Happy Anniversary!

1999
Friday, my wonderful man and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! We actually just went to Pizza Hut (with the kids) which was what I was craving (how selfish of me, huh?) and it didn't cross our minds until we got there that that very Pizza Hut was where we had our first date!
We are actually planning to go on a short trip tomorrow & Wednesday (just the two of us) to a nice hotel (wow, 2 in 2 weeks!) so we are looking forward to that. I know I will miss my kiddos, but it will be nice to have some adult conversation. :o)
Hope your summer isn't as hot as mine is!

Fun things to do this summer...

I've been thinking of some fun things we can do this summer--just 30 minute or so of spontaneous fun. It always helps me to make a list, at least mentally, and I like to do this alphabetically (because I'm weird and because they need support groups for ppl like me). So I thought I'd share what I've come up with:

Art

Bubbles (or I'd rather say BEACH, but considering it's 100 miles away...)

Cupcakes

Watching a DVD together

Exercise together

Flea Market (browsing flea markets together..maybe with older children...)

Games

Hopscotch (drawing up a hopscotch on the sidewalk...)

Ice Cream (going for icecream or making your own)

Jungle Gym (making your own in the house with pillows and chairs and blankets)

Kite (flying a kite...don't know if there is enough wind, though, during the summer)

Laugh with each other (it's contagious with kids)

Music (turn on kid's music and dance together)

Nature Walk (my kids love this...just don't get burned out walking in the heat...)

Ocean (again, on my brain)

Play dough or Park (make some playdough...get a recipe on the internet that calls for Kool-Aid...)

Rest together (pile up somewhere and read books)

Swim

Trip (take a trip to an area closeby you have never been together)

Walmart (hey, sounds good?)

Yelling (have a yelling match a see who can get the loudest)

Zoo (if you have one close by....we don't)

"E" names for girls

Even though an elderly man at our church is determined that this baby is a BOY (He always predicts for ppl), I'm going to go ahead with the ultrasound and have a girl name ready. It was hard enough to come up with youngest son, Evan's, name, that I won't even think of boy names until the day I find out this girl is really a, um, boy. We do not announce our name until the baby is born, so you probably won't know what the baby's name is until then, but I will let you know some of the names we have been throwing around to each other. Feel free to share any that you think of that I have not included or tell us your favorite of these:
Emelia (pron. same as Amelia)
Elaina or Elena (same pronunciation)
Ella
Eden
Emily
Emaline (family name)
Elianna

That's about all that I can think of other than our names we tell ppl, Earnestine or Esmarelda. :o) I already have *my* name from the list halfway chosen, but I'm not telling! :o)

Diagnosis, Iron Deficiency Anemia

Over the past 3 weeks I've noticed strange symptoms regarding my body, but I didn't know they were probably all linked to the same problem. I normally have allergies and asthma both of which are more problematic during my pregnancies, but these were weird things other than those (which were aggravating enough, mind you). I've noticed that I would sit at the table after our supper meals and eat everybody's leftover ice from their cups. Then it seemed I was pulling a whole tray from the freezer and eating it when it got to just the right consistency. After that, I would get another tray, etc. Ice just tastes.so.good. Several had mentioned to me, low iron, anemia, etc., and while I'm not a nurse or medically trained person, I'm not a dummy to a few things in the medical world and knew that the craving ice thing probably meant low iron. However, I thought with my eating half-way healthy and taking Juice Plus daily that surely I was getting enough iron. I was so sure of my health that I had even stopped my Prenatal Vitamins.

Well on to more weird, albeit, interesting symptoms--I have always loved to smell soap. But, here lately, I really, really love the smell of soap--to the point of stopping by the bathroom to smell the wonderful aroma from a bar of Ivory soap. I have been loving bathtime where I could just really lather up really good and honestly, the soap smells good enough to taste. But I haven't. Yet. I also love to smell my deoderant which is Tom's of Maine Honeysuckle Rose. It is so yummy. Today, I decided to google my symptoms after I was craving chalk--not to eat, mind you (yet), but I just wanted to write with a piece of chalk--do an art project or something that used chalk.

Other side symptoms of mine include: muscle twitching at night (my legs will jump with no warning), very itchy skin (sometimes I can't sleep b/c of itchy skin), constipation (we all know that happens during pregnancy anyway) for a few days, then diarrhea, and fatigue. I really didn't think I have been tired until I look back over the last couple of weeks and I've had to really push myself to 'get up and go'.

Well, Google names it Iron Deficiency Anemia and don't worry about me, worry about the person who eats dirt, feces, or even chews toilet paper. Yes, there are several things that people ingest when they have this severely. But, I was happy to see soap, chalk, and other cravings for smell and texture, on the list.

Back to my prenatal vitamins. And probably I'll be adding an additional 20 mg of Iron to my ingestion.

As for now, Ice is still the best thing I've ever tasted.

