Grace...

Last week was more than a little crazy around here. I explained the surgery and post-surgery complications in a prior post. Wednesday was pretty much uneventful (more "normal" if you will) but Thursday ended up being a day off of school because the fog was SO BAD! While we had a fun day, we DID have two extras (the neighbor boys). Friday was another "reading day" at school (every Friday is, for our Kindergartner) and we made another cute "edible" craft. Not sure if I should buy the book where she get these ideas out of myself, or just get the teacher to borrow it to me! :)

This week has already started off with Monday as a snow day, Friday a scheduled day off and tomorrow a Mass day - our Kindergartner gets to do her first reading!!

I was EXTREMELY busy cleaning last week - if I didn't know better, I would swear I were in the last few weeks of a pregnancy (I'm NOT preggo!!). I cleaned out the whole sewing machine area, including all shelves and drawers of the desk  - if you have been here recently, I apologize - I did NOT realize that area was as bad as it was!! I got rid of a 33 gallon bag of JUNK out of there and ended up finding two lost DS games (the kids were happy!). Between last week and the first few days of this week, I also cleaned out BOTH food pantries, the top of the dishwasher, a corner shelf that holds all of our crackers, snacks, etc and gotten rid of a bag of clothes out of Hubby and my closet.

Due to the fact that I organized the whole sewing area, I also found numerous unfinished projects that I am now working on finishing - oh - and I found a super easy pattern for a cell phone (or i-pod or MP3(4) player) that  I whipped up yesterday (I'll be posting on Moneyless Momma's soon).

Of course, this all in addition to the "normal" duties: making meals, sending treats to school, paying bills, schoolwork, laundry, etc.

Our son has decided that he liked going to the local private (catholic) middle school that he wants to go back again (for another day of shadowing). He has even said that he would give up (this Friday) his day off of school to go there! We are positive that this is where God is leading us - be sure to lift us up in prayer often for his will to be done (because frankly, I'm not sure HOW this is going to work, just have blind faith that it WILL!).

Hubby's RCIA classes are going well. I have decided to study whatever he is studying, so that we learn together. I feel that this will draw us closer together - not only in faith, but as a couple as well.

Last night I implemented prayer night - 1 decade of the rosary - while I thought that I would be met with resistance, I was wrong - totally and unmistakably wrong. Not only was I met with zero resistance, but they thought we were going to do MORE and probably would have said the whole rosary. I explained that we will do this every night at 6:30 - no phone, no tv (etc.). I think that we will also start off the prayers by deciding who we are "offering up" the prayers for that night.

I am humbled by God's Amazing Grace for us.

Potty Chair

I'm a little sad. We have cleaned and put away the potty chair. My "Baby"is no longer a baby and uses the regular toilet all the time now - she even gets up without the aid of a parent, sibling or stool! The diapers have been folded and put away as well. Where does time go??!!

Thought for the day:

This morning, the city-wide "alarm" went off.

Not the tornado alarm - the fire alarm.

This always sends a small chill through me. It can mean a fire or an accident - just that the trucks are needed.

I recalled something that I had heard a long time ago, that I've passed on to my children: anytime you hear that alarm or pass an ambulance, cross yourself and say a quick prayer for the safety of the people going to help and for those that need the help.

You never know what that prayer may do for that person, at that particular moment in time!!

Prayer for my children

I (like all moms) pray for my children. Frequently this includes discernment for them to follow whatever it is Our Lord wants them to do with their lives. Other times I pray for peace, for a fever to pass, a good night's sleep, etc.

But, one thing I pray for EVERY night is for my child's future spouse. Jessica, Say WHAT? Yep. I pray for my children, but also for their future spouse. I pray that they and their future spouse will hold themselves, their thoughts and their bodies in high esteem. I pray that they and their spouse will save themselves for each other. I pray that spiritually both they and their future spouse will grow the way that the Lord needs them to, to be spiritually prepared for each other.

God knows - he knows when you will pray for someone - he knows what a person needs - he knows that these prayers, at this time, are going to help these kids. Someday, I want to be able to look into the eyes of my future daughter-in-law or son-in-law and say "I prayed for you daily, before I even knew you!"

This-n-that

Things are going ok.

Son has strep, so he stayed home today.

None of the Daughters show any sign of it yet, thank goodness!

I stopped in at the dollar store yesterday to pick up some dishwasher soap and saw some girls' winter boots on the 70% off table - only $3 (only 2 pairs) - so I picked them both up. Imagine my surprise when they rang up as $1 PER PAIR!!! The cashier smiled and said, "hmm, must be 90% off now!" As I was leaving, she was checking prices on clothing.....so, I asked my mom to stop in there - yep, even the clothes are 90% off now! She picked up a $14 worth of clothes for the kids, but I think I'll be heading over there and seeing what else is left...80 cents for a new pair of pants?! AWESOME!!

