Blogger Quota

On a technical note....when trying to post this morning I was informed I have exceeded the storage quota on blogger for pics and I have limited space left for future posts. Soooo...no more pics for awhile. Though it seems the best way to keep up with life right now is through pics until I have time to write again. We're now checking into what it would take for the blog to be moved to it's own website..completely independent of blogger. I have absolutely no clue how to establish a website or move everything from this site to a new one. But...change is in the works! I'll continue writing on here until we can get it figured out. But until then....no pics. If any of you know how to, or know of anyone that can, accomplish setting up a web domain and transferring all data onto a new site....please let me know!

Surviving March

2 weeks old!

So this post had this original title, then I reassessed and felt a little guilty over it's seeming pessimism so I changed it....then sat down today for the 110th time to write a post and realized....there are some days that can't ever accurately convey what life is like right now other than.....surviving March. When you have a few ticks and a leak....and a teenage boy whose heart longs to go home....to the point of pining non stop some days....and a landlord that fixes nothing but watches our life from afar and frets over everything kids do, a landlord that's actually becoming a bit creepy, and a husband that is pouring himself into school day and night...and rightfully so....it becomes a bit of a load to carry. The baby, the teenage boy, and academy I can deal with. What seems to send it sailing into the deep blue depths of insanity would be the landlord, the posts falling out of 2nd story decks, pvc pipes that don't unscrew in an entirely optimal manner, the inability to use the van due to a little tick issue...and a leak...or 3...that results in the need for life rafts in the basement.

If I wasn't so head over heels in love and living on a cloud right now this month might be a little tougher to conquer. But, as is it, life is a little more than laughable at this point. So...I spend my days waging a tick war, washing every article of water laden clothing we have ever owned that now reside in sinking boxes, drying out school books and trying to salvage any piece of the life we have left that floats in a lake in the basement...cause we did, after all, choose to leave our entire life packed up...in the basement...once we learned we were staying here. I rescue fish from sink drains and busy myself trying to piece together the piece of crap pvc pipe that wasn't installed correctly to begin with...the one that completely disconnected from sink at the DRAIN HOLE when I went to unscrew it...yep, the same drain the landlord has "fixed" 4 times in the 6 months we have lived here. I plunge non working toilets on a fairly regular basis. I try to maintain my sense of humor and resist the urge of getting a restraining order as the landlord comes and goes much too often while Brad is away. And I nurse a new baby and refrain from renaming myself Bessie. So that pretty much sums up life here....ticks, leaks, fish, drains, pvc pipe, landlord, toilets, clothes, carpet.....all while looking through rose colored glasses because I am desperately in love with this new tiny boy in our lives. This chubby, rosy cheeked, bright eyed cherub that eats and sleeps and doesn't have much to say about life right now...utterly content to be wrapped in the blankets of love from the multitude of people in his tiny life.

On the baby note, I somehow accomplished the feat of sliding back into pre pregnant size 8 jeans at 11 days post partum. Much to my delight, zipper actually went up quite effortlessly after having fought with it...and won....3 days previously. I'm now under pre pregnancy weight....and very ready to run. Cautious husband strongly advised against it and since I have absolutely no desire to ever in a lifetime end up with rabdo again I have made decision to let body fully recover from birth...and wait til sweet boy is 3 weeks old. Spring is absolutely amazing in the east...it defies words....so running amidst it all is quite the motivating factor and will be amazing.....or as amazing as running gets in the messed up sort of way that it is. So, next Monday it is! P90X and Journey to the 8K....cause a 1/2 marathon is a little optimistic at this point. Richmond. Nov 2012. I'm gonna run it.

So.....somewhere....over the rainbow.....I will blog again and tell the many stories that filled our life this month. Someday. But right now I'm going to refrain from mooing, go nurse a baby, throw yet more loads of soaked clothing into washing machine....take van to carwash so I can thoroughly vacuum the entirety of it all while refraining from depositing tick eggs into our shop vac. I'm going to set up a 1 acre obstacle course for excited children and I will not look at another carseat, strip one down, or attempt to put another one together for no less than 5 years. And eventually I will blog again...someday. For now....more pics. On the pic note...the battery in our brand new camera has completely died so camera has to be returned. It's under full warranty but it's taking for-ev-er to get through the replacement process. Back to phone pics.

