. In the end I think it's going to save money on our grocery budget b/c it's all laid our for me, and so informative it'll make preparing meals easier. For example, if you need to soak your grains or beans, it will let you know to do that in the beginning of the week. If you want to freeze extra meat, it's written right on there how much to buy and make. It's very cool and totally worth checking out!

Smile!

2010-09-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Easy, Healthy, Quick and Yummy

2010-09-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

What more could you want in a breakfast? I have found this recipe super helpful for busy school mornings, or busy Sunday mornings. It's Baked Oatmeal, and you can add more liquids if you want it to be more cake like, or less if you want it to be more like a take and go bar. It's good hot or cold!

Baked Oatmeal

4 - 5 Cups of Oatmeal (Soaked Overnight in 1.5 Cups Yogurt or Keifer and 3 Cups Water...you can do all water if you don't have yogurt or keifer on hand)
3 Eggs
3/4 Cups Sugar (Can do other sweetener like honey, and you can do less if you like)
1/2 Cup Oil (We use coconut)
1/4 Cup Applesauce (if you don't have this just use a little more oil)
1 Cup Milk
2 tsp Vanilla (optional)
1 TBSP Cinnamon
1 TBSP Baking Powder
1 - 2 Cups of Fresh, Frozen or Dried Fruit (Blueberries are our favorite!)

1.) Soak Oatmeal overnight in water/yogurt mix. In morning preheat oven to 350.

2.) Combine Eggs, Sugar, Vanilla, Cinnamon and Baking Powder. Mix. Add milk. Mix. Add more liquids if you want a different consistency. Add fruit. Mix.

3.) Add Oatmeal to Egg Mixture and Mix Well.

4.) Pour mixture into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until set.

5.) Serve warm with a little bit of cream, milk or applesauce. For a special treat drizzle a little maple syrup over the top. It's also really good cold if you want a ready to go breakfast bar. :)

Real Life

2010-09-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Carrier Pictures in Real Life

This is my Beco Butterfly 2 (BB2)

Excuse the mess in this picture, it was during our move. It's really blurry and taken by my 4yo, but if you look close you can see I have Victory in the BabyHawk Mei Tai and Diligence in the Ring Sling

Babyhawk Mei Tai - Back Carry with 27lb Victory

Snug as a bug in his BB2

Victory just woke up from a nap and wanted some Mama time in the BB2

How To: Baby's and Big Families

2010-09-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

As a Mother of many small children I have a lot to accomplish in a day. Within a few hours my entire house can look like a tornado went through it. A floor mopping only lasts a few hours before it's dirty again. Vacuuming generally only lasts a few minutes before there's a new spill on the floor. The dishes are never completely done and there's always a new meal or snack to be made. With 2 babies ages 2 months and almost 2 they still need lots of Mommy time (as does our almost 3 year old) sometimes they just want to be snuggled but I need to prepare a meal, or vacuum a floor, or I have big kids who want me to play with them as well...so how does one accomplish this? The answer is a GOOD baby carrier! For a long time I loved my Baby Bjorn, and while it's great for newborns it will hurt your back and shoulders with older babies. So, when I was pregnant with Diligence I realized I would need something to be able to accomplish my daily tasks while nursing and holding the baby....so I started researching. I succeeded in learning a lot and finding a great carrier for S.D. and the bigger boys! So let me tell you about the world of baby carriers! Now before we begin I must tell you - this is a tool, and investment for day to day living. My husband will spend extra money on a better mower because it is a better investment, will last longer and get more use...that is how the world of baby carriers is as well. They are not the cheapest things in the world, but, they are a worthwhile investment if you yourself are also the Mama of many small children, or even if you are the Mama of just one small child! And the best part - you can re-sell it when you are done and make at least 1/2 your money back as long as it's in good shape! The best place to find used carriers for a good price, or to sell your own is at http://www.thebabywearer.com/ so if you were interested in purchasing but not interested in the "investment" part, check out TBW FSOT (For sale or trade) for a good deal!