I thought I was doing well with buying Gaucho pants for Daughter #1 (from Target, including shipping) 6 pair for $25....well, mom beat me this time! :)

Still waiting on a call for results from surgery.....biopsies and the Bravo Ph - hope to know more soon.

Sweet little 5 year old daughter wanted to make cut-out today - for Easter....um, yeah, but mommy knows they'll be gone before then! :) But we did, and she had a blast - now the older kids are all home from school and itching to frost them, ah, the calories!

Speaking of calories: my workouts are going great and calorie counting, well, not soo bad! The weight is coming off, I must just stay committed (and pray ALOT!!).

Oh yes, and I have off the rest of this week and next week for spring break! (thanks to a great instructor who gave us "work days" today and tomorrow!)

More surgery info

Sorry to leave you hanging about Daughter #1's surgery. There has been a lot of research that has went on (by me) regarding this. Here is the final scoop:

March 4th will be a day of only clear fluids: water, apple juice, jellos, etc.

March 5th will be the day of surgery. She is having the Bravo ph esophageal capsule inserted at that time. She will also have an endoscopy and colonoscopy done while she is under. The Bravo ph will stay in her and monitor her ph level for 48 hours. During this time, we will log what she is doing, what she has eating, what position she was in as well as the time on the monitor to help the doctor try to correlate her symptoms with a diagnosis.

The colonoscopy was just added today. The Doc's MA called and said that he had been thinking about her case and would like to rule out anything that may be occurring in that area as well. I think that it is a good idea, so as not to have to (possibly) put her under again.

I hope and pray that we are able to find something out for her.

Kinda mad...

Yep, kinda ticked-off this morning. Only had good experiences with Freecycle up until now.

Last night I replied to a post. She replied that I was first, but was only holding it for so long. I replied within 45 MINUTES....I saw that it was taken and said thanks for the quick pickup - but I never heard back from her. I e-mailed her this morning about picking up and she said nope, it gone. REALLY? 45 MINUTES wasn't fast enough? Yeah, not real happy. I'll get over it - but good grief, some people! You can bet two things: first, I will NEVER respond to anything she posts again (I wouldn't want to get my hopes up and have then crashed down) AND I will not pass anything of mine onto her. Period.

So onto brighter things - or not? My plan of waking at 6 in the morning is going well - now if the kids would stay sleeping so that I could work-out right away - that would be nice!

So much that I would like to contemplate on here - writing has always been an outlet for me - we will see.....but for now, it's time to get kiddos up and off to school - half the fun of being a SAHM is being able to do the girl's hair in the mornings - maybe that's why God blessed us with so many girls?!

Another day....

School is going well. I love my instructor - we are kindred spirits. She is even writing a letter of recommendation for me. Should be an "easy" semester - well, as easy as 8 credits in science classes can be!

I was looking forward to Christmas this weekend - our last one for the season. But I found out that an "extra" person will be there that I hadn't known about. Not real thrilled. Asking my Lord for much forgiveness and for me to hold my tongue. I think of Thumper: "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all. " Yep, I might be quiet this weekend!

On the other hand, I am thrilled that my SIL, BIL, Nephew and her folks are coming up this weekend. The time with her folks will be limited, as they need to get home, but SIL, BIL and Nephew will be home for three weeks! Praise God for family! The kids are thrilled to be seeing them again, and if they had it their way, they'd be staying here! (arrangements have been made for them to stay at FIL's house - although, one never knows - plans can change!)

Daughter #3 is thrilled with her babysitter. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have school in the mornings, but wouldn't be able to make it back in time to get her off the bus, so she's going to Son's friend's house (his mom does in-home daycare). There are 3 other children from her class that go there, so she is soooo happy to be there playing with them! When I picked her up yesterday, she was almost in tears because she didn't have enough "time" there! I had even went grocery shopping, knowing that if I came too early it would upset her! Oh, and did I mention that this wonderful Christian (catholic) woman only charges me $1.50 an hour - lunch included?! Yeah, yay for us!!

Anyway, lots of chores to try to get done and I'm running out of time to do them!

Family Day

Today is a family day. Well, we won't ALL be together....the older 4 children and I will be going to see "The Squeakquel" (for a Girl Scout adventure) and daddy and the baby (and pup) will be staying home and spending quality time together. Some days you just gotta be divided in order to be together!

This week has been pretty rough on me emotionally. I am glad that it is over. Trying to lead an honest life, while walking with Christ, can be hard. A lot can be asked of you. If you are truly wanting to do what the Lord asks.....well, sometimes he asks you to do difficult things. There were many things that happened this week that I DID do (that I had even told my mom I wouldn't be doing) but because the Lord expected it, I did it - and reaped the rewards too. When you do what the Lord asks of you, he rewards you - I don't do it to count the rewards - but I have learned that they always follow when I listen to him!

Second semester starts on Monday. Whew - I need the time back in school! Mom took Daughter #4 for awhile yesterday - what a help! She was being a pistol for me - but was a gem for her - go figure! It gave us time to get the house cleaned since we won't be home much today.