Sweet love.

When there are no couches....which I'm beginning to really miss now. It only took 6 months to miss them and start dreaming of luxuriousness. My nighttime dreams now consist of deeply cushioned couches with pull out beds hidden within....especially after yesterday's brick sitting episode.

And when the camera comes out kids immediately gravitate towards it for their moment of fame. I'm especially fond of the camo gun that made the pic. Grant's statement of the day yesterday...

"Mom? I've decided I don't want to be in the army when I grow up anymore...cause they die."

Me..."Ok".

Grant..."I want to be on the SWAT team."

Playing with the phone. I actually kind of hate the whole self portrait phone pics but I amused children by doing it anyway...and am fulfilling the promise to post it. Lovely.

Watching Grayson back up the van.

Forbidden climbing. I must add here...this house is merely a rental so making it homey is not of the greatest priority right now. So, that little fire hazard of a plug thing going on in the background....yep, not so concerned about hiding it. Oneday, when we settle here, I'll make a house a home. Although, I will say, it's getting a little embarrassing having people over...especially all of the amazing ones that brought dinner. The carpet...yep, we told him not to put it in and we agreed to rent it on those terms....linoleum throughout. So, the carpet's a little humbling as we have guests....or really a lot humbling. And any furniture or wall hangings creating a homey environment...they don't exist. So our visitors are greeted by nasty crapped out carpet and a bare home. We just let the kids fill it up and create the warm environment...and it's less crap to move when we find a new rent house...with hard floors.

When you're #11 you can't afford to be picky. This is what happens when you tell daddy to buy cheap and save the difference. He comes home with this. Still makes me laugh. Real mean wear pink!

Officially settled into the new sleeping arrangement.

Being blessed by 2 entire weeks worth of meals brought to us by the church. Studying husband in the background.

Spring in the east. Just a glimpse of what the trees in our yard look like right now.

Our date night buddy.

Stage 2 of the deticking project.

Stripping them all down.....without makeup. Sexy.

There are no words to ever in a lifetime accurately convey just how much I loathe putting carseats back together. About the 5th hour into it and the 104th forgotten piece my patience was just a little bit tested. About the 75th overlooked part I began to seriously debate the importance of chest pieces. I now have bruises in the shape of brick imprints on my butt due to the hours of sitting there conquering the carseat task.

When all the laundry baskets are put up and out of reach they get the rolling office chair.

And when the office chair is turned over and stored under the desk.....

....and when that's not tall enough.....

Yes...they do get in trouble for this but they are quite the motivated and undeterred ones. One thing's certain....they're great problem solvers.

Just Pics

Pics will have to suffice for now until I can get back in a routine of writing. It's pretty insane how in love we all are. It's always amazing to me how much life a new baby brings to the family....shrouds our days in softness and seems to bring forth the love not only for this fresh, new life but for each other in general, as a whole for the entire family. Children step up more than before, they celebrate each other and the company provided in siblings, excitement pervades, love abounds. Husband and I sit in bed at night and marvel over this new gift we have been given, how the two of us have been used to create this little life...so similar in looks yet so individually different....glimpses of him, glimpses of me and little glimpses of the 10 siblings that have so eagerly anticipated his arrival...this tiny little gift to be unwrapped by all.

He's an amazingly content sweet boy....mild, peaceful and easily comforted. Nights are going well so far with only 2 nursings so the days are already becoming easier. I find it amazing we are parents of 8 boys. How in love I am with our abundance of tree climbing, bike riding, adventure seeking, hunting, trapping, fishing, houseful of little men. And how grateful I am for our 3 girly girls that have learned these skills and hobbies also because of all the outside loving boys in their lives. There are no words for how blessed I know we are...despite the obstacles we have had to overcome. The gratefulness I have and the love that exists for my husband, how we have grown together over the last 15 years of our life and the children with which we have been given is overwhelming to this heart of mine. This life I live is a pretty amazing one.

Staring and trying to talk to his mama. He has my heart in every way.

The drunk milk state....and just ignore the carpet.