First up is the SSC (Soft Structured Carriers) They feature buckle closures, soft padded shoulders and waists for weight distribution. They are super easy to get on and off and come in many different brands and styles. They are super easy to use for infants or bigger children. The first two pictures are of the Beco Butterfly 2 which I have and love. It's SO easy to use on the front or the back, easy to breastfeed in and easy to go from big kid to little kid in. Plus it's SUPER comfy.

This is another SSC, it's also a Beco and it's new on the market and called a Gemini. This one seems awesome (though I've never personally used one) because it can do a front carry, back carry, forward front carry and a hip carry! All in ONE carrier! The middle snaps in for the forward front carriers as well as for smaller infants facing toward you so their legs can wrap around you a little easier. This one would for sure be worth looking into! There's also many other brands. Some people love their Ergo , some love the Boba (which is only for bigger kids, not for infants) and there's many more to look into. Bottom line is that any SSC is a GREAT choice for any busy Mama!

Next we have a Ring Sling which is super comfy for little babies. I love it for Diligence still...they are a little cheaper and still alot more versatile than most of the carriers you'd find in Target. You can do a front carry, hip carry or a back carry. I got mine on Ebay when I was pregnant with P.J. for about $30

Here is a Mei Tai. I LOVE mine. Once you learn how to tie it, it's SO easy and comfortable to wear! It's easy to go from a small baby to a big baby, and small enough to fit in a diaper bag. I got mine on FSOT for $20, so you can for sure find one for a good deal! This picture is of a Babyhawk, which is the MT (mei tai) I personally have experience with and it's great!

And last but not least there are wraps. Which I also think are great but there's a bit of a learning curve to it. I have a stretchy Moby Wrap but it wasn't Diligence's favorite as a newborn, he preferred the Ring Sling...and now that he's bigger I can't find it to try it :( ah well! They are wonderful and I read great things about them. You can do a front wrap, back wrap or hip wrap. Do it high, low, whatever you and your little one fancy!

A Few Recent Pictures

2010-09-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

A Blog Post From The Bradley's?

2010-09-02T15:47:00.001-07:00

I thought they were done with blogging?

Well, I'm not saying posts will come often but I have a few minutes for an update right now!

Samuel Diligence is now 11 weeks old and approx. 15lbs! He is a chunky who already wears size 6 - 12 months clothing...amazing I know. I kind of hope he'll slow down a bit, he's getting heavy and I'm hoping he'll stay my baby for a while!

The boys are all busy being boys during the nice summer days that are quickly coming to an end. We moved, and in our back yard is a big walnut tree which they greatly enjoy climbing. Terrel can make it pretty high!

Brooklyn loves being a big sister and can do pretty much everything for the baby short of feeding him, which I am so thankful for!

Taylor is officially self-employed and no longer works at Winco!!! Whoo-hoo! This is a great blessing from the Lord and we are so thankful!! We are all loving it!

I am busy. I mean really very busy! We started school this week and it's going well! Life for me is a whirlwind of craziness lately. There's so much to do. With 6 little kids ages 8 and under, there's SO much to be done. While I'm working on teaching them to do things on their own and my 8 year old is SO increadibly helpful, they still are just 8, 5, 4, 2, 1 and 2 months...there's only so much they can do! So life is wonderful, rich and completely blessed. We are all well and healthy this week. I Just our little update for now!

So Sweet

2010-07-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Neat Nutritional Blog

2010-07-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

I found this blog looking up a inexpensive traditional food meals thread. She explains how to make all sorts of thing that seemed complicated to me but are really quite easy (like some fermented veggies, whey, yogurt cheese...) check it out here. Once we move (this weekend) I'll be trying the whey and yogurt cheese as well as a few others!

Summer Fun

2010-07-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hurry Grandma

2010-07-13T20:48:00.001-07:00

And get up here to see me before I get any bigger! :)

One Month Old Already?? Where did the time go???

Yummy Orange Chicken

2010-07-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from Crockpot365.blogspot , everyone in our house liked it so I though I'd share. It's so easy!

