Preemie

This is Baby#12 of twelve children born at 32 weeks on 3/12 and he weighed 3' 12" and his name is Samuel Thomas...twelve letters. His parents are missionaries to Mexico...you can check out their blog. There are pictures at the bottom of the post that show about the size our baby might be now at 33 weeks. So far we have basically bald babies but their little guy has hair! It was fun to see an idea of the size of our baby now so I wanted to share the link.

Camels in Kentucky!

Family Fun!

Feeding the camel yesterday at the "petting zoo" portion of the Creation Museum.

Creation Museum

Today we are heading out for Kentucky! We are going to the Creation Museum for the day with some friends that are visiting us from Pennsylvania. Pictures to follow!

Bear

These are a couple pictures of the cake that E has been working on for a good friend! Ain't it the cutest? It is for a baby shower tomorrow! CUTE!! CUTE!! CUTE!! Diaper pins and all!

Victory in Christ

1 Samuel 12: 20b-21 ESV Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place
where I find peace, again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light, to my soul.
You are my purpose, you're everything.

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You still my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, you're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want, you're all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want, you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want, you're all I need.
You're everything, everything.

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better, any better than this.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Red Hot Monogamy

What does it take to have Red Hot Monogamy?

Procreation. Genesis 1:22 This one is a bit obvious. Sex creates babies. For the human race to go forward, sex has to take place. Social studies show it is preferable for the children if they are born into a loving family with both a mom and a dad united in marriage.

Proclamation. Ephesians 5:31-32 When a couple marries, their act of consummation is a symbolic picture of the wedding of Christ and His church. In a real sense, each time a couple enjoys each other sexually, it is a proclamation to Satan that God’s plan of love will win out over Satan’s misguided attempt to dethrone the Lord in the Garden of Eden. A happily married couple, one united emotionally, spiritually, and sexually, is one of the best antidotes to the evil in the world because love is proclaimed.

Reconnection. I Cor 7:5 Life is busy, and that is no surprise to God, so He planned a yearning to be together into the human soul. The deep intellectual, emotional, and spiritual connection that happens during sex is progressive. Good sex makes us yearn for more good sex, so a wonderful cycle of marital union can develop that will keep a couple coming back together over and over again.

Recreation. Genesis 26:8 God actually thinks sex should be fun. In the Old Testament, when a king spotted Isaac and Rebekah caressing in a private moment, the word he used to describe their activity is “sporting with” (Genesis 26:8). In addition, if you do a quick read through the Song of Songs, you see that the king and his newlywed wife are enjoying their relationship immensely. They even have code words for sex and sexual acts. They play games to build their anticipation of being together, and later in the book, we see just how much this couple enjoyed their sexual relationship. Song of Songs is all about a couple who enjoys a healthy sexual life, and God included it in the canon of Holy Scripture to remind us that that sex is supposed to be enjoyable.

Rejuvenation. Song of Songs 2:5 Sex within the context of marriage is good for your emotional and physical well-being. Sex raises your endorphin level, so it makes you happier. Sex even burns calories. WOW Another great reason to have Red Hot Monogamy!

T ten to twenty minutes to chat each day
I invest in a weekly date
M monthly get away (8-10 hours at one time)
E escape one time each year (24-48 hours)

Bill and Pam Ferrell advised to choose one of these and begin there!

Home

These are some notes that I wrote from a workshop at the conference this weekend from Jill Savage called My Hearts At Home.

Home As A Safe House-emotionally as well as physically safe place to be.
-require respect among all family members
-practice grace and forgiveness
-safe place to fail as failure creates character

Home As A Rest Area-a place to retreat to from the world
-let kids be kids: play, be children, not loaded with "classes" or "sports" at too young of an age
-family meal time for relational value
-family night--play together

Home As A Trauma Unit-hospital where our wounds are bandaged

Home As A Church-learn about God, faith, the Bible--including reading it and prayer.

Home As A Pep Rally-cheered on and celebrated

Home As A Research Lab-where we try things out to see if we like them; explore

Home As A School-learn skills to carry into adulthood

Home As A Museum-heritage both spiritually and biologically

Home As A Playground-have a good time together

Home As A Business Office-learn to organize, fill out forms, obtain skills

Home As A Hospitality House-the world feels welcome there and we give to others

Home As A Cultural Center-learn about others around us and not just our own sphere of life

M-O-M

Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes

The best plans...

Proverbs 16: 9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

The coal mine closed this week. My husband will have a job for possibly a few more weeks to maybe two more months.

Please pray for us and with us for wisdom and guidance as we seek to relocate!

Thank you!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

32 and counting...

