Baby #6

I am trying to find my camera so I can post all my Hawaii pics and post about how much fun we had but I'll save that one and talk about how I am going to be the mom of 6 kids!!! Some how 6 just seems like a giant leap from 5, 5 was quite a leap from 4 by the way also! Re4ally it has nothing to do with it being harder it just seems crazy when I tell people this will be my sixth time doing it. We were very surprised by the timing of this latest addition we were planning to start trying after we got back from Hawaii but like most things in my life right now things didn't go as planned! I nearly fell over when I was greeted by those two very red lines on June 7. Oh well what are you going to do! I prayed really really hard that I could not be sick for our trip and I was really blessed. I felt pretty good everyday and only had to take it easy in the evening. Anyone who has been around me during any of my previous pregnancies knows that just the fact that I was out of bed was a miracle in its self.
So I will be getting another February baby(Harrison is the 4th) I will have my first appointment next week, although I've been on prescription meds for morning sickness for weeks now! As long as I hear ONE strong heart beat I will be happy. It feels good to know that my family is almost complete. The kids are all hoping for a boy so that our patttern holds true, but I really will be happy know matter what.

Ya, it's been a month

Ok so I missed posting about Payten's 10th bday and Jason's graduation, Avaries transplant party and Father's Day. I just have spent so much time doing other stuff that it all just got away from me. I promise to post pics from all the events later but for now I just wanted to at least post and say I am here still and still want to blog but I have felt so buried and have felt like I have been carry the weight of the world on my shoulders lately. Hopefully all of you have been following Avarie's blog so you are all aware of her situation. Jason graduated and although that was a wonderful occasion it has been very difficult for new grads to get hired ANYWHERE. We are pretty sure we are going to have to move to some random location. The problem is with the recession so many retired (experienced) nurses have come back to the work force snagging all the jobs with them. And the hospitals have cut a lot of their new grad training programs so that leaves us with some RN jobs but none for new grads. I am not sure of where this will take us it's pretty much the situation we found our self in when he was applying for schools and we got in to NC. I had NO IDEA that we would find our selves in this similar of a situation again but apparently the Lord has certain places in mind for my family and this is how we get to those locations. So again my faith is in his hands and all I ask for is Safety and Security for my whole family. In the mean time we leave to Hawaii in two days and will try to put some of these earthly concerns aside while we enjoy some relaxing in the tropical sun.

June fast approaching!

Seriously it has been so beautiful here the last few days. It is suppose to last through the next week. I am so in love with the sunshine. Word to the wise don't forget to turn the water off when filling up the pool. Jackson just reminded me as it was over flowing! Today we went to our nephew Gaven's party at JJ Jump, indoor inflatables, it was fun. Jason is off with Payten on her Daddy Date for her birthday. I'll post pics when I do her slide show on Monday. The great news from this weekend is that Jason finished his 26 page paper, turned out to be 29. He was so relieved to get that behind him! June is coming up so fast I can hardly hold on. June 15 seems to be looming in the air. Avarie goes into OHSU for the start of her transplant that day and every anxiety, fear, hope and anticipation seems to be tied into that ominous date. My payers have began to turn more towards pleading as it nears. The really exciting news is She gets to go home tonight for the weekend and gets to go to the movies with us on Monday and come to Payten's Birthday. Payten is so excited! Well Brandon and Becky's kids should be here any minute to drop off their kids so they can enjoy a date, I'm down one kid what's six more!!!

Hawaiian Dreams

I felt like going on our first getaway without our little ones deserved its own posting. On June 24 we will be off on a Hawaiian adventure. We pricelined our hotel room and got upgraded to a 4 star hotel! We will be going with my friend since 3rd grade, Breanna and her husband Brian. I just went out today and got a swimsuit at Oldnavy's sale today for $12.50! I am next on the hunt for some cute sundresses.
I always joked with Jason for our 10 anniversary he was going to take me to Hawaii but I never actually thought we'd get to do it. We don't like leaving our kids and taking a fam of 7 just didn't seem probable. Jason is refusing to get to excited about the trip until after his 26 page paper is done and his final. Everything will be done June 8. So until then the trip is vaguely there. I must also commend my Mom for agreeing to care of my brood for 9 days! I don't think she'll ever do me another favor but at least I get a great trip out of it. Leaving my kids will be the hardest part but it would not be even bearable if she wasn't taking care of them for me. If everything can just go smoothly and everyone remains healthy and good i swear I'll never leave them again. I just need one trip to last me until the kids are grown and gone. The next trip will most definitely involve mouse ears which is fine by me, we love nothing more then enjoying those kind of trips with them. So for one more month ya'll have to put up with my little countdown!

I spoke too soon!