1 1/2 lbs of Chicken Breasts
1/2 - 1 Cup Flour
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
6 oz Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate (1/2 can, no pulp)
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Ketchup

Thaw chicken and cut into 2 inch chunks. Dredge chicken in flour. Heat olive oil in large skillet and brown chicken on all sides (don't worry about cooking it through though) Dump in crock pot
Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl and then pour on top of chicken. Stir to coat. Cook on high 3 - 4 hours or low 6 hours....serve with Rice and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

My Home Birth Experience

2010-06-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

I figured some of you would want to hear a little about my home birth experience. It was overall a wonderful blessing to be able to give birth to Samuel Diligence at home. I can't imagine having to have left my home and my family, or not having my wonderful midwives there to support me. I think the key to a home birth you are completely confident in is your midwife, her knowledge, her experience, her abilities in "abnormal" situations, and her faith in you.
I am so thankful the Lord lead me to hire Ellie to be my midwife. She was completely wonderful and always had faith in me that I could have a full term baby, that he could be born at home and be a successfull VBAC.

Almost all my prenatal care apointments lasted about an hour. I saw my same midwives everytime so we got to know each other and I really trusted them. Around 32-33weeks my water started leaking and I was put on bedrest. It wasn't broken and my midwives were completely confident in me staying home and trying to get the bag to seal back up. Within a few weeks the leaking had completely stopped and my bag had sealed. I took lots of vitamins and some herbs to try and keep baby in till full term all through my pregnancy.

I hit my goal of 36 weeks, then 37, then 38...by 38 I was quite uncomfortable and ready for baby to come. I couldn't do much, but I figured he was going to stay in for a while. I was a little scared because I knew he was going to be my biggest baby. On Saturday June 12th we walked around all day putting up doorhangers for my husbands buisness after we got home my water broke. I said "Honey, honey my water broke!!" and his response was "Okay, relax I'll get you a new one" :) haha. He missed it until I explained we were going to be having a baby soon. My 5 year old asked "Mama, when your water broke was it in a glass cup or a plastic one?" hehe. I was waiting for contractions to start. The kids went to bed and I got some going about 8 minutes apart, but woke up the next morning with nothing. When I talked to my midwife she said she'd be over later to give me some herbs to get labor going. She came around 2:30pm and we started the first dose. Contractions started getting closer and more intense around 8 and we filled the birth tub. After a few hours I decided to get out and walk and that's when things really picked up. After a while I got back in the tub because it makes contractions much more tolerable. I had this mental block of needing to know how far dilated I was to push which now I look back and wish I would have just listened to my body instead of being concerned with a number, it may have been easier. I had no idea how I would be in natural childbirth, whether I'd be quiet or loud. I ended up making a loud noise saying "Oooo" with every contraction. A little before midnight I started pushing, I could not get comfortable in the tub so I got up. I was staning and that wasn't working so I got on the bed and moved about 3 times before settling on my hands and knees. Pushing was the hardest part for me. It was increadibly painful and I wasn't really ready for it to be so hard because my 5 lbers came out MUCH easier. I said I needed to go to the hospital and I needed drugs, but they assured me they could see his head and I wouldn't make it to the hospital and that I could do this. My husband tried to comfort me by touching me and I am pretty sure I screamed at him not to touch me. Once I mentally realized I had to get this baby out I pushed with all my might and he was out in a few minutes. I was in disbelief of what I had done, I couldn't believe I actually gave birth to a baby naturally in my own home! My husband took one look at him and decided his name was Samuel Diligence. I was bleeding a bit so Ellie gave me a shot of pitocin. After a bit I took a shower and got into bed and snuggled my little baby. The kids came up to meet him (Brooklyn was actually there for his birth) and went back to bed. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life, but I would do it exactly the same all over again. And while I pray the Lord gives my womb a break because this recovery is not easy and 6 kids 8 and under is quite a lot of work, when/if the Lord blesses us again I will give birth the same way. :) It's a great experience and it's so wonderful to have the whole family being able to be apart of welcoming your little one into the world in your own home.

