Ties That Bind

There's nothing stronger than family in my book. But sometimes there's that special family member that you just connect with. That one person that even though many miles or years may separate you, you just "click" and have a closeness that no one can explain.

For me, that person is my Grandma Lil.

I had the priveledge of "surprising" her last month for her 90th birthday. Doesn't she look amazing for 90??

The thing I love about her is that even though I'm in Texas now and she's in California, it never has mattered. We talk every Monday on the phone. In high school, I'd go over every week to her house and she'd listen to me practice my French, and my grandpa would help me with my Calculus homework.

And she reads my blogs.....everyone.... (thanks grandpa, for printing them out for her!)

As I was driving home last night from my dad's house, I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving for her and the legacy she has given our family. She's definately taught me so much - TRUE lovingkindness, self sacrifuce, gentleness, and above all, she embraces anyone that walks through her door.

I just wanted to say "Thank you, Grandma" - for always being that special person in my life. I love you so much more than I could ever say.

New hobby....

I know, I know.... as if I didn't have enough to do right now with the start of school just a few weeks away....

Well, I have been running my math blog (www.mathnspire.net) for quite sometime and I've stumbled upon using Photoshop CS5 to make some pretty neat little custom clipart for my classroom next year....

And so now I am making little toy bin labels for my playroom for the kids:

What do YOU think about it?? There's going to be some that say "cars", "dolls", "blocks", etc... I think it's pretty cute!

16 Weeks - Update

The last three weeks, I've felt great! Aside from my recent dental procedure, which gave me "dry socket", I really have nothing to complain about because I don't have to deal with morning sickness anymore!

I am currently 16 weeks along, which means that at our next appt. in August we will find out the gender of baby #5 (at 20 weeks - which is also the half-way point). Baby is doing great and I've recently felt it doing somersaults inside at night, which as annoying as it can be at times, is a blessing because I know that the little bean is healthy and active.

Here's a side-profile view of the growing little one - I tend to not "pop" until 18 weeks or later, so sometimes I still forget I am pg!

One of the amazing things with this pregnancy is the fact that we have to step into such a blind, God-trusting faith for our needs. It's funny to me to see the reactions of people around me when I tell them that we are having our 5th baby and we have no baby stuff or a car for transport when the baby is born. I get reactions from excitement to see what God's going to do to ones of sadness and regret for us.

I'm sorry, but God says that EVERY CHILD is a blessing (and an inheretance) from the Lord. And the neat thing is that with every child, He has stretched our income, grown our hearts, and grown our faith in Him.

In church yesterday, I heard a qute that really stuck with me from our pastor's brother. He commented on how in America God has really become more of a "convienece" to us and not a need as in other countries.... There's a ton of truth in that. I felt so convicted in my own heart because it is so easy to think "I've got this, God." Then He reminded me of the promises He spoke to me concerning this baby and how I may trust Him right now, but did I actually believe He could provide those things for us???

Well, yes! I had to reassure my heart, and sometimes I have to do it often.... But God is always faithful. It may not be in our timing, but it is in His.

So, as I sat in service yesterday, Jason and I locked eyes and we knew that God was reminding us that "He's got this".... and He sure does....

Because this is what was waiting in the parking lot for us after second service:

Yes, that's a 2003 Dodge Caravan that seats...SEVEN..... One of my many "concerns" when I talked with God many months ago in trying to convince him that we "couldn't" have 5 kids....

Someone wanted to blesss us with this van - at no cost to us other than the insurance! And how we still doubt what God can do for us!!!!

What are some things you need to remind yourself that God will do in HIS timing?? He hasn't forgotten, and He won't.... don't abandon your dreams that God has for you.

1st Trimester Update

I really am not showing that much, it was the pants button sticking out....LOL

We've finally reached the end of the first trimester and I will have to say it's been a rough ride. I guess I was spoiled with my last three being easier and not having to deal with morning sickness or anything really. This time.... not so much. Let's just say brushing my teeth made me sick :( 

But - the light in all this??

I really had to learn to apply Proverbs 3:5,6 - "Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways awknoledge Him and He will direct your paths".