Can you say "feeling pregnant"??? We are EIGHT MONTHS now and have two more to go! For me that typically calculates to nine more weeks. My biggest project is to take out the boxes of baby things and see what we have and what we may still need. I plan to make a "girl" list and a "boy" list and send my mom with my daughters to shop for us after the baby is born. What a great plan!! : )

The girls and I DID buy some things, though. CUTE! CUTE! CUTE! (My mom said she'd take them back if we don't have a _____ because we bought for both a girl and a boy.)

Workshops

I am leaving for the weekend...Hearts At Home conference in Bloomington-Normal! I am hungry!! Please feed me, Lord. Some of the workshops that I will attend are titled Raising Financially Savvy Kids, My Heart's at Home, Setting A Paradigm For Purity, Finding the Hero in Your Husband (that will be an easy one!!) and Red Hot Monogamy. (I read the book!) I have ten workshops total chosen besides the main sessions. I won't get to attend that many but those were my top choices. Can't wait! Please pray for my physical well-being since I will be EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT roaming the college campus hunting for my classroom. lol I am really anticipating what the Lord will do in my heart and life. I don't want the easy way out. I want to take the high road. Please pray with me, for me.

Purpose

Live Intentionally!

Summit

The two Munro Men came back from their vision-packed weekend on fire and spunky. (Very lively, determined, and courageous if I don't say so myself!) I feel their eagerness and anticipate what God is going to do in their hearts and lives as they seek to apply what they heard! How exciting!! The sessions will be available and you can find them at this site.

Awards Night

The first night of Upward Awards was last night! J was among the youngest group and they had their awards presented last evening while the older ages will receive their awards tonight and Wednesday night. Great idea but I feel sorry for families with children in each age bracket having to attend each night this week. If this baby is a boy, we may find ourselves in that situation some day.

The evening was attended by our family and William's parents. How fun to have extended family participate in something the children are doing.

Baby

• My iron is low which is pretty typical at this gestation but I am working to get it raised before delivery.
• Baby is head down.
• Still no names.
• My back is adjusted from the fall so I don't waddle like I had been.
• Ten more weeks!

Speech

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

Looming Laundry

Among many of the topics we share when gathering together as moms, one topic that generally comes up in some shape or form is LAUNDRY. We all have it. We all have to do it...if we want clean clothes! I wanted to share ideas that we have adapted for our family over the years.

We use sturdy, plastic shelves that hold our laundry baskets. We sort the dirty laundry right into the labeled baskets (we have several) and when they are full enough for me to see that it needs done, I wash a load. I don't have to mess with dragging out the laundry into the hallway near the laundry room and sorting the clothes, towels, cleaning rags, etc., not to mention stumbling over it all day or having it greet whomever stops by. It stays confined to the room hidden neatly behind the door and is washed as needed.

I don't do laundry on the weekends but Monday is a big wash day. It works for me. I typically do laundry every week day and usually in the morning. I even set a timer so that I don't forget that I have something in the washer that needs to be moved to the dryer.

OxyClean is a huge help in the laundry room. I soak things over night in the washer with two scoops of this great cleaner and most everything comes out the first time! Even old yellow stains! We have even used it as a carpet cleaner and it works well!

I keep a container for our cleaning rags in the laundry room next to the cleaners so that I can just drop them right back into it when they come out of the dryer. (I used to fold the cleaning cloths! HUGE time-waster!)

I have a small area to place hangers that are then available when clothing comes out of the dryer so I can hang it promptly. Less ironing! Each week, one child is assigned to collect the empty hangers throughout the house.

If you have any helpful hints to add, please share them! Thanks!!

Webinar

Last night I listened to Love For A Lifetime. This is a workshop from at Hearts At Home last year done by Mark and Jill Savage. They shared the content again last night online and I wanted to share it here.

They used the acronym GROW UP:
G Give grace and ask forgiveness often. We all make mistakes so choose to forgive. Don't get angry. Let him off the hook. Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you.

R Respect him. Our differences benefit each other. Just because he likes spicy foods and I don't care for them doesn't make either of us wrong--just different. Respect it not struggle with it. I Peter 2:17 Treat everyone with dignity.

O Own your own stuff. No "blame game" playing. Be responsible about my part in the conflict. Even if my part is 10% then own what my "stuff" is and allow God to deal with him. Proverbs 13:10 Pride leads to conflict.

W Watch my tongue. Huge amounts of self control. Use words that bring healing. Be oh so careful about my thoughts regarding him. Tone is crucial! Challenge: Fast from criticism--choose to restrain words and then choose to forgive and let it go. Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death. Proverbs 21:23 Watch you words and hold your tongue; you'll save yourself a lot of grief. Luke 6:45 What you say flows from what is in your heart.