My last night being pregnant 38 weeks 2 days

My wonderful midwife

When contractions were pretty intense within an hour or two of his birth

Laying in bed talking to my daughter in transition

In complete disbelief I just pushed out a full term big long baby at home without drugs!

Samuel Diligence being checked out by Jennie, my other wonderful midwife

8lbs 9oz 21 1/2 inches long 14" head!

Mama after her shower snuggling her newest blessing

Everyone meeting Samuel Diligence (Victory was woke up from my pushing him out, so he met him before this and went back to bed)

Our little blessing

Meet Diligence

2010-06-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

Our Newest Blessing

2010-06-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night my water broke around 6pm. After not going into labor that night on Sunday around 2:30pm my midwife came over with some herbs to get things going. At 12:07am on 6/14/2010 we welcomed baby Diligence into this world at home. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life but completely worth it. He was 8lbs 9oz and 21 1/2 in long. He nurses like a champ and is doing wonderful.

Yes I am

2010-06-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

Still pregnant :) 4cm 80% -1 station and still pregnant. I have no idea when this baby will nake its apperance, I'm done guessing. I do pray it's within the next few weeks but only the Lord knows the exact time. For now my best guess is today isn't the day, and likey not tomorrow either. :)

Anything Going On?

2010-06-03T07:53:00.002-07:00

I seem to get that question a lot lately. :-) And in short, no, since what you are really asking is, "Is the baby here?" or "Are you in labor yet?". In just a few hours I will be 37 weeks, more importantly than weeks are the words "Full Term" which describe me in less than 24 hours! We made it to June, and now, we are waiting. Since I haven't been this pregnant in almost 6 years it is interesting. The baby is so low that doing this isn't always easy or comfortable anymore. Yesterday I accomplished detailed cleaning of our upstairs and taking 5 kids into 2 grocery stores and by the end of the day I realized I had no fuel left to do anything but lay down with my feet up! LoL But the amazing part in it all is to be normal. When I saw my midwife this week she said "You're just a normal pregnant woman! You're not high risk, your completely normal!" Which is SO amazing. The Lord has been so good to us. Now we are just praying for a safe and healthy delivery. (And well, I REALLY don't want to be "late"...I am ready to be normal Mommy again, not emotional, huge, tired, 9 months pregnant Mama hehe)

Baby measured about the same as last week (which is normal and he's dropping even lower...if that's possible!) He's still so low they can barley feel his head, it's mainly his shoulders, maybe a little neck. The best guess for his weight is in the low 7lbs right now. He's healthy and moving like crazy still.

I am done reading into "signs" the baby will be here soon, because you name it I have it/had it...and it means nothing to me anymore. LoL I think this baby will be here in the next few weeks...since my due date is just 3 weeks away that doesn't really say much huh? Well, all is well. Baby and Mama are wonderful. The other kiddos are VERY excited to meet this new baby (along with Mama and Papa!)

36 weeks 2 days

Still Going Strong

2010-05-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we're still pregnant! Whoo-hoo! By my earlier due date I am already almost full term, by my later due date I am just 2 days shy of being 36 weeks, 9 months months pregnant! We've had a few signs baby may come in the next few weeks, but, who really knows? Only the Lord knows the time this little one will come into this world...and it will be perfect, tonight, tomorrow or 4 weeks from now. (Eek, that sounds uncomfortable though haha) Yesterday my belly measured 37 and they still think the baby is in the 6 1/2 -7 lb range. He's in just the right position and has settled his head snugly behind my pelvic bone (Which is funny given the fact that the 37cm measurement is from my pelvic bone up, and they said he was so low they could barely feel his head it was so engaged, more of his shoulders). I am getting up and doing things as much so as possible for any woman who is 9 months pregnant. My husband decided to take his leave from his night job now, because each night my contractions are getting worse and they don't really leave even in the day, and my midwives think it could be any day as well, he preferred to be home with me and not worry about getting home in the middle of the night. :) So, we're enjoying time with him just working his day job and these last few weeks of pregnancy. The kids are fascinated when the baby moves, as it is quite the show! They are all ready to meet this newest blessing and we're trying to go out and get all our last minute things done before this little one decides to come. Praise the Lord for making it this far, we are so very blessed! God is good!
Oh and we officially have a name! (I think...LoL) Boy, or Girl, there is a name picked. :) Then again, we could meet the baby and it could all change hehe but we think we're pretty settled.