And the full tummy sleep...truly ignore the carpet.

Tree loving boys

Loved by everybody.

Wide awake and loving on his Evye

Bedtime love

He wasn't a fan of having his face squished up....even if it was with good, brotherly love intentions. I think my favorite part is the dirt covered hands holding onto Graham's head.

Life with twins....

No...I don't wear this shirt everyday...despite the perceived story these pictures tell.

They figured out the art of dumping a basket of clean clothes out and using it as a step stool sizable enough to house them both. Never a dull moment and never slows down. Somehow I've either chosen to forget how much Garrison and Grant got into....or they were just entirely mild compared to this little duo.

He has a good childhood.

Climbing out of his own crib began....and he was quite proud of it. Rowdy, forever on the move, red headed, wild man. He's the next apprentice of Grant.

The jailbreak....and crushed up petrified bread croutons he'd unearthed somewhere in the hidden crevices of the room.

After doing a number on the room we discovered him in the floor and the gaping hole now in the side of his crib.

Floor vents.....still a novelty around here. Digging everything out of it that he'd dropped down in his free ranging state.

Evye's attempt at a self portrait with all 3 involved.

Decision was made that since he no longer can be kept within crib to go ahead and transition them up. Not the easiest transition or the best timing in the world...but after one long night of fighting sleep both are finally going to bed uneventfully and on time....without roaming for hours. But they never seem to get the hang of staying on the mattress.

After 2 nights of consistency and lots of training....they're finally starting to get the hang of it.....I think.

The Birth of Lincoln Gates Eliakim

Baby Gates arrived this past Monday, March 12th, at 40 weeks 2 days, despite all the "precautions" we had taken to avoid an early in the week baby. Somehow I had convinced myself that the power of positive thought would certainly play a roll in timing his arrival and avoiding anything before Thursday evening. I made plans and arranged for everything to take place Thursday or Friday evening...as schooling husband was given one day off. If baby arrived on Thursday we'd have all day Friday and then the weekend before his need to return. As it was, baby Gates arrived on a Monday...in the very middle of the day with absolutely all of the children awake and playing. I had Tuesday to recoup and by Wednesday was already back up and running a household.....not entirely optimal by any stretch...but we made it work. By Thursday night I had a sinus infection which was entirely unrelated to birthing a baby a mere 3 days before...but it certainly hasn't aided the recovery time any. Admittedly, Wednesday and Thursday were a bit rough but by Friday we seemed to have found a routine that works. So it is that body recovers from having a baby while having 10 other children still home and a husband that is absent from 6:30am until 6:30pm. By Friday night I began to run fever due to sinus stuff....but schooling husband is home for the weekend and children and I all survived until Friday...a massive success in my mind. I'm a little bit exhausted but all is indeed well.

I stand in absolute awe over the miracle of this tiny, downy headed baby that sleeps beside me, nuzzles velvety face into my neck. If these days could just last a little bit longer than they do. I watch our others run and play, walk and talk, and I know that in a mere 3 months this roly poly boy will be even an even rolier and polier, smiling handsome interactive boy and 6 months from now he'll be sitting and have changed so much from this tiny baby now cradled, sleeping in my arms. Just 12 months from this moment he'll be eating, walking and playing amidst the others.....so loved in every way. So I sit and I hold him for hours on end, nurse him through the night, listen to his squeaks and grunts, smell his new skin.....because I know it's for but a fleeting moment in time. And I wish the clock would just tick a little slower. These newborn days are but only a blink in time....and it's so bittersweet in every way. I'm so in love with watching them all grow, but oh how I love these sweet newborn days spent cradling this new life...watching each of the others marvel over the newest brother they have been given. As always, I stand in awe over this moment in time. So amazing, so sweet, so soft, as we come to know this new tiny person in our lives.

His Birth Story....

I woke throughout the night several times to larger than usual contractions Sunday night/early Monday morning, but nothing to warrant saying anything to anyone. I woke with husband at 5 am and by 6:30 body was showing physical signs that labor was imminent...probably within 24-48 hours. With that turn of events I alerted him to changes before he left for work and told him of the 3-4 contractions experienced in the night. As I knew it would, it drove him a bit nuts to have to leave but, knowing it could still be a couple of days away and the fact he can miss very little of academy, he drove away into the dark morning and I began to prepare for everyone's morning routine. We were supposed to make a trip to Target that day and head back to the lake for more hiking...but due to body changes decision was made to stay home.

