Mission: Organization

Well, to say I'm nesting this time around is way more than an understatement. In fact, it doesn't even really come close to what I've taken on in these last few weeks. But to have done this in the middle of the hot summer......and humidity too (they say it's the worst it's been in years)......is really kind of overwhelming. But, I'm committed so there's no turning back now! I can't just start a project and then quit 1/2 way through. And to say there aren't enough hours in the day is also a massive understatement. All the while I've not been writing on here I've been busy and wrapped up in some over-my-head project. I told Brad tonight that I am my worst enemy and I really wish I could just sit down and relax for a little while. Oh well, maybe the end result will be going into labor???? I doubt it since I seem to have a uterus made of steel but, if nothing else, I'm left with a completely wonderful system, surrounded by organization and a great routine for the house and children.

The night before last I stayed up until 2 am organizing every kitchen drawer we have. I pulled them all out and trashed all the junk and organized what was left. Every drawer is now equipped with small divider baskets and a place for everything. I printed out responsibility charts for the children and hung them up. They are divided into morning, afternoon and evening duties. I also posted lists in each place for what a thorough and complete job is. On the frig now hangs a "Kitchen Duty" chart with the jobs that make up doing the kitchen thoroughly. The dining room is now also graced with one with the appropriate chart, along with the outside and an an extra paid job chart that has a designated job for each day of the week. I have no clue how we'll integrate all of this once we start school back up but for now it gets us by Gavin's arrival and takes the load off of Brad. It'll be trail and error for awhile but I figure by the time school rolls back around I can tweak it enough to really make it functional for us all. I'm actually pretty excited. It feels good to finally be living in a structured, straight and clean house again but I feel a little guilty over how anal I am about it right now. The children are a little worn out from it all but I'm determined to get everybody into a routine of not only putting up stuff where it belongs but also pitching in to do their part. In fact, what I did was keep a list for a few days of the stuff I am always telling them to get done over and over and just organized it into a chart and divided it up into Grayson's list and Evye's list. It's not really anything way different than what we were doing except it has taken my nagging out of the picture. All they have to do now is go to their chart and read what's up next. The hard part is living through them getting the hang of carrying it out. It takes them soooooo long since they lay all over everything and procrastinate on it all. But, it's only taken a week for them to figure out pretty quickly that they end up doing nothing but chores all day when each one takes them an hour. But, when they pick up the pace and really put their mind and heart into it they are done in about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the time of day and have hours of free time without having to be called in for anything.

In the midst of organizing kitchen drawers I also have gone back to work on demolishing the built in. I haven't quite broken the news to Brad that the newest discovery that it held for us today was that there is no tile under it. He will be quite the unhappy one and if I tell him now he'll tell me to stop all work on it and leave it. But we're way too far into it for that so I'll continue the work on my own. I figure he'll discover it on his own soon enough.


(Before bed pic)


I also completely organized our bathroom. I was so tired of living like I never have time for anything that I figured I'd make it look like our little retreat in our bed and bath. But along with that came the total dislike for our bedding....with just cause. We've been living now with a torn up quilt that was shredded in the wash the 1st time it went through.....and it's been through numerous times now so you can imagine the state of it at this point. But since it's only a queen we also have a cheap navy king comforter that lays at the bottom and when bedtime comes I get the comforter and he gets the quilt. If the bed doesn't get made up it looks horrendous. Oh....and then we have the peachy pink sheets and pillow cases to round out the look. Not exactly anything extravagant. So, about a week ago I remembered a Linens and Things gift card for 100.00 I was given 3 Christmas's ago. I knew it desperately needed to be used but I kept saving it for a day I could go into the store and pick out some much needed rubbermaid or tupperware stuff for the kitchen. We have NO food saver containers! So, we store everything in plastic containers that cottage cheese and bar-b-q come in. But, they closed the Linens and Things here so I decided I'd get online and just order a bed in a bag. I figured anything would be tons better than what we have going on the bed at the current moment. We've made it this long with no food savers so I can certainly make it work a little longer. So, I found something that was on sale from 160.00 down to 99.99. With the use of my gift card we got a completely new luxurious bedding set and I paid only the 23.00 for shipping. Not bad! It definitely doesn't quite compliment the purple Easter egg/eggplant colored walls but that can be fixed with some primer and a can of paint. The colors of the bedding are burgundy and gold and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. It was the only really decent thing they had that I liked, though I still wouldn't consider it quite the "me" look. But, as I said, anything is tons better than what we had going! But I know there's no way in the world we're doing burgundy walls and I can't really envision gold walls either. So, it's off to the color charts and decorating books to see what other alternative I can come up with that'll be really cool and compliment the whole burgundy/gold thing we now have going. I still have to go buy some Euro size pillows for the Euro shams that came with it and I also need 2 more king pillows for the gold pillowcases since Brad and I sleep on standard sz pillows. I figure I can buy some really plump king size pillows to put the shams on and then switch the ones that the shams are now on to the sheet cases since they're kind of flat and lifeless at this point.