Baby #6

2010-05-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

The newest blessing to the Bradley family has officially made it as far as three of his older siblings. Our daughter was our first "premature" early baby and she was born at 34 weeks 5 days, which I currently am according to my latest due date!
I had my home visit yesterday and it was just wonderful! The whole family really likes my midwives. The boys had never been to a prenatal with me, usually it's just my and our princess who go. They watched with great interest as I laid on the couch and we heard the baby's heart beat and they felt his position and measured my belly. I honestly haven't seen them all stand that still in...well..I'm not sure if I ever have! :) LoL We officially have our birth tub and my midwives are fully confident delivering this baby whenever the Lord chooses for him to come.
I'm measuring 36 weeks and they are guessing the baby is about 6 1/2 lbs...so he's not going to be a small baby! But, that's kind of what we expected since my early babes were not exactly small, even my 33 weeker was over 5lbs!
So now the countdown has begun, since we're at the point where we're not in such a scary spot to have the baby. We are still praying to make it to 36 weeks which is just 9 days away, I honestly believe the Lord is going to allow us to get that far. I have such a peace about this baby being born I can't really explain it. I honestly think after all is said and done and I'm allowed to get up and do as I wish as far as activity goes that he'll still choose to stay in longer than we expect, but we shall see. That's just my "motherly instinct." :) Only time will tell.
Taylor is officially counting down till he gets to take his leave from working nights, it will start whenever I have the baby or if the baby is staying put then his last night will be the 8th of June, less than 3 weeks away! (He's taking the full 12 weeks of "paternity leave" + possibly more time if the baby stays in past the 8th)
We are so thankful to the Lord for this pregnancy and the way it has progressed. I'm so thankful to be just 2 days shy of 35 weeks, a week haven't got to in over 5 years! I actually think I may end up getting to be 9 months pregnant this time! (With the other babies I had them in my 8th month and never made it to 9) But only the Lord knows, I am thankful for each day he allows this baby to continue to grow inside me and get strong. My biggest prayer is that the baby will be able to nurse whenever he comes, as pumping and feeding it much more time consuming and difficult. It would be a huge blessing to be able to nurse right away!
Well, that is the update for now! Thank you all for your continued prayers, we are so blessed by the body of Christ who is praying us through this event!

The Blessing Of Family

2010-05-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

I just have to say thank you to our wonderful church family. We have now passed when I had P.J. (my 3rd birth) so we've made it past the gestation where two of our previous premature babies were born. This is such a wonderful blessing to us! I am just 3 days away from being farther than I have been in a pregnancy since my first born, it's amazing! God is so good! I really believe we're going to make it to 36 weeks and probably beyond. I am so thankful for the wonderful community of family the Lord has blessed us with through his body. We have had help cleaning, watching children, with meals, praying for us...it's such an amazing blessing to our family. As I am doing a little more and more everyday I am still having to take it pretty easy as we haven't hit that 36-37 week milestone yet and that is our main goal. I'm so thankful the Lord has met the needs of our household and allowed this baby to progress in this pregnancy so long. God is good! Thank you again to everyone who has helped us whether it be through prayer, grabbing a mop, watching kids, cooking a meal or any other way you may have helped our family. We are truly blessed. Thank you!