Contractions were non existent for the morning and it confirmed to me that we were still a day or two away from seeing a baby. Restless husband texted every hour and called at every break. I continued telling him to stay put...that nothing would happen soon. I laid down for a nap with little ones at 2 and at 4 was awakened by contractions once again...and a phone call from husband. They were consistently every 20-30 minutes apart but strong enough to know that it'd be going somewhere. Schooling husband could hold out no more and, despite my protest, said he was headed home early. I continued to maintain it'd take the entire day for anything to build and we might just have a baby sometime after midnight. Somewhere in my head I maintained that labor would gradually build, pick way up after children were in bed, and we'd have a baby sometime late that night as children slept.

Rising from nap it became a little more apparent that was not the case. At 4 pm contractions were 20-30 minutes apart. I began getting babies up and picking up house only to quickly discover the more I moved the more I had and the more intense they became. By 4:16 pm they were every 3 minutes from what I could estimate...not even close to going away or decreasing in intensity. Earlier I had told Brad to stop by the store for easy dinner stuff. Somewhere in there he called saying his car, which we've never had a problem with, suddenly would not start as he attempted to leave store parking lot...and could I come get him. At this point I inform him that this was going a little faster than anticipated, they were coming about every 3 minutes and it might take me a few minutes to get out the door, as contractions were a little closer together than they had been 20 minutes ago. He stayed on phone while I had two contractions and at that point began to panic a little, saying to just leave right that moment and pick him up...now. After getting kids rounded up and in house I eventually made it to truck. Having just cleared the driveway phone rings saying car had started and he was headed home...fairly swiftly. By now it was 4:45 and contractions were now at 2 minutes or so apart...maybe closer. Not sure. I never time them...I absolute loathe timing them....so it was all just an estimate as I mentally tried to take note of the frequency...since it was going a little faster than my planned birth.

By the time he drove up I was happy and talkative between contractions but leaning against door frames when they did come. With no time to fill up the birth pool decision was made to seek relief in tub until we could get around to the pool. Children carried groceries in while he filled tub. In my happy little in-between contractions state I'd been randomly posting progress updates on Facebook. Unknowingly to me, we now had tons of people following our labor on fb. I still have people emailing and coming to us saying they were "laboring with me". I find this more than a bit humorous and a little bit amazing now. At the time I was completely unaware just how many people were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our baby with us. So, with husband not so entirely convinced phone needed to be mixed with bath water he took over updating while I labored..reading me all the comments and staying quite amused by them all himself.

I climbed into tub around 5:15 but it left much to be desired so I continued asking if it was possible to fill the pool up...knowing as fast as it was going there was no time. To say that it was small, hard and confined doesn't even come close to doing the scene any justice. So, I lay there with visions of a huge, soft, deep, inflatable pool floating through my head as I tried to get comfy in the tiny confines of hard, shallow tub. By 5:45....30 minutes after entering water....phone had been laid aside and things grew intense.

Worthy of note here too, would be the fact that labor was to be kept under wraps by outside children in an effort to keep deputy landlord at bay. But, as things seem to always go with excited children involved, landlord who stood on his own deck next door, was indeed informed of baby's very impending arrival. At this news he then asks trampoline jumping kids..."So is your mom in the bathtub?"...as he seems forever amused and perplexed by this. So, with me laboring in tub landlord was now filled with visions of a baby being born in his rental house. To his credit, he stayed away, despite his previous offers to assist, and labor continued on with good landlord now waiting for news of baby's arrival also.