There were days where I am sure the kids watched cartoons and movies all day. There were days where I had to pull over because I didn't want to get sick in the car. There were days that all I could do to keep my eyes open was feel like a zombie. But God heard my cry for strength each and every time I cried out to Him. So why didn't I do it more often? Maybe because when things start going well, we do tend to think we got this. How quickly we forget where we've been and who got us out of where we are.

All I know is that without God the road through the first trimester could have been SO much worse! I did have some awesome days where I felt like myself and I could get so much done and play with the kids. I am definately looking forward to more of those days as I move into the "honeymoon" phase of this journey.

I did get to see the little bean yesterday at my monthly doctors visit. It is growing right on track and even "waved" at us during the ultra sound. We still have no names yet, although I think once we find out the gender we will be able to narrow down some choices.

Baby "waving" hello

God is so good and the road He's set before us has been good. He never said it would be easy, but He did say that He would give us strength for each new day. And that He has - whenever I've asked for it.

Don't forget the road you've been on and how you've traveled to where you are now. Look back and remind yourself of the goodness of God. It shines bright in the dark.

7 = Perfection

A week or so ago I had a strange dream. I dremt that we were going to have 5 kids. It was one of those dreams in which you feel like it is real. I remember arguing with God over this (like I can even argue with Him, anyways?!). I remember telling Him that I REALLY don't want any more kids - I am content with four - and it's an even number. I remember going through all the logical reasons as to why we can't have another one....

• our truck seats six, not seven
• we gave ALL our baby stuff to others in need
• four is a nice, even number - no one is left out on a roller coaster
• Life is good, comfortable, and pleasant right now

As I was trying to talk some reason in to God during my dream, He reminded me that His plans are bigger than mine, and what if...just what if.... this child was the one that God used to bless our family because we were able to TRULY trust in Him and not lean on what we "know" or "think we know".....

He had a point there. I did feel prepared with the other four and isn't always loke God to bring you WAY out of your comfort zone to show you how much more YOU can actually do?? And the blessings that come from FAITH and stepping out in trust!!!

So, I woke up and chalked my dream up to an "ok God, you've got my attention - I will trust what ever plans you have for us."

I didn't think He was serious....

Here's the irony in all of this. Not only did I have a dream about this, but then later that week, a friend of mine came up to me during our youth group and asked me if I was pregnant. I know people kind of expect it from us, but I thought to myself - "I am never wearing this shirt again!"

Then on Thursday, I made an appt. with my OB for my yearly appt. She is AMAZING, and so she's usually booked 6 months + in advance. The nurse there said they JUST had a cancellation and that I can come in in the beginning of June... Cool! Little did I know that the appt. would be for a different reason.

So, yes, you've probably guessed - we are going to become a family of seven. It's an excited, scary, awesome journey that I can't wait to see play out.

Did you know that 5 means grace and 7 means perfection?? I can say that I feel our family will be complete!

Springtime

I'm going to write a post later on my spring break... it was a beautiful learning time for our marriage and I love how God shows up even bigger than you expect in the midst of brokeness.....

But for now, I want to share with you some pictures I was able to take of the kiddos in the Texas bluebonnetslast week.... I didn't get as many as I would have liked of the older two kiddos, but they were having too much fun running around! Isn't springtime awesome??

New Year's Eve... just a tad late ;)

We usually stay home on New Year's Eve as we have a dog who is not so fond of all the fireworks that go off around the neighborhood. There were a LOT of fireworks this year. I am thinking it was because we weren't allowed to have any on the fourth of July because of the drought.....At any rate, we hung out with our next door neighbors and some of their friends. Jason was the hit of the night, lighting fireworks for all the kids. Can you tell their amazement?

 It's noce to live in a state where you are allowed to personally shoot off fireworks. I can only imagine the stupid things people in CA would try to do... The fireworks we got were cool and not too dangerous. :)

 The girls liked the lights, but not the sounds. Jenna stayed the whole time in the garage drawing on their whiteboard. Occasionally she went inside for a snack...