(After bed pic - complete with really cute kid modeling it)




And I guess the home improvement had to carry over into self improvement at some point. So, while in town the other day I got everything I needed to organically color my own hair with vegetable stain. The good thing is that if I really screw it up it only lasts for 3 wks! And if I do get the hang of it it is something I can keep up with on my own without having to pay the 100.00 fee to go have it maintained every 5 wks. I haven't had it cut or even trimmed in a year....and yes, I now have the fantastically glorious witch hair to prove it - way stringy ends and frizzy all over. So, I'm going this week to have it trimmed for a fraction of what it costs to do the whole cut and color thing. I plan on doing the coloring before the shower so if it does turn out horrifically it'll be a funny joke and something I shall well remember....as probably the whole town will with me!

Oh..and in the midst of all the organizing I also tackled the childrens' closets. They are in perfectly organized order and easy for each of the children to maintain. Even Garrison and Grant can properly put their shoes where they belong. And the utility room has also been completely redone and organized more efficiently. And then the paid job on Fri for the children has been deemed "Mission: Organization" after the HGTV show. I have made it fun and gotten together little combat stuff and military helmets and headed it up with a combat theme. Each Friday we tackle a much needed organization project. For the upcoming month the 1st Fri is the entertainment center and all of the movies (cleaning, clearing out, trashing and giving away), the 2nd Friday is my closet, the 3rd is the playroom toys and 4th is the many boxes of childrens' clothes (cleaning, clearing out, trashing and giving away). They think it's fun and a much needed break from the dreaded toilet cleaning and window washing days of the week.

Anyway, that's the latest on this end. Still no signs of labor even being remotely close. I'm sure I'll hold out until at least the 2nd week of July. I really don't mind as long as labor goes quickly and smoothly. I am praying for a very fast and swift delivery with this one. I think maybe because my other single babies have taken so long that I really dread that thought. My hope and fervent prayer is that this one flies by with not much time to even think or realize what's happening. I'd love to wake up in labor and then stand up and realize it's time to have a baby. I look forward to seeing what God has in store with this one and what we will learn and be blessed with during the course of this birth.

Full Term......37 wks!

Well, they say, according to the books and internet stuff, that baby can come anyday now and he is now considered full term, though I am still 3 wks away from being the official 40 wks...which I always pass up by a week or so. So, based on the wonderful fact that I am now a beached whale I thought I would honor that and bring some form of recognition to it by watching the journey......or stomach.....progress. I don't think I have ever peed so much or felt so big in all of my life. This seriously rivals anything I felt with Garrison and Grant and to make it so much worse......there's only 1 kid in there!!! So, I will post these pics proudly and once this baby comes I will be beating down the doors of Jenny Craig! Then I'll follow my journey on the down hill side of the scale through those pics! I'm kind of tired of Weight Watchers and need some new inspiration and motivation. Not to mention I'll do great due to the fact everything's there and already waiting to be eaten. No thinking through the points and stuff or how many servings or crap I've already had on the Core Plan. So, I can hardly wait to drop all of this weight! I love being pregnant but at this point it feels a bit as though I've been pregnant for 18 straight months! Oh, what it will be to see 140 on the scale!!! I actually was picking out clothes this morning based on what is figure flattering. Ummm.......so I don't really think there is such a thing at this point in any pregnancy. There comes a point where I'm just big and round and full of baby and there's not really any overcoming it or trying to make appealing what is so stuck out there and rather......well......obvious. Seeing as how it's an added 25 pds that are glued to the entire front of my body.......and hips and butt and thighs there's not much concealing it at this point. I don't mind showing off baby but the whole hips, butt and thighs thing is still a bit troubling at times. So, I did better at taking regular pics through this pregnancy but there still is not any real rhyme or reason to the days I took them. I just kind of did it when the thought occurred to me. So, they are relatively about 4 wks apart...give or take a week or two. Close enough. And, of course, if I had any sort of photoshopping technique I'd photoshop me some pants on in the 1st few but I never really envisioned pasting them on some site anyone would be looking at. Next time around I'll try to be clothed from the onset of pregnancy to spare the poor souls that are having to look at these 1st few.

13 wks










17 wks










25 wks










30 wks










34 wks





37 wks

Well, I was going to write more but it seems the day has already slipped into the wee hours of the morning. I'll see if I can get on here tomorrow after we return from FW or on Sun to finish summing things up on the latest happenings. Although it seems to have been rather quiet around here the last few days. I suppose quiet is always relative when referring to what I consider quiet. Maybe uneventful is more appropriately stating it....though uneventful is rather relative too, I guess.

But to add a few more irresistible pics......I had to spend the morning on the computer typing out addresses for the invitation list for the shower. So, I was limited in what I was able to supervise. Note to self.........never a good thing to be limited in supervising your children. But I did have Grayson and Evye as paid babysitters in which they were allowed to be turned loose in the playroom for entertaining the younger ones. But, Garrison has a toe that he continually keeps busting open so it never heals. And the more he does it the worse it gets. So, after trailing blood from the backdoor to my bedroom yesterday he again split it open this morning while I was tied up on the computer. He went and climbed up on the cabinet awaiting the needed cleaning and doctoring of it. It was awhile before I could ever get in there to him but I could hear him so mistakenly thought all was well. I should've known he was way too happy and occupied. I walked in awhile later to find he had lovingly and creatively fingerpainted the bathroom mirror with lotion. And he applied it rather liberally, as is evident. I still need to go clean the mirror up.