Babies Are A Blessing and Births Are Beautiful Events

2010-05-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

I must apologize to anyone who thought my last post was a little too...loud. In an attempt to defend my position and choice, I failed to be meek and quiet. I may have come across in a way I never meant to. We have people who object to our position in maintaining our plans to have a homebirth, but this is the way we feel the Lord is leading us. Honestly the more I read I just find it fascinating. There’s so many things I never knew before and it’s become something I’m quite interested in and can’t wait to experience. Many people read my blog and sometimes it’s hard to have really explain all the reasons why we choose homebirth and why we are comfortable in the safety of myself and my baby, so I blog about it, since it’s not always possible to address everyone’s comments at once I made a post. In the attempt to defend my position, I may have made my position too strong.

I do wish to share my knowledge on births with anyone who wants to hear it, but I understand some people don’t. I really don’t try to say everyone needs to home birth, but I do pray that through the years it may not seem so crazy to people. :)

Only the Lord knows how the birth of the baby I am carrying will unfold. I pray and believe it will be a wonderful homebirth with my family, because I sincerely believe this is the way the Lord has directed us and I am so very happy with my care I have received from my midwives and really wish to experience the birth of my baby with them there to help welcome him into the world. However, it may not go that way. For some unforeseen circumstance I could end up delivering in the hospital, or transferring after birth. Only the Lord knows these things, and if his will is for me to learn from this experience in a way I don’t expect, by it being in the hospital then I simply pray all will go smoothly and he will bless it no matter where it is.

I have a dear friend who just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She was induced and had him pain free thanks to the epidural in the hospital, and she had a beautiful birth that was everything I prayed it would be for her. I was thrilled for her, and wouldn’t have wished she could experience a birth any different. It was exactly what she needed. Each family must meet their own families needs and however they bring the newest blessing into their family it is only important that Mama is happy and healthy as well as baby. :) I pray every woman I know who is expecting or will be expecting has a beautiful birth experience no matter where it is! Each woman must submit to her own husband and trust him to lead her in a way that the Lord is directing their family…this includes birthing. My previous four births were born in a hospital and I feel no failure in this. That is where we were at the time, and who knows, may be again some day. Only the Lord knows. So, I pray the Lord will bless all of us women in our child bearing years in whatever way He leads us to bring them forth.

Mama's Cutie Pies

2010-05-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

We Made It!

2010-05-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

So here's a big milestone for this pregnancy - my pattern is broken! I had this pattern you see, each baby came earlier than the previous one. My first being 38 1/2 weeks, my 2nd being 34 1/2, my 3rd was 34, and my 4th was 32 weeks. Well, this one did NOT come earlier than the one before! Praise the Lord, what an exciting milestone to have passed! Just a few more weeks and we'll be ready without any hesitation to meet this little babe. Praise the Lord for his goodness and mercy to us!

You Do or You Don't?