All in all, we had a ton of fun and didn't have to worry about crazy people on the road because when kids got tired, we just had to walk across the lawn to our house!

PS - LOVE our house still!

Take the Stage

I know it's been a while.... okay, more like a couple months since my last blog post.... I HATE that I haven't written lately, because we have been doing so much as a family! Sometimes it seems like too much as obviously I haven't had time to post all the fun things we've been up to. Well, here's one of many blog updates....

Take the Stage...

Jenna has always had a passion for music, but she was just so stinkin' cute this morning as she draped her blanket over the picnic table and grabbed my hair brush to sing to the radio. It was too cute. I tried to get a video of her, but she wasn't as cute as when she thought no one was watching,... Here's a little video of her an Julianna rockin' out;

Caught on Camera

I FINALLY caught Jayden walking on camera tonight. Seems he doesn't like walking much, but wants to go straight to running....Guess he's got three older siblings to catch up to!

Here he is on video:

Meaning

I truely believe that children are a blessing from the Lord. That is the reason why I've named my blog what I've named it. "Made From Above." Children show us how to be more Christ-like and how to love unconditionally.

I can't imagine losing one of them.

I can't imagine life without any of them to make me smile or challenge me.

But a dear friend of mine and Jason's has to "suck it up" and be strong for her other kids.

There was a news segment this morning about a little girl that was hit while playing with her brother.... I didn't make the connection...

Until I saw her status this morning on facebook and read the newest blog post...

Tears started flowing as Julianna is a few months younger than Aimee is. I remembered bringing them dinner when she was born and learning how to manage a "bigger than average" family from her as she has raising six kids down to a science.

I thought of how I would feel if one of my children had suddenly been "taken" from me a week after his/her birthday and I started to feel a bit of anger....

Then I remembered this: when we are absent from this world, we are present with the Lord. Although her family here will always feel a hole and a missing piece, she is now whole and God is going to do something AMAZING through this tragedy. Hard things come our way to strengthen us and to give us an even more powerful testimony.

You might feel helpless, sorrow, grief, anger, whatever....but remember even in a short three years of a person's life, a HUGE impact can be made on the people around......

I felt a challege to myself.... How am I going to impact the world around me? I have a quote in my classroom and I am going to follow it this year: "Be the change you want to see in the world." There's too much sorrow, greed and overall moral decline. I'm going to be the light that I saw little Aimee have already; at such a tender age of just three years old.

Thank you, Aimee for teaching me so much in your short little life. I know your mom and dad are proud of you! :)

Merry CHRIST*mas

"Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord"
~Luke 2:11

Josh trying to peek in the presents Christmas morning...he got caught

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas or not is irrelevant. It's so hard in today's world to bring the focus back to the reason why we even celebrate this day. All around us there's Santa, presents, and commercials telling us to "buy more; spend more; gotta have it all right now"... It's hard to SLOW down and take some time out to spend with your family when your kids are constantly asking you for the "latest and greatest" toy.

That's why when Jason and I got married, we discussed Chistmas and what we would do when we had kids. And I am glad we did. Here's some key things we decided:

• Christmas day is spent with just us. No going anywhere, or getting dressed. Just a time to focus on being thankful for our family that God has blessed us with and reconnecting with our kids without TV, media, or internet bombarding our bonding.
• We tell the kids the story of Santa. He was a real person who helped a lot of children. but he's not alive anymore. Yes, that's right - my kids don't believe in Santa. And I like it that way. The reason for Christmas isn't about smoe guy in a red suit with flying reindeer that you believe in from 2 - 8 and then discover he's not real?! In fact a lady at Starbucks asked Josh what Santa was bringing him for Christmas. His reply: "Santa's not alive anymore, but Jesus is!"
• We read the meaning of Christmas from the Bible and discuss what it means and why
  we even celebrate Christmas in the first place...BEFORE presents and breakfast.

It's different, I know, but it works for us and it keeps the focus on what we feel it needs to be on. Not some over-commercialized spending spree, but on a tiny baby that changed the history of the world.