U Understand love. Love is a choice. It is active serving! It is honest. Be respectful when sharing the truth. Deal with my own junk first before I loving share what the difficulty is within me. Know our love languages to be able to communicate love the way we receive it. I Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love.

P Pray continually. I need God's help to walk in the right way. I can't do it by myself--ask Him for help. Let God lead. Be certain to follow. I Thessalonians 5:17 Never stop praying.

A good marriage is not so much about marrying the right person

as it is about becoming the right partner.

Unknown

Pronto Pasta Salad Recipe

1 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
¼ cup milk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 pkg. Knorr Vegetable Soup and Recipe Mix
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
8 oz. twist macaroni, cooked and drained (I used the colored macaroni.)

In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, basil and soup mix. Add broccoli and macaroni; toss to coat well. Cover; chill 2 hours. Makes 6 cups.

Variation: Substitute 1 medium tomato, chopped, for broccoli florets. Actually, I thought I could use the tomato as well as the broccoli.

Today

Awhile back, I had ordered two dresses for R and AG for them to wear to the upcoming wedding. I had decided that I would purchase material and make a dress for E similar to the ones I bought. Their dresses looked a bit young for her so I would alter it a bit to make it "junior" rather than "little girl-ish." I have hunted for both material and a pattern. Nada. I knew that I could make my own pattern but the problem remained not finding material to match the two younger girls. I wondered if a thrift store might have a dress in the same color material that I could tear apart and remake for her. We headed there today but the place was packed. Instead of fighting the crowd, I decided to get what we needed from Target and head back home. (My back was killing me from waddling around!) When I parked, I noticed the bridal store next to Target. As much as the two little boys didn't want to, we headed into the store. I explained what I was looking for and the lady showed us to the dresses that would be in the girls' size. Lo and behold, on the rack where we were looking was a dress that wasn't suppose to be in that area. This dress, we were certain, was the exact same color we had been hunting for all over the surrounding towns. The clerk explained that it wasn't suppose to be hanging there because it was on clearance. I knew in my heart Who had put it there and that it was indeed suppose to be there for us today. E went to try it on and it was as if I had custom made it to fit her. I was choked up! The lady came to check on her and I told her that God had put that dress there just for us today and explained the other two dresses and our quest. She said she is so excited when He does that and builds faith in us and our children and uses things that most think that He doesn't care at all about--like dresses for a wedding. I paid for our dress-on-clearance and hugged her on my way out of the store.
THEN! I had a sad email from a dear friend this morning that asked me to pray with her regarding the precious baby she is carrying. She thought that the baby might have gone to Heaven and knowing well that feeling, I bowed and prayed. I prayed all through the day and specifically when I knew she was seeing a midwife to ascertain her situation with Baby. She emailed me to say they saw a heartbeat and that Baby is doing well. Rejoice in the Lord!

Lastly, DH and T arrived safely in Indianapolis and are enjoying their time together at the summit. Please continue to pray with me for each of them!

RECALL NOTICE

The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a "malfunction" in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed "Sub-sequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect. The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required. The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes. WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus. DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility.

Thank you for your attention! - GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'.

Leadership

DH and T left today for a conference! I am so excited for them. DH and our two oldest sons have gone to several seminars and conferences together. It is so great to see them pack up their needs for a few days (and nights) and take off together. They plan on things like EATING AT A RESTAURANT and GETTING COFFEE together. Important things!! So off two of them go again to take in the wisdom and counsel of Godly men with vision and passion for God and His Word! Please pray for them as they retreat together and seek God during this weekend!

ICE

Ice skating season is over. The children each received ice skates for Christmas and have enjoyed using the local ice rink we are so blessed to have here in town. We have had weekly lessons by Debby and she has done a fantastic job working with the children. We are so thankful for her and for all that the children have learned.

Basketball

Last night was J's last basketball practice. It has been so much fun seeing his Daddy spend time with him each week...just the two of them! It seems like yesterday the two oldest were in "sports" and my how time has flown. His last game is this Saturday and then Awards Night is Monday evening. Upwards has been such a rewarding experience for our family. If you want to know more about the program, contact Calvary Baptist for information or to get on their mailing list for next season.

Advice

I was given one of those "baby" magazines and honestly, I usually trash the things. They rarely say anything that I believe is beneficial for ANY mom, newby or salty! Well, when I saw there was an article that gave advice from "Large Families" I had to at least check it out. Lo and behold, the advice was from LARGE FAMILIES! Mom's with THREE and FOUR children. So, there you have it, folks. I don't have a large family after all!!