So I thought that last week was crazy once I had posted my last post , needless to say it was just the beginning. Friday Jason worked from 2pm to 10:30pm. Around 6:45 I was on the phone and happened to look outside at my kids who were playing at the park right behind our house. All of a sudden I thought I saw Harrison crying and then all the kids ran over to him. Even from there I could tell that there was something dark all of his shirt. I then saw Payten's face as she ran from his side to come get me. I quickly ended the phone call and braced myself for a trip with all five kids to the ER. I ran to get Harrison and knew he was going to need stitches to his eyebrow because the whole thing was ripped open. I guess they were playing chase and he looked behind him and when he turned around he ran straight into the picnic table corner.
So I took a deep breath told everyone to grab their stuff and we headed to show Jason and get his opinion real; quick before we headed to the ER. Poor Jason could in no way leave they were already short staffed. So he took one look and agreed I would have to take him in,ugh. I then realized I forgot the cell phone and seeing how Addalyn was sick and Harrison is my busiest child there was no point in trying to find a place to drop kids off at. So off I went to entertain 3 starving, 1 bleeding, and 1 very unhappy child. I was able to scrounge up $1.75 so we got trail mix and Doritos out of the vending machine. So after 4 1/2 hours of waiting, delays, Camp Rock, coloring, screaming tired baby, Harrison received 6 stitches. They gave him some medicine which made him drowsy but made it so he was very very relaxed as they patched him up. All the kids were so sweet to him they all took turns doing things for him. We arrived home at 11:30pm. Jason helped carry them all in and I cleaned up and went to bed. Then Saturday our friend and neighbors 4yr old fell out of their two story window landing on the cement on his face. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital but then transferred to Emmanuel in Portland. It was absolutely horrific. I babysat their other six kids, they have 8 altogether. I watched,comforted and fed all 11 kids until their Grandparents arrived at 11pm. He ended up fracturing the front of his skull and both eye bones and developed a bruise on his brain. The kids are always at my house they are practically my adopted nieces and nephews so it was quite devastating. Fortunately little Joseph had a guardian angel with him that day because truly his accident should have been life threatening and we got word today that he was being released today. He still has to lay pretty still for the next 8 weeks but given the alternative it is just amazing.
On Sunday I was so drained I just wanted to rest once we got home from church but instead we confirmed our trip to Hawaii in June! June 24 Jason and i and our two friends will be heading to Oahu for 9 days without children! I am freaking a little, a lot, about leaving my kids especially my baby. I am really hoping it will get easier the closer it gets but am scared it won't. Anyways that wraps up my CRAZY week!

Let this week end!

This week has been CRAZY! It just feels like I have been torn every which way. Payten had her testing yesterday to gain acceptance into the 5/6 homeschooling program next year, Jackson and Brooklyn test next week. Hopefully they will all do well because it is a great program that we really loved this year. For those that haven't followed my blog long it is a two day a week program that allows homeschooled kids a classroom experience and also allows them to pick from a whole list of extras like ice skating, art classes, music, foreign languages,fencing, honestly the list goes on and on! It has been a great addition to our homeschooling adventure. Jenell moves on Saturday and although I know it will make things easier for them it really doesn't make things easier for me. Although they will only be 25 minutes away it is 20 minutes more than now. Michelle had her sweet boy on Sunday and pushed him out 10 minutes before I got there(brat). Jason has been pretty much gone all week between school work and clinical work. One more month and school will be done( for him not me I school the kids all year long=)

See it Through

So I have been contemplating life and how it is perpetually changing. I believe that we all have many times in our lives where we become complacent and take for granted many of the simple things in our lives. Everywhere I turn I am bombarded by these truths. Every person I care about is experiencing changes right now, for example jobloss, house loss, illness, divorce, unstable job, moving, marriage and new baby. I cannot remember a time when I literally cannot think of anyone who is not being affected in some way. Although not everyone is struggling I can't help but feel the effects of the challenging times around the corner for each of us. None of us know when our time of faith and endurance will be put to the test but we can all be assured that it will come. It amazes me how many warnings we have been given for such things but somehow when it happens it can feel so unexpected. I never realized that my greatest trial would be one that would not happen directly to me but to a loved one but honestly that is what in some ways increases the trial because I not only feel the pain for myself but for my niece and my sister. Although I know that there are still many trials to come it truly gives perspective to those trials after enduring watching Avarie suffer. But I have Faith that there is more to it then having a better perspective, How can we be like him if we don't also endure heartache and pain. I am so glad that I don't have to endure anything alone and I am so thankful that I was taught to have an eternal perspective, somedays it is the only thing that gets me through. Here's a poem I found one day when I was struggling to endure it helped me so maybe it might help someone else
SEE IT THROUGH

by Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959)

When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!

Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don't let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!

Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you're beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don't give up, whate'er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!