And then last night Garrison came in with yet another sinus infection that was robbing him of any decent sleep. It's completely unlike him to wake in the middle of the night so I knew he didn't feel good at all. So, I bedded him down on the little blanket bed in our room. I knew it was only a matter of time before Grant made his way in looking for his buddy....though Grant tends to be a regular visitor around 3am anyway. But, in waking to pee for the 54th time I discovered them sleeping like this. So, even at 3 am I had to capture the moment before it slipped into eternity all too quickly as they grow and these sweet days turn into years long ago. I dread the day that I can only look back on these things in bittersweet memory.

And, yes, Aubrey did come looking for her pink bear (to the right of Garrison) only 1/2 an hr after I'd fallen back asleep...if it even took that long. By that time I was kind of out of it and meeting needs in a zombie like state. How it got in there I'll never know. My guess is that somewhere in there all 3 were lined up on the blanket bed......only to have her get cramped and uncomfortable and head back to her own bed.

Mowing the north pasture

Well, the picture's a little crooked but you get the general idea. We had Mr Martin with his John Deere come over and mow Fletch's pasture for us, the north one. We chose to leave the goat's up high for now but at least get Fletch's down to a decent height. Since Fletch is so small on his lot the thought of him keeping snakes completely at bay was a little ignorant. So, in addition to deciding to add guineas we figured we'd mow since he obviously has more than his ample share to eat.....even when mowed! But, in mowing..............THIS was mowed over. It was the talk of church today and everybody had to come over and take a look at what we mowed over. Once Brad gets home in the morning we're going to go lay him out and measure him...but, to put it mildly, he's not small. The one we saw last fall was still larger than this but this one is definitely worth taking note of. When Mother and Grayson cut the rattles off today it was discovered he was growing yet another one that is not yet seen in the pic......for a total of 7 rattles. They were pretty large and we could hear them blowing in the wind. It had kind of a lonely, eerie, desert sound to it. I would've gotten a close up pic of his head but his neck is what was mowed over so his head suffered a little too. Neighbors could see him dangling from the fence yesterday after Brad and Mr Martin strung him up there so they all came over and had a look.

While Grayson mowed under the swings today, in his snake boots, he saw an 8 ft rat snake slither hurriedly into the goat pasture. So, we do know they're out and on the move in the summer heat. You know, it's kind of like driving in downtown Dallas at night when I'd gaze up and look at all of the glowing lights way up high in the big downtown buildings. I just couldn't ever keep from wondering who exactly was up there, what their life was like and if they were working long hours to escape the misery at home or having secret affairs their families knew nothing about. It always kind of held this sense of a lonely barren life. Well, that same feeling I always had driving downtown at night is now the feeling that accompanies me as I gaze out into our pastures. I look out there and wonder just how many snakes are on the move and where they all slither in their evil, slithery ways and how many are rattling into the lonely, quiet, dark hours......in our very pastures. It always kind of has this sense of some wild evil kind of nightlife. Since snakes are nocturnal and we see as many as we do in the day just exactly how many are out there wondering around in the dark?! But, really.........I don't even want to know that answer or have that knowledge.


And today is Brad's last shift of a 4 in a row Sunday shift schedule. I'm really glad since I hate going to church without him. But, due to yet another promotion, he's back at station 7 that runs about 10-12 calls per shift on the medic so it doesn't necessarily mean he'll be attending church with us in the next few weeks anyway. They run all night and when he comes home all he wants to do is sleep it off.


On a funnier Sunday note, Mother got spontaneously and suddenly roped into the role of permanent piano player. The little 90 yr old lady that has played for so long finally said her hands can't handle it anymore and so the church has been without a pianist for wks now. Once they got wind that I played they've been begging me to. I told them I can't read music and they all way too happily agreed to let me just play by ear. Ummmmmm........no. So, once they figured out I was seriously not taking that on they pounced on Mother as soon as she got moved. Figuring she'd talk to the pastor today about it she arrived only to find that she was indeed playing this morning's hymns. It was pretty funny. So, she took it in stride and played wonderfully compared to how I thought she'd do. I was thoroughly impressed along with the entire rest of the church....who thanked her so many times that it became a bit comical. Now they're begging Brad to be music leader since we don't have one of those either. It's a wide open door in which the opportunity to minister within the church and experience some much needed change is very very needed at this point. I'm not sure he'll ever agree to taking that on but it's still a thought. We have the potential to become the world's next Von Trapp family singers. HA! Our family alone could fill the 10 all too abandoned choir chairs and fill the small little auditorium with songs of all sorts. That just might even cause the next small town revival here. They'd have people coming from all over just to see that! Too funny!

(In honor of all of the stupid people I figured I would post a pic of the triplets in their matching outfits.)