How does your garden grow? CORN

We did corn last week--the whole shabang--pulling, shucking, silking, and cutting. The result? I have 19 bags of frozen corn in my freezer to feed my family over the year. I will probably get a couple more buckets full over the next week or two and then it will be time to move on to some other produce. We have butterbeans, pole beans, banana peppers, tomatoes, and cantelopes planted. Not a HUGE garden, but, speaking of HUGE, I'm sure it's plenty for this mama who will be HUGE in the upcoming weeks! :o)

Our other harvest that has past is potatoes. We finally dug those up and I tried something new this year. I peeled them, cut them into quaters, brought them to a boil for about 5 or 10 minutes (not enough for them to get mashed potato-consistency) and then froze them on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then, I placed them, individually, into freezer bags. I think I have 6 or 7 gallon freezer bags full of yummy potatoes for me to just get out as needed.

How does your garden grow?

World's Greatest Father...

Showing off their toothpicks...:o)

Very often I'm reminded of how wonderful my husband is and I'm so thankful that I prayed that I would marry the 'right one' for me. I remember it vividly, getting down on my knees and telling God I was through with 'going with' boys--I didn't want anyone else until the right one came along. Well my husband called the next evening! :o) I was pretty apprehensive at first because I was like, 'so soon, Lord?' I really didn't think it was him because I had just prayed. We dated for 3.5 years (and never broke up during that time) and got married as soon as he graduated from college and had a job lined up. I've watched God 'grow him up' into the man he is today and he is the most wonderful Father to our 3 (almost 4) children. He and I share the same desires for our children and for our marriage. God has put us on the 'same page', so to speak, and for that I'm so thankful. It saves arguments, I'm sure. His and my parenting styles are in sync and the children are aware of this. They respect their dad and know that his word stands. He always takes time to single each one out for a few moments of fun. My youngest is constantly asking about Dad during the day. He already idolizes his dad. I have seen some Dads my husband's age that I personally wanted to jerk around a few times but my husband has been the example of a father that fits the mold that I think Christ desires for each family. Here are a few adjectives to describe my husband, my children's father:
Hardworking
Consistent Disciplinarian
Dedicated to our Family and most of all to God
Humorous (definitely a plus as a father)
Spontaneous
Loving
Teacher of God's word and Spiritual Leader
Very Patience (he NEVER gets upset at the amt of work 3 kids incur--sometimes he will get all 3 kids out of the van for me, including opening my door.....he always helps out with the kids without complaining)
Faithful to our family
Very Intelligent (he has been called a 'brain')
Considerate
Even-tempered (I have NEVER seen him get really upset--he is very calm and cool) :)
Musically Talented and Talented Story Teller (the kids beg him to tell them stories)
and last, but not least....Handsome! :o)

Happy Father's Day to my husband! I Love You!

Back Home...

Wow, it has been a really long time since I've posted, but we've been so busy with Summer--full speed ahead that I haven't taken the time to blog. I will try to do better. On vacation, I had a chance to blog read a bit and was really inspired by the wonderful inspiring blogs out there. I came home motivated and encouraged to be a better wife and mother! Can't beat that, can you?
Well, we took a little trip about 3 hours from here. Actually, we accompanied my husband on his trip to a 3 day conference and stayed in the Hotel where the conference was being hosted. Now, don't laugh, but I have never stayed in a fancy Hotel before! Really. I was slightly nervous. I mean, who do you tip and who do you not tip? Etc. Well, things I've learned on this trip: 1. Tip everyone. 2. EVERYTHING costs at a hotel...even internet service...a movie is $13.95 to rent, as opposed to $3.95 off PPV--not that we rented anything, that's for sure! 3. The pool is awesome and very kid friendly. 4. Most ppl there look 'down-home' like we looked. There are more things, but my littlest one just awakened, so I'll go ahead and post some pictures from our trip. Nice to be home, but we did have a nice family time! Oh, 3 things about my kids on this trip: Babies CAN get there hands stuck in the elevator doors...oh my..it was tramatizing..thank goodness for my husband's calmness to just gently remove the hand before the doors pulled open any harder; Another thing is that 4 yr olds and 6 yr olds can still have accidents in their undies when they are playing hard at the park. AND it always happens when you have been there 5 or 10 minutes, AND there is no bathroom in site, AND you have valet parking when your van doesn't smell fresh upon arriving back ("Again, so soon?"); Also, my kids are loud, esp in a hotel lobby! :o)






Enjoying an ice cream cone after a really hot spell at the park.

The hotel--we were on the 10th floor.

At an outside BBQ restaurant
My handsome husband in a solemn expression
"I'm so tired"

He still has time from his busy schedule of watching PBS Kids to draw.

The waterfall outside the hotel. I was quite scared the kids would fall in before the picture was taken!
The nice room--sorry the picture quality isn't good.

Vegging out--watching cartoons after a hard day of swimming.

He loved the swimming pool!! He would say, "Look, Mom, I'm svimming!"