We were totally blessed this Christmas season. With Jason being out of work for a month and then getting a crumby job after that, we simply did not have the funds or resources for Christmas presents. We usually get the kids only a few anyways, but a family at our church felt led to bless us and our children with a van full of gifts. It was a true testimony of how giving can make a difference and how to be the "hands and feet of Jesus."

Jayden loves his Lightening ride-on toy

Jenna had a blast with her Weebles car

Josh got a "big boy" bike with removable training wheels. He's already zooming around the neighborhood

Julianna plays "moosik" all the time :)

We try and teach our kids this as well. Every 6 months we go through the playroom and their closets and we donate toys and clothes to other people who need them. It's awesome to see the kids give and be blessed by it. And they do it without any hassle. I have been blessed by their selflessness.

Thank you for your gifts and your testimony of selflessness to our children!

Remember that Christmas isn't about us. It is about recieving the best present ever though - the baby born at night and changed the world.

Christmas Eve 2011

We usually tend to "lay low" on Christmas Eve. Not only are there crazy people out there doing last minute shopping without manners, but Jason usually has to work. This year was quite the exception. He. actually. had. off.....

Let that sink in for a moment.....

So we enjoyed a nice morning together in our jammies, not worrying about having to go anywhere. We enjoyed a nice Saturday together, and it felt like Christmas outside. It was in the low 40's, cloudy and rainy.... I was secretly praying it would drop 10 degrees for snow, but alas, it stayed above freezing.

We also had a lovely candlelight church service that evening with songs, a message about the true meaning of Christmas and reminders to not get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. The girls got to wear their Christmas dresses one last time and the bows I made for them. We had a lovely time together.

Josh and his friend, Brooklyn (she's a missionary with her parents in England now)

After church we drove around to look at all the lights around the neighborhoods. It was magic - just like when I was a kid :)

When we got home, a new tradition is letting the kids open their stocking stuffers. This year I had to wrap their stocking contents as Jayden kept pulling them down and we didn't want him to get hurt with the stocking holders. :( It's amazing what you can find at the Target $1 section!

Josh liked the activity book

Jenna liked the lip gloss

Julianna liked the stickers (they're everywhere in our house)

and Jayden liked traveling around with the remote

How was your Christmas Eve?

Christmas "Adam"

Lighthouse at the entrance to my parent's neighborhood on Lake Conroe

I heard a joke the otherday on facebook on the day before Christmas Eve that went like this: "Today is Christmas Adam, because Adam came before Eve".... so I thought I'd title my post about the day before Christmas Eve, "Christmas Adam"...

Lake Conroe....which is REALLY low from the drought

Every year we spend a day with my dad, his wife, my sister and nieces. This year we actually celebrated before Christmas! It was a lot of fun, and Jason actually got off work early to celebrate with us. I felt especially grateful as all the family is in CA still and holidays always make me miss them, but glad to at least have my dad here. :)

So what does one do at a typical family gathering here in Texas??

As with any family get together with my dad at his house, we have lots of food and lots of fun. It was raining so we couldn't play volleyball, but we had a great time together inside with all the kiddos. Here's some snapshots of our fun times together - the only one missing was my brother-in-law, CJ, who is currently finishing his training for the Coast Guard...

Jenna and her cousin, Lindi (2)

Julianna and her cousin, Caitlyn (3.5)

Jason & Jayden

The Christmas Tree

Reading the meaning of Christmas and learning what the greatest gift of all was

Jenna loves her princess lip gloss set

Jason helping Julianna open her gifts

Jayden got some board books!

The grandkids got a dress up bin and were enthrawled with all the princess costumes!

Josh liked the cowboy costume

Fairy Princess Jenna

Silly Joshie!

Can you even see in those, Julianna??

Another family tradition is we dress the kids up to renact the manger scene. Each year we've been fortunate and had a "Baby's 1st Christmas" to portray Jesus. This year we didn't! Jayden got to be Jesus again, although being a 13 month old Jesus, one doesn't want to lay down in the stable. He did try to open the wise men's gifts and pull on the head dresses though! I would normally have pictures, but my camera was full and I didn't get any this year! :( sadness....