And then yesterday when Mother and I went into town she actually had a 22 or 24 yr old great looking dude at the health food store tell her how good looking she is! I mean, I think she is really pretty but it's really odd to be standing there and having a guy 8 yrs younger than me be telling my own mom she's hot. That's a little odd. The funniest part about it was how he said it! He told her how great looking she is and then told us he wished his dad was single! Ummmm.........so that wouldn't happen to be your own mom he's married to then, right????? Based on that comment I would hopefully assume............no. And then, of course, there's always the oddity of standing there 8 freakin months pregnant with my feelings hurt because I didn't get the compliment. Well, let's backtrack and think about the absurdity in that. I obviously have a 9 yr old boy calling me mom, a 14 month old baby on my hip pulling my hair out and thinking it's funny and then a stomach that is larger than a pregnant elephant's at this point..........and I didn't get my ego pumped by the dude at the health food store. But, in all honesty, it really didn't bring back those awful wretched feelings of rejection like what is forever with me due to the guy on the train to Maine hitting up on her and asking to sit in my seat so he could have time with just Mother. Somehow it seems I was always the one booted out while the others around me got hit on........so the rejection and self esteem issues have taken a few decades to overcome. But, much to my relief, I was able to truly laugh at yesterday's little episode and the absolute craziness of it and not look back. It is really funny. And the thought that I might actually look like that when I'm 60 has me hoping for Brad's sake that I will follow in Mother's footsteps where my genes are concerned. We get asked if we're sisters all the time and 1/2 the time people just assume Grayson, Garrison and Grant are her's and that Evye, Aubrey and Garrett are mine. It's pretty weird. And then people who haven't seen me in a long time usually immediately assume I'm Jackie. I think there is some extent of a family resemblance going on but I don't think we all look so much alike that we need to all get confused as each other or mistaken as sisters when being mother/daughter or that Jackie and I look so much alike at any one point in our lives that we could look like the other. Scott's friends all swear that I am the female version of him since we look so much alike. So, I guess there's some sort of family resemblance going on but somewhere along the way I failed to take note and see it. It's a strange world.



And then, let's see. I wanted to add these pics too. I went in the other afternoon and found Garrison and Grant truly being complete boys. It was naptime but they decided it was time to wrestle. They do this all the time but I finally figured I'd get a picture of it since it's so funny to listen to as they wrestle it out before they finally fall asleep. Grayson walked in and saw how much fun they were having and said longingly, "Man, I wish I had somebody my age to do that with. It must be fun having a twin." I got to thinking about that the rest of the day and how very special it must be to have been given a twin. Not only are they surrounded by brothers and sisters both above and below their age but they have been given a best friend in a twin. How strange it must be to have grown together from the very very beginning and to never have been apart or known life any other way. Even now they won't sleep without the other. They love having everybody around and both play with Aubrey like you would expect closely aged siblings to play but when bedtime falls they are beside themselves if their bed buddy is missing. Their bond is so unique. How incredible it must be to have that in each other. It's absolutely amazing and life changing watching them grow together. We have been so blessed.




















And here's some misc fun pics.









(Tigger being mauled to death)









(Garrett deciding he needed a pillow so he stood on it until he ripped the ties from the bumper and got comfy)







(Finally a pic of Grant in his cute little tiny underwear. He finally decided he couldn't pass up football or Spiderman undies so he goes back and forth between those 2 while Garrison remains a devout Diego fan).

The Birds and the Bees

And not in the wildlife sense...................well, maybe in the wild life sense but not in the wildlife creature sense of the word. I'm not sure what all to put in the blog and don't want to get too graphic with my stories but, then again, this is stuff that I'll remember and can't help but look back on and laugh. Inevitably every parent goes through this same scenario at some point. At some strange point in our lives we all find ourselves grappling and stumbling ungracefully through this part of parenthood....unless of course you've been more blessed with words and creative thoughts concerning this subject than I have been. Even if not a parent yet it's bound to bring back some pretty strange or comical memories of when your first "talk" took place. I remember mine vividly. In the van in 3rd grade about 2 seconds away from the doors of Temple Christian right before we got out and went to school for the day. I asked and got my answer.