2010-05-07T19:41:00.001-07:00

ETA- The following posts is the reason why we feel lead to do what we are doing regarding the pregnancy and birth of our upcoming blessing. It is not meant to say anyone doing anything different is wrong. We have some people question our decision and this is a way people can read my reasoning and why I came to the conclusion that I am so comfortable with a home birth. This is what works for us and what I have learned - it may not be everyone's cup of tea. But I am fascinated with what I have learned and am greatly enjoying the experience leading up to the birth of this little blessing. Apparently we have joined a group that is considered crazy to many people in today's day and age. It is a group many people have a comment on, some will say "brave", some say "irresponsible", some say "good for you but I couldn't do it", some say "Oh she'll change her mind..."....what group am I speaking of? The home birth group of course! Here's the thing...I am a Christian who believes in the sovereignty of God. Either you do or you don't. I do. If something happened to me or my baby in the event of my birth, and someone said "too bad she wasn't at the hospital" in a sense what they are saying is that God in and of himself is not powerful enough to save myself or my baby without the help of the hospital staff and equipment. God apparently needs the help of man in order to do his sovereign will regarding the life of myself or my baby. Of course this is not true! God is all mighty, all powerful, all knowing, He is the beginning and the end. He has numbered all my days, the days of all my children, and nothing can change his sovereign will. Not the hospital and not the home. So why am I not scared? Because God is in control. Not me. Of course, if there was something wrong and we needed to go to the hospital because it was where the proper equipment was and we needed to use it, we would go. We would seek the guidance of the Lord and go from there. If my baby was transverse and not turning, a C-Section isn't going to work at home, so we would go to the hospital where there is the ability to perform it if needed. BUT - This is a planned circumstance. What I am getting at is the once in a lifetime stories people hear. Generally in those stories the baby and or mother would have died whether at home OR in the hospital. If you look at the statics, the mortality rate for mothers and babies in hospitals is off the charts! It is the highest in America of all the developed countries! If you don't believe me, do your research! We have so many interventions now a days from pitocin to epidurals, forceps, vacuum, I.V.'s, bed restriction, limited fluids, limited foods, limited time to push, limited time to labor. The first intervention you take is walking out the door to the hospital. Hospital births came to be bigger during the feminist era and the great depression. Feminists thought that they certainly were not cursed by God and child birth did not need to be painful, so the introduction of drugs in child birth came to be. It started with the twilight sleep era and went on from there. This was a feminist way of going against what God had ordained and stating they were not going to allow God to make them part of this curse and they were above it. The only way to get away from the curse was in the hospital, as there was no way to escape the pain at home. Then during WW2 thought women preferred home births, they went to the hospital because they didn't need to provide the food, do the laundry or come up with the money/supplies needed for the birth. Then it was the agenda of Social Services and the Government to push for a 100% hospital birth rate. It didn't come to be because women felt safe and secure, it wasn't because they felt it was blessed by God...it was a fight for feminists and a need in a time where the economy failed. Some people thing I should be in the hospital right now - but I don't. I would give birth to my baby at home at 35 weeks...why? Why wouldn't I want to be where the hospital could "save my baby". Because I am very well educated about birth this time around! Most people think the hospital has the ability to "save" babies. 28 weekers can survive with the help of hospital equipment, and well, this has never been before! ... Or has it??? It has! I have done my research, my midwives have done even more of their own. If you look back in history there ARE 28 weekers who survived with NO NICU's. Their mother's carried them in between their breasts wrapped up chest to chest, and would drip milk into their tiny little mouths. Something about being close to the mother made them feel like they were still inside her. Now not all 28 week babies lived, but some did...but guess what? Not all 28 weekers live now! The hospital is not all powerful, God is. God has a beginning and an end for each person. My 34 weekers came home from the hospital with me and we battled out our feeding problems on our own at home. And I knew nothing then. Now I know much more. If my baby comes at 35-36 weeks, that is the Lord's perfect timing and I fully believe in his power to get us through it. My husband and I pray about these things and this is where the Lord has lead us. We're not dumb, we're not ignorant. Yes we have heard some of the "horror stories" but guess what - I've heard just as many horror stories from the hospital! They just aren't broad casted like the home birth ones. So what it boils down to. Home, Car or Hospital, God is sovereign. His will will be done, no matter the circumstances. He is more powerful and he is more mighty than any circumstance. He also gives wisdom for those who ask of it.

Pregnancy

2010-05-02T19:22:00.001-07:00

So please pray for me the last part of this pregnancy. I am now somewhere along 32/33 weeks pregnant (depending on which due date you go by) and everything is going well, it's coming down to the end. Just 3 1/2 more weeks and we are at our first goal! (36 weeks) I just know we'll make it, but I am having to rest a lot more. Yesterday was probably my last walking outing my husband will allow for quite some time. We went to the library and then did a quick trip to the store...by the end of the store the baby was so low and putting so much pressure I knew I was in for a long night. The contractions I have are quite strong and I need to be quite cautious of how much I do. Now that the baby is over 4lbs (a week ago my midwife after saying, "this definitely is NOT a small baby" guessed 4.5lbs) being upright for long periods of time puts lots of pressure which in the past has lead to my premature deliveries and/or my water breaking. We wish to avoid that for the next 3 - 4 weeks so I'm not doing too much. I'm so thankful to have made it this far and I really think the Lord will get us through the last few weeks, but please keep the baby and I in your prayers that these weeks would go by quickly. I know I am the only one who can do anything to help keep the baby in no one else can rest for me, but, I want to be up and doing everything for the rest of my family. It's hard to just let it all go and not care what the house looks like or the kids for that matter, when I have this HUGE nesting urge to rearrange and organize EVERYTHING. LoL But it's a short time and it will all be worth it. Just a few more weeks, the end is insight. 3 1/2 weeks I'm at my goal, I'm father than I made it the last 3 times and the small issues my early babies had would likely not be an issue that far along (at least for the way my babies seem to grow)...Please Lord, grant us the peace and understanding to get through these last few weeks and grow this baby healthy and strong!

