I apologize for my lack of posts but without the Internet and the business of 5 girls, well life just keeps moving along!
So I will try to update as best I can, I have been writing posts in my head the last 2 days so I hope I remember everything! :-)
Lets see......we are busy into the school year with Victoria in grade 3, Alicia in grade 2, Moriah in kindergarten. We are also part of the homeschool group and have had some field trips and have enjoyed getting to know some of the families. I do find the extra homeschool stuff makes like busier and harder to actually 'do' school. I have had to say no to some things as I just feel too busy and I really like to be home. I have been going to the library Thursday nights and getting educational books for the girls and myself. We are studying Canada so I have been getting some books on Canada and really enjoyed some books on the history of Canada. We are using A Beka books again this year, but I would like to try something new next year especially in math. I really hope to make it to the OCHEC conference in the new year, I have been saying that for maybe 3 years now!! :-)
Bryan and I continue to marvel at how much our girls are growing and learning. They love to play with the dolls and be mommies. There new thing is being pregnant and 'boring' babies. One afternoon Victoria came into the living room to tell me that she had just 'born' a baby in the crib, so that is where her baby sleeps. MOriah 'bore' her baby in the stroller so that is where her baby sleeps. Alicia......well, she is just boring her baby so they weren't sure where that baby would sleep. They walk around the house with babies under the shirts waiting to be born.
We also talk often about husbands and there is a certain young boy in our church who is a favorite among our girls especially Moriah. That family visited on Sunday and after they left I asked MOriah if she still wanted to marry that boy and she said "no" and Victoria piped up "I will marry him then". At first I was rather taken aback when our girls started talking about boyfriends and getting married thinking they were much to young for such talk, but then I quickly realized that this was a subject I wanted to be included in, so I join the conversation by telling them that if that boy is a godly young man that they may marry him when they get older. I am praying often for our future sons-in-laws and their parents, it will be a delight to meet them one day!
Victoria has a good memory and I am surprised at how often she remembers things that I don't! We were driving to the Biels (a family in our home school group) and we started out from my parents. I had only been to the Biel's once before this time so was rather unsure of how to get there from my parents. As I was driving along I mused out loud about what the name of the road was that they lived on. I asked Victoria and she said "Umm.... I think it is Drury road mom" The 6 year old in the back of the van was absolutely correct! How does she remember these things!! :-)
Victoria and Alicia started piano lessons last week. They are very excited about it and so is Courtney their teacher. This is Courtney's first teaching experience, she goes to our church and has babysat the girls, and I actually use to babysit her!! I am very happy that Alicia is going as I think it will help her with her social skills and it is nice that Victoria is with her too. I dropped them off and then came and picked them up, so they are on their own!!
Moriah is surprising me in her eagerness to do school and in how much she is remembering. I am really hoping she will be reading by the end of the year! She is such a compassionate girl and very concerned for others. If one of us is not wearing a seat belt she will freak out and scream for the van to stop or not start. She is so afraid that a police man will come and take that law breaking person to jail! It really is quite hilarious and sometimes annoying that she gets so upset! She is also thoughtful in other ways and trys to help her sisters not get in trouble! She loves to snuggle and is just so sweet!
Cassia.........what do I say about our "spicy" child! I have to admit that I have mentioned to Bryan that maybe we should have stopped after Moriah as Cassia is full of life and Ellia squeals so much that I think she might be the same way! Cassia brings so much life to our family and she is so cute, adorable, and such a stinker!! She makes me so frustrated sometimes but yet she makes us laugh so much too! She is more defiant then our other girls, but I have learnt that if I can get her to answer me with a "yes mom" then she will do whatever I have asked, but getting that yes mom isn't always easy! Her vocabulary is amazing, she sounds more like a 4 year old then a 2 year old. She is so smart too! Victoria lost a tooth on a Saturday night and despite the fact that Victoria firmly believed there was no such thing as a tooth fair she did put her tooth under the pillow and got some money. We talked a lot about her tooth and Sunday morning I was taking a bath (I don't normally do that, I mean the bath on a SUnday morning I do bath) Cassia came running to me with her hand in her mouth and her fingers gripping a tooth and she said "mommy, I have a lose tooth, look" She was very excited! Nothing gets by that girl, if her sisters do something she has to do it too!
My little Ellia is growing, she is 6 months now and such a cutie! Her first tooth is coming in, she eats cereal, squash, apple sauce, and whatever else I put in her mouth. I feel like I am getting back to myself more and more. I have struggled so much with my own selfishness since Ellia was born. I have struggled so much with having to give of myself so much for my husband and children. Being a mother requires so much self sacrifice, I have been learning this so much now that I have 5 kids. I am still struggling with this and even though I 'know' that I need God's strength , His patience, and His peace it is so hard to live that way! One thing that has brought so much peace in my life and which is something I never imagined myself doing, is I rise early! I get up a 6am and do my devotions then exercises. Before it got dark in the mornings I would got for a walk and run, but now I stretch and do exercises in the house. I have been having a lot of neck pain again and I think the exercising is very helpful. I miss the walks, I really enjoying being outside by myself for that quiet time to think and just breath in the fresh air. I have thought of going for a walk at night, but frankly I am exhausted by the time the kids go to bed that just doesn't work. I have never been a morning person, but I just tell myself that this is really important to me! Last week I was too sick to get up and missed a few mornings and then this Morning when my alarm went off I was pretty tired and was wondering to myself why I get up so early. It wasn't until I was doing my devotions that I remembered why I get up so early!!
Life is so different with 5 kids, there are days I would love to have more and there are days I think I could never have more! I love my girls, I love that I have girls, I love being with my girls! Life is like that, good days and bad days. But really the good out way the bad, the difficulty of raising 5 girls for God's glory is a reward not always seen every moment of every day, but there are the little things that give me such joy! Like the other morning when I was having a hard time I came downstairs to see that Victoria all on her own wrote out her prayer during her morning devotion time and it was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. I taped the prayer onto my kitchen cabinet to encourage me through out the day! I love the hugs and kisses and listening to them play together being mothers!
We went camping in August, we left 2 days early to come home and I vowed never to go camping with a nursing baby again and I even mentioned to Bryan that I would prefer to sell our trailer and rent a cottage! I decided that maybe I didn't like camping now that I had to do all the work! Alas I am a rather fickle woman and this past weekend when all the trailers were heading out for Thanksgiving camping, I actually felt disappointed that Bryan had to work and we couldn't go camping!! :-) And now I am looking forward to camping next year!! :-) We are still putting our trailer for sale but we will see what happens!!
We continue to love our country home, and are putting a bathroom on the main level and laundry room. Unfortunately the bath room and laundry room are going in our toy room! I have gotten rid of a lot of toys and put most of them up in boxes all I have left on the floor is a basket of baby toys and books, and a bucket full of dolls and doll clothes and a bucket of dress up clothes. I put the kitchen set and all the play food in the kitchen. So I think we will be able to make do. I still want to go through a organize and get rid of more stuff, I really feel that less is better and in a small house it will help keep it cleaner! We do have the sun porch for the playing a toys right now but there is no heat there.
We updated our bathroom with a new double sink vanity from Ikea. We are thinking of not putting in a new bath tub, we aren't sure. We most likely will only be living in this house for another 4-5 years so we don't want to put too much money into the house.
Well, I guess that is all for now the children are getting fussy and there are more family members here so I should be more sociable.
Despite the fact that I have mentioned how busy I am now, we are never too busy for visiting and my girls love to have friends over! So if you feel like visiting, please do!!
We had family pictures taken at our house in the yard so when I get them I will try to post! I was so trilled to have them taken in our back yard!