So, Grayson has been asking for a few months now what exactly it is. We have the school system to thank for breaking him into that one. At school it's considered a bad word and everyone makes a huge deal over "sex". Brad and I talked and talked about the right timing but neither one of us ever really felt at peace about it or a good way to go about it since we want so much to lay a solid foundation based on principles of what God clearly says about it and what it is created for. It never really seemed right just to blurt it out when he asks at the noon table or at 4 in the afternoon when the house is noisy and ten million things are going on. And then there is that thing of......just how exactly do I tell him????!!!!! So, I began praying about it. Knowing our special situation anyway I knew we really wanted to base it in Biblical truths and character but not make it seem like it is anything out of the ordinary or something to be appalled at. So, in the midst of praying about it, I found a book that I fell in love with. It's a 4 part series of God's Design for Sex. The 1st book is for ages 3-5, the 2nd 5-8, the 3rd 8-11 and the 4th for 11+. The 1st book is obviously just very basic and doesn't go into anything except proper names for body parts...since parents seem to be so gun shy and tend to make up every word in the book to call it except the real thing........and believe me, after having worked in the nursery for so many years I've heard them all. And the 1st book is very appropriately about Aubrey's age level. The 2nd gracefully and diplomatically goes into the story but doesn't focus on any one thing except for God's purpose in creating it all, what it is and what pregnancy and birth are. Timing for this whole thing was truly God ordained and couldn't have been better, as God always seems to work. They both marveled at the way a baby grows and the way it is formed from an egg as tiny as a grain of sand and grows into a full term baby. They already had a pretty deep knowledge of pregnancy at every stage of development but it was still something to be awed about as the book stepped through it. They were full of questions about Gavin and how he has grown and what he will look like once he gets here. When it came time for the birthing part Grayson in all of his analytically minded ways says in a voice where realization has finally dawned, "Ohhhhhh, well that just makes a lot more sense!!!!" I asked what he meant and he gave his rendition of what he thought took place and now understanding what really takes place. I'll spare the details, since they'll be forever humorously ingrained into my head forever, but I'll credit the book for putting it so gracefully and truthfully that he never even saw it as anything but completely orchestrated and ordained by the Lord and as there being nothing gross about it. Suddenly the light turned on and he was completely caught up in the sensibility of it. To him if it doesn't make sense it's not worth his time or thought.

Evye was more caught up in the creation of her own body and what it had to say about being a girl and becoming a woman. I'm convinced that someday we really will have a midwifery practice together. She's as mesmerized by it as I was at that age. She loves learning about pregnancy. One thing I really do regret with all my heart is what the school experience did to their minds about bodies and how they function and are created. In the 7 short months they were there they caught on to the fact that sex was a bad word, is considered something entirely nasty and dirty and created an awareness of body parts being "nasty" and something to make a huge deal about. I'm hoping and praying that they are still young enough that the worldly image and mindset they were exposed to can be replaced and renewed with matter of fact, to the point Biblical principles about what God has in mind for it and how to honor Him with their bodies. If they can be taught character building blocks about attitudes and life issues in their daily lives right now it isn't too early to begin building character in this area that the world so saturates every age group with. I suppose there's no real way of knowing if it's paid off or not until they are of pre-teen and teen age, even up until they are married. By then hopefully they will begin having convictions of their own based on what we have strived to instill in them by openness and honesty. With the very foundational basis resting on the Bible itself and it's lifegiving principles I hope that we will have armed them enough to face the world, in all of its disillusioned ways and portrayals of sexuality in general.

So, from here, Brad is going to take the 3rd book and read through it with him as a father/son study and time together. I'm really excited Brad wanted to take part in it. I honestly didn't figure he'd want to in any way and figured that was part of the parenting that was up to me. But instead he stepped in and said he needed to be the one to take over from here and that he wants a swinging door wide open for communication where he and his boys are concerned. In order for them to feel like they can go to him for anything and any situation in life the groundwork needs to be laid now and encompass every aspect of it...both highly personal down to just the everyday mundane things of life.

But I'm going to bed with a much lighter heart now. I'm not sure I really realized the heavy burden that it was on my heart to get this issue addressed. The constant questions continually surfacing were starting to weigh me down about the responsibility that comes with this part of parenting. Some parents treat it as nothing more to it than just a natural bodily function and break the news from the earliest age possible so that it's never really an issue or needing to be discussed, others wait until the kids are 13 and on the verge of puberty......or even waiting until puberty hits.....and the talk has to take place at that point, and then some parents just don't deal with it at all and let the public do it for them. I want to try and avoid protecting them so much that a feeling of forbiddeness shrouds it and creates a sense of mysterious allure about the whole thing. I hope that today we laid the foundation for a truly God given perspective on it and that as we continue to walk down this road with them as they grow that the Lord will give us the wisdom to continue in this new part and responsibility of parenting. I do, in some weird sort of way, feel like a more mature, well rounded parent now having crossed one of the bigger bridges. Ridiculous, I know. But I feel like the first stepping stone in this area has been laid and we finally have something really good and worthy to build on.

The unexpected challenges of parenting are just really amazing to me. They truly do inspire me to be a better person in every sense of the word. Parenting can be the most ungraceful thing in life as I stumble and trip my way through it but it can also be the most rewarding thing I think I've ever experienced. And it's been an amazing thing when I finally got to a place where I am comfortable enough in it that I really truly do not care what other people think about the way we do it because we know that we are doing what is best for us, our babies and our children due to the fact we know them unlike anyone else. God created us as their parents and not any one other person on this earth, therefore the trust and faith in Him to give us the knowledge and wisdom needed to raise them is unshakable.

Who would've ever thought the 'birds and the bees" could be so deep????!!!!

Flip and Flop

.....................or Chuck and Norris. We still haven't decided. Everybody keeps going back and forth. And for those of you wondering....no, we haven't seen Walker Texas Ranger in years. But the absurdity and the thought of it once it occured to us was so funny that we couldn't pass it up. And then when 2 more showed up it was the perfect fit. They could only be Chuck and Norris..........or, well, maybe Flip and Flop. It's still up in the air.







(the great name debate for these 2)











But, it's been a few very busy, very interesting few days. Oh what I would do to get on here and write everyday just to keep up with all of this stuff!