Who's A Big Boy?

2010-05-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I have tried to get a picture of it the past few weeks so I could post it, but it seems he wants to turn it into mission impossible. If Mama has the camera Victory has NO interest in walking...even if it's hidden! But it's official, he's walking everywhere! He's getting pretty good although he does have a bit of the Frankenstein walk still. :) I'm very thankful he's walking before the new baby is born and hope he'll let me take a picture of it soon! For now this is my online scrapbook and so I decided to document when this special event happened!

One Sunny Day

2010-04-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

Where's the time going?

2010-04-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today I ordered my birth kit (a list of supplies I get that are purchased new that my midwifes need for the birth like cord clamps, mattress protectors, gloves, ect...) I can't believe I'm far enough along in this pregnancy to be getting my birth kit! Most people they tell them to start getting them at 34 weeks, but since I have a tendency to go early they said 32. According to my midwives I'm 32 weeks! I go by a date a few days later just to remind myself to keep this baby in and because dates are only suggestive. :) I gave my husband his list to pick up in the next 3 weeks (things to set up the birth tub that you can get at Lowes), and I am filling out all my late-pregnancy paperwork (tests I do or don't want done). This baby could be here and be healthy 5 weeks! 5 weeks and a few days I'll officially be full term! Just 3 weeks and I will be farther than any of my pregnancies except for Dylan. And I AM going to make it that far. :) There's been a few little bumps here and there (days of contractions) but I'm taking it easy and managing it well with vitamins/herbs and baby is staying put. The Lord has given me a complete peace that this baby will come in his perfect time and that he's given us a vision for this birth (being at home) and will be fulfilled, which means I need at least a 36 weeker. I'm SO thankful this pregnancy has progressed as it has. Some days go off without a fly...sure, 5 babies in 5 years is tiring on the body but overall I feel great! The days of contractions come and go, but it's just a few weeks to go through and the end result is my beautiful baby! I'm not sure how the time is going by so fast, I know this little one will be here before I know it. But for those of you who have been waiting for an update as I haven't posted much lately, all is well, praise the Lord! Baby is staying put, with the help of our wonderful church I've got meals in the freezer and help with cleaning that triggers contractions for me (for some reason anything with lots of pushing/pulling like vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing just really gets them going) and with that help I'm able to manage the normal day to day things like loading the dishwasher, keeping the laundry up with the help of the kids. The Lord has blessed us this pregnancy and it won't be long now till it's over...and lord willing the end result will be a healthy baby who is FULL TERM! :)

Books before Bed

2010-04-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sleep Like A Baby

2010-04-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Fun Chores For Kids

2010-04-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

This first chore I've posted before but it's been a while, so here's our most recent floor mopping adventure. Start by filling a big container with water and a little dish soap, then pour it all over your floor! Allow your kids to slip and slide as they please making sure they get all the dirty spots :) Wipe clean with towels...result: shiny clean floor!

As usual, someone had to bite the dust...this time first out was P.J. he slipped right after Mommy said "Don't walk on the floor unless you're VERY careful, it's VERY slippery!"

Fun Kid Chore #2: Freshening the Carpets

I got the idea for this chore from a friend of mine. First we started out with a big container of baking soda, then we added some scented oils to make it smell really yummy. Each kid grabs handfuls and throws it all over the floor! Then, STOMP STOMP STOMP it in! Vacuum it up!

Result: Yummy smelling carpets!