I can truthfully say this labor and birth were not nearly as effortless as Graham and Gatlin's birth. The word discomfort is what continues to come back to mind even 16 months after their arrival. Pain was entirely minimal and pushing was effortless. One push for 7 lb 8 oz Baby A and he emerged into a watery world before being brought up by his daddy's big hands. 2 pushes for 7 lb 5 oz Baby B and he was born...with minimal effort and no true pain. The myth that kids just fall out after you birth about 5 of them continues to irritate. As this birth proved there is still a massive amount of work, pain and tears involved in getting something that big out of confined spaces....whether you succeed in accomplishing that feat in 2 hours or 42 hours. By 5:50 or so pushing began. But far from the last birth experience, this baby's head and size proved to be much much bigger than his 16 month old twin brothers'. And so I pushed...and I pushed...and I pushed....for 15 agonizing minutes. And what was supposed to be rather painless in water was not so entirely painless at all. Tears fell as progress was slow and it was very much a 3 steps forward 1-2 steps back process. Husband comforted as only he can, required eye contact when I was convinced baby was quite stuck and encouraged when I saw no hope of the whole thing ever ending. And finally....after 15 entire minutes of pushing....our new baby boy emerged into shallow tub water at 6:06 pm only an hour after husband had arrived home. Older children waited inside listening for a baby's cry, middle ones jumped happily outside, and babies ran through the house playing and jabbering as we welcomed our 8th boy to the family. Had Brad listened to me and stayed at school until 5:00 traffic would have put him home at 6:30 and I would've been on my own. Thankfully, he knows me better than any other and he responds when he feels the urgency within. So it was that he arrived home at 4:45 and we welcomed a baby boy at 6.

Baby Gates weighed in at 9'6, holding the title to heaviest baby born to us yet. Before he set the new record Gavin held it at 9'5.

And now, due to so many having asked and the intense interest ...the quick story behind his name. The more we have grown the more we have realized how much emphasis God puts on a name. So, after much thought we wanted something that symbolizes North Carolina and what the Lord has done in bringing us here, what He's taught us, how we continue to grow, and the absolutely amazing things we've seen Him do on our behalf. Carolina is the feminine form of Charles. The two states of Carolina are named after British king Charles I. Since we already have a Charles after my grandpa and my sister does also we didn't want to venture down that road again. We both really love the name Lincoln and it means "from the lake land" or "settlement by the lake". It summed life up pretty well after having come from such severe life altering drought to...water, rain, life....where all of life flourishes.

Gates means "gateway" or "gates that lead into". So together it means "gateway into the lakeland" or "water land". Pretty fitting.

Eliakim is Hebrew and Biblically based. After surviving '09 we felt really led to give Graham and Gatlin Hebrew names in order to honor what God had done in our lives......giving us more children when they said we probably wouldn't have anymore and everything that happened that year. To us their names are remembrance stones as those that the Israelites erected everytime God moved on their behalf. So Graham's Hebrew name "Elishua" means "my God is wealth". Speaking life after what we had been through and after feeling so attacked and poverty stricken in every way....financially, child bearing, the wellbeing of our children and family....and then we were given our sweet, red headed, wild man, Baby A. Gatlin's Hebrew name "Elishama" means "whom God answers". It was so personal and close to our heart that we didn't make public the Hebrew part of their names for a very long time. But after all we have walked since then and what God continues to do we knew we wanted to do the same again with each baby thereafter. Especially after the moving journey.

Bringing us to Baby Gates. Eliakim is Hebrew and means "whom God will raise up". In Hebrew you read right to left so when put together his name in its entirety means "whom God will raise up in the gates of the water land". Symbolic of Brad's and my life here and what God is doing but also dedicating his little life to the Lord too.

And so it is that we welcome our sweet new boy to this world. How absolutely amazing his little life is and how totally, wrapped up in love with him we all are.

Going from bath to bed...with a baby!

Waking up to a flower on my pillow.

Its a Boy!!!!

We welcome Lincoln "Gates" Eliakim!!! Meaning of name and symbolism behind it to come. Born at 6:06 pm EST after a very FAST labor. He weighs 9'6 and has a very sizable head that did not want to come out as easily as his 16 month old twin brothers'. So glad labor is over and he's here! There was no time to set up the birth pool so he was born in the bathtub. :) Sweet beautiful boy born at 40 wks 2 days.

Maybe Baby! 40 weeks 2 days!