(evening chores)









Starting with where I left off with the animal farm we have going we then very spontaneously added 2 orphaned baby goats. They were found by one of Mother's coworkers at the county. She and her husband have a goat/sheep ranch and they found these two washed up on the banks of the Concho that runs through their property. Apparently they were victims of the last few storms and flashfloods that came through. They took them in and begin nursing them back to health. In need of a good home they told Mother about them hoping we might want them for the children. It was such perfect timing for us having just gotten Walker, Texas and Ranger. But, ohhhhhhh, the painful responsibility of animals!!!!! We have to freakin get up at 6am every morning and go bottle feed these things!!!! I seriously started doubting the allure of this wildlife by the time the alarm clock went off on the 2nd morning. It's worth it all....I think.....and I really do love being given such opportunities that were only dreams while living in the city. We ignorantly thought we could put them in the backyard with Tigger and Athena and keep them up close to the house for awhile. But, alas, Tigger's prey drive is sooooooo high that all he does is see goat meat. So, they had to go straight to the big pasture. We were a little worried over how the bigger goats would accept them but they adopted them as their own little babies and protect and keep them as part of their herd. The children absolutely love it and the goats have become their responsibility. Grayson and Evye wake at 6 every morning and arm themselves with Off and go out for their daily chores....which now consists of feeding the goats, both bottles and feed, feeding the donkey, feeding the dogs and feeding the cats. Kind of funny. It's a miniature


menagerie.

(feeding babies)











(falling asleep on a full tummy)







We, well....Brad, finally got the big pool set up. Both of us are still marveling over how little that kids need to keep them active and completely and totally content. They have lived out there for days now. Brad got in with everybody and by the end of the day even Garrett had joined in the outdoor water fun. Though Garrison and Grant can stand they are easily thrown off balance by any movement of water therefore making it completely out of the question for Grayson and Evye to keep an eye on. So, unless, an adult is out there they are not allowed even into the backyard. Brad even put locks on the gates since Garrison can open both ends of the yard. Both boys cried and cried about being so left out after having all of the fun they did in the front pool.






















So, we got their round 3 ring pool and set it up on the back porch patio. Still near the older 3 but safely away from the depths of the big pool. They fell in love. It's just the right height for the Little Tikes slide so they now have a water slide in their tiny pool. They love it and live out there. Inevitably though, as soon as the slide went into their pool everybody else was wanting to swim in their tiny little waterhole. It didn't take long for the boys to soon discover that they went much faster on the slide if they had no swimsuit on! So, most of the pics are of one or both boys butt naked having a great old time flying down the slide. And then to top it off Garrison figured out quickly that "bathtime" is much more fun outside with a slide so when told to go get in the bathtub this morning after his haircut he promptly stripped and said, on his way out the door, that he was taking a bath outside. He was brought back in and then given a "proper" bath....much to his dismay.


(Who needs clothes???!!! All it took was taking the life jacket off of Grant for him to strip down too....and then Garrison didn't even bother putting a swimsuit back on when he decided he wanted to try the life jacket out!!!!)



















And, of course, there always has to be 1 or 2 or 10 really big somethings going on in the midst of everyday life......and so it began 2 days ago. We are yet again very much in doubt as to this baby's real due date. All day Tues I began having strong regular contractions, though they were not painful and not growing in intensity. More uncomfortable than most days but not unbearable. Then early in the wee hours Wed morning I woke up to really really bad stomach ache type cramps. I thought it was probably a touch of a stomach virus and that it would pass. But as the night wore on and things got more intense I began to really doubt if this had anything to do with a virus. At one point in there I really started to worry how in the world I'd get Brad to wake up if a baby started to appear since I was on the other end of the house. After a very long painful night I slept for an hour and then woke to get the bottles ready and wake the children for feeding time. I laid on the couch for awhile as Garrison and Grant climbed and played all over me. I could easily tolerate that rather than not knowing where they were and only envisioning all of the crap they were digging into. But, by 9:30 when I finally figured I should make something of the day the contractions came back in full force. They were hard and, though not regular, growing in intensity and length. I crazily and insanely thought that by the time #7 rolled around I'd have a vague clue as to what labor might actually be and when it starts! Not so entirely true, I suppose. It was so bad by noon that I fixed the children an easy lunch and laid down with the little 4. I searched on the web for stuff to get the contractions to stop if this wasn't the real deal and, by that point, I had done everything. I know enough to know what to do but I still can't tell what's real and what's not. The only thing left was laying down and lessening my activity level or having a glass of wine....which the mere thought of brought up visions of puking. As I laid in bed I suddenly remembered that our 1st midwife's due date for me, that she absolutely swore by, was June 12th! I've never given that date a 2nd thought since Dec and laughed at the thought that I could be that far along at the time. In order to pacify me, since I was so stuck on my date being July 26th, she split it with me and charted my date as June 30th....though she continued to say that if I went into labor around the 12th she would not consider it an early baby. I dropped that thought as soon as we switched midwives. But suddenly, as I laid in bed, dealing with horrific contractions, I remembered June 12th. The contractions did eventually die off and I slept for 3 hrs. So, I dismissed it and felt better. But as soon as I got up and around they started back in all of their grandeur. That lasted the entire rest of the day. By last night no one else showed any signs of any kind of stomach stuff so I knew there was probably something more to my little episode. I did sleep all night and only woke to really bad contractions every once in awhile. And then this morning once I got up and around they were back in full force by 7, along with the upset stomach stuff. I took Immodium, worked on staying really hydrated, and finally by noon they had completely disappeared. So, I now am back to no signs or symptoms of anything being even remotely imminent. I don't have a freakin clue. I'm not ready to call Jean since she'll tell me she wants to see me and to come in tomorrow. I figure if it's the real thing we'll know soon enough. But, my gosh, I hope we have another couple of weeks!!! Never did I even consider having baby NOW and nothing is ready! I've spent so much nesting time on house issues and really getting everything like I want it that poor Gavin doesn't have a thing ready.......except for a bed with no bedding. I mean, we're talking like the baby clothes are still up in the attic! And the swing is put together but sitting in the attic also. The swing and stuff can be easily done after he comes but the clothes thing is freakin me out a little. Even the infant carrier is stashed under Garrett's crib still completely taken apart since I was waiting to wash it until about a week before my real due date. I didn't want it getting all dusty sitting around in storage during the hot, dusty, windy days of summer. So, I still have that to wash and put back together. I don't think I've ever been caught more off guard than I am now. But, on the other hand, I really don't think this could possibly be it after having had 2 sonograms revealing the same results. One sonogram gave a due date of July 5th, the other of July 7th. Sonograms can be off by as much as a pound though...translated into being off as much as a month in due date terms. It's not very often that they are but there are those few babies that just have bigger or smaller measurements than those of the average baby for that gestational age. I don't know. It may just be me living in total denial since I am so unprepared. To me, I just expected to go about 1 or 2 wks over my due date of the 7th and was planning on his arrival around the 14th-17th of July. Who knows. I figure we'll just see what happens and, in the meantime, I'll start getting everything really ready. I'm tired of thinking about it. If I start having really bad contractions and then suddenly feel like I need to push we'll know my due date was off by a few weeks. But, I know having now said all of this, that I'll go until at least July 7th and probably on into the 14th or so! Which at this point is not bad. I really don't mind being pregnant for the length of time I thought I was going to be pregnant for. This pregnancy's already been short enough....seeing as how I didn't find out until I was already 1/2 done. This is just a strange pregnancy.

(Loyal loveable Fletch)











And adding to the baby note, it's kind of funny since the ladies of the church approached me last week saying they want to give me a baby shower. They said they know it's our 7th but it's their 1st baby with us as a family and they love having us here so much that they want to give me a shower. So, that date is set for June 30th. It supposedly gave us a week before he arrived! It'd be funny to have to tote him in a carrier to the shower! They want me to register for it and everything. I went to register online and it was kind of funny since I sat for at least 1/2 an hour trying to think of what on earth we possibly need at this point. They asked for the big ticket items for a hostess gift and I was stumped. But, blessedly, the bedding came to mind. We really really do need bedding for the crib and just as the Lord always works I found the exact look I really am going for in the whole seagull colored room. It was amazing since I couldn't even find anything I liked on JC Penny's website. I had just succumbed to the fact I would need to make the bedding. So, this was a huge blessing and I really hope it all works out. But other than that I am kind of at a loss of what to register for. We need a new diaper changing pad and that's about it. So, I just told the ladies that mostly we need stuff like sz 3-6 month summer clothes and then, of course, diapers. Grayson and Garrett were both born in cooler months and then Garrison and Grant never really had newborn summer stuff since they were on the verge of going into fall. So, this baby truly hit the extreme summer heat in a little tiny sz that we don't have. They outgrow the newborn sz so quickly it's not even worth buying so I just requested 3-6 mo summer clothes. Of course, none of those little old women can even grasp the thought of buying a little bigger sz but hopefully they will go ahead and do it so we will have clothes that he doesn't outgrow in 2 wks. I'm excited and thought it was the sweetest thing in the world to have them want to do this. More fun surprises in the way of baby. So, tonight my project is washing baby clothes, finishing registering and coming up with the invitation list. Mother's coming over to wash clothes so after the children are in bed we're staying up to have a party, watch a movie and come up with a list of names and addresses. Pretty fun.

The arrival of Fletch, Walker, Texas and Ranger

Well, as everything seems to go in our lives, this wasn't quite planned until about 3 days ago and now here we are as their proud owners. We knew we really wanted some animals but budgeting for them and then finally getting some were going to take time. But with the snake issues being pretty bad we knew we needed some bigger animals and some "mowing" animals to cut down on the snakes. When telling our snake tales to the guys at the station one of them asked if we wanted his donkey. He was getting 2 new horses and needed a good home with kids for it. Since they're great for creating movement and being larger animals snakes tend to keep their distance. That was on Wed......on Sat Fletch arrived. It is so much fun and the children are thrilled!!!! He is sooo sweet and since he is used to children he absolutely loves all of our's. I still haven't' quite gotten past the novelty of listening to him do donkey sounds. That's about the funniest thing ever!!! And he's loud! He's like a dog. We can call him and he just comes right to us. Tigger has amazingly taken up with him for some reason so they are the best of buds. Tigger lays on one side of the fence with Fletch standing on the other. Tigger can get his whole head through the fence and they'll touch noses. We thought we'd have major barking issues to deal with but instead they have become best friends! Athena's so stupid and rowdy she could care less what goes on. She just runs around the backyard non stop anyway. She has always taken the responsibility of guarding me so when I go out to love on Fletch she places herself in between me and him. And if he tries to love then she snaps at him. All I have to do is call her name sharply and she retreats wagging her tail and running around stupidly. Garrison calls him Pletch and Grant calls him Sletch.