Looks like it might be a good day to have a baby! Early labor has started. Schooling husband is staying there until things pick up enough to need him home. Kids play outside on a beautiful day and I clean house while we wait! Thinking we might just welcome a baby sometime after midnight or perhaps tomorrow. Still very early on in the process.

Due Date Day!

Using the picture from this past week, at 39.5 weeks, that's already been posted...but you get the general idea.

No word from baby as of yet....except that it's more than a little comfortable in its current environment at this point and has no intention of coming out in the near future. The pregnancy app on my phone actually saw fit to send an alert this morning stating that I have reached 40 weeks and today is delivery date. Really??? I hadn't noticed. Thanks for the heads up. It'd be nice if you could kindly inform baby of that fact.

Contractions are enough of a nuisance to diminish the desire or ability to do much of anything right now....but not enough to go anywhere or lead to a baby. We had a huge party to attend tonight but they're frequent enough to not feel so great and nausea has set in. Church will probably not happen in the morning in order to keep little people from the congestion and stuff they seem to always bring home with them. Long periods of sleep are non existent at this point so I seem to wake at 3:30am and be up for the day. The quiet hours are pretty blissful....so I lay pondering all of life in white moonlight shadows. I find it a bit humorous, as many times as we've done this now, that with every move or change of positions husband sits up alertly asking if I need anything or if contractions are too hard to handle. I assure him they are reasonably non existent and to return to sleep.


And just so we're all on the same page here....that whole full moon theory is a crock of crap.....still! This is the 2nd pregnancy in a row we have proven it entirely, woefully false. There are people...thousands of them....in this world that really actually swear by it...midwives, dr's, nurses, moms throughout the world....that will tell you it is proven fact that more babies are born on a full moon. But to the uterus made of steel....apparently full moons do not phase the gestating, full term womb. So, we sat and watched in awe as the massive, golden orb rose over the hills last night, shadows of tree limbs stretched across looking like drawings that fill pages of children's books....and then we slept....until I woke at 3:30 and watched it roll across the night sky filling our room in soft white light and gently illuminating husband's sleeping form. I then continued to watch the sun come up...and the full moon sank low onto the horizon....and faded into the west...without one single worthwhile contraction.

And in the midst of all the sleeplessness I try and wrap my head around the fact that in order to get a baby here I must labor and bring forth our baby. No matter how many times one does it....the thought is just a daunting one. As absolutely life altering and amazing as the process of birth is....the power that it requires of mind and body are overwhelming and somewhat supernatural. It sounds so easy...it seems so easy...knowing women do this everyday...everywhere. It seems so natural and so....common. Yet as the power of labor and birth overtake body and new life is pushed into this world it is a very overwhelming, supernatural event. There is nothing even remotely common about birthing a baby. So I lay quietly in darkness praying over the birth of this sweet new person that moves within. I prepare mentally for it and I wonder how different it will be from the others. My heart trembles with excitement and anticipation of meeting this new person we have waited so long to see...yet stands sobered with the respect that is required of labor and birth. As I write at this very moment, one of the sweetest friends in all the world, due 5 days before me, currently labors with her own baby. And next it will be my turn.


Preoccupation reigns at this point and concentration on anything is difficult. So, from now until baby I fear this blog may become a bit boring and a little redundant. But, I will post as soon as anything gets started.


And for lack of absolutely anything else better to do right now...and for the sheer entertainment of me...cause I seriously doubt this amuses anyone as much as it does my own self....here's the 40 week pics of each pregnancy since our 1st twin pregnancy. It never ceases to amaze me how different each one is, how different I carry each one and what their weight differences were.

40 weeks with twins #1 (babies 4&5). They came 3 days early weighing 6'4 & 7'2.

40 weeks with baby #6. He weighed 8'2 and was 2 days late.

40 weeks with Baby #7. He was 5 days late and weighed 9'5.

39 weeks with Baby #8. She was 5 days early...our only early single baby yet...and weighed 7'14. And yes, the picture is horrifically awful and blurry...but it's the only picture I bothered to take at 39 weeks....because I never thought I wouldn't be taking a 40 week picture!

40 weeks with twins #2 (babies 9&10). They came 2 days late and weighed 7'8 and 7'5.

And 40 weeks with this baby! Still going...