(The greeting committee)












And then we have Walker, Texas and Ranger. The arrival of the 3 of them was quite the event and a story in and of itself. I knew they were coming on Sat but Brad said he'd be here to get them all squared away when all of our newly acquired livestock started arriving. As all shifts notoriously tend to go and never knowing just when exactly you'll get a call or when they'll have to call for overtime and leave you stuck until someone replaces you, of course Sat was the day for these things to occur. So, instead of the usual 7 am Brad called at 8:30 and said he was just leaving the station. I was in the midst of getting up anyway. So, I laid in bed talking to him while Garrison and Grant rolled all over me. Once off the phone I made my way into the kitchen in nothing but Brad's t-shirt and my underwear for the morning cup of cappuchino. Garrison and Grant ran around noisily while Aubrey appeared from her bed and sat quietly still waking up. Grayson and Evye continued to sleep. With no bra, no pants, no make-up and hair falling in disarray down my back I went through the morning routine before heading to the shower. Suddenly and horrifically the doorbell rang!!!! I glanced at the clock and it was 8:50. Ok, I guiltily admit I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination but who in the freakin world shows up at the door at 8:50 on a Sat morning???!!!!! In my state of stupor I hoped that it was just a Jehovah's Witness and that they'd go away. Well, that was mere insanity in and of itself since,






#1 - who in the world rides a bike in a suit 30 miles out of town in 90 degree weather and arrives at 8:50 am to spread the gospel???!!!






And then #2 - if it was a Jehovah's Witness whatever was I thinking that they'd go away???!!!!......cause they never go away!!!






In my panic I was stuck. I ran in the children's room and woke Evye up telling her to go to the door and tell him that her mom was still asleep. I know......I already feel guilty enough about telling my children to lie! But, it backfired anyway. In her pink little striped nightgown and messed up hair all over her little head she walks sleepily to the door and opened it. I heard a deep male voice ask if her parents were home. As Garrison and Grant went tearing loudly up and down the hallway and then suddenly to the open door she said her dad was at work and her mom was still asleep. Suddenly I hear Garrison and Grant talking to the dude non stop. And then Aubrey arrives at the scene. I just stood and listened in horror as the event unfolded. No sooner had Evye finished her "my mom's asleep" statement then Aubrey, in all of her truthful, blunt ways that finds it physically impossible to tell a lie says, "No! My moms not asleep. She's awake right there in my room!!!"....in which I could only guess that she would be pointing in the general direction of the bedroom which I hid in at the moment. Then she speaks up, "You want to come see her? She's standing right in there." I then tiptoed as fast as I could and sought shelter in their bedroom closet. In which I then felt totally and utterly stupid as I stood in the darkness of the children's bedroom closet with stinky shoes and squeaky toys that went off everytime I shifted feet. With the doors shut and hiding from the stranger that my 2 small girls were talking with unattended the feelings of complete and total ridiculousness ran deep. I heard Evye trying to corral the boys back inside and they both started screaming. The sheer thought of anyone even remotely thinking I might be sleeping in all of that chaos was a joke. An in-the-shower story would've been a little more believable. So after what seemed like hours Evye comes walking down the hallway still drugged from sleep and said "Um....he said he has some somethings for you and he's just going to wait outside for you." Then I just got plain mad and came to my own conclusion that this was no doubt a JW who was more than happy to wait anything in life out. I asked Evye a minute or 2 later if he mentioned what the "something's" were. She said she couldn't remember but it started with a G. I laughed and said "probably goats". She looked at me in her daze, since she takes forever to wake up and do anything worthwhile in the morning, and said without any emotion, "Oh, I think that was it. There's a big truck with a trailer in our driveway." If ever there was a moment to cuss that was it. And, come to think of it, I probably did somewhere in there. There I was huge and pregnant in my underwear with nothing but a t-shirt on, smeared left over make-up from the day before and little screaming orphan kids running around everywhere in their diapers and pajamas with their messed up hair. I called Brad asking impatiently where he was and telling him to come bail me out of this way-too-early morning event. He just laughed thinking it was all too funny and said he had the goat guy on the phone....yet another fellow firefighter.....and he'd deal with it. So, as I raced around the house trying to pull it together he told him where to put the goats. I woke Grayson and told him to go give the guy what we owed him and I'd be out in a minute. After hurriedly putting on jeans and boots Grayson ran out there to him just in time to say thanks and help him close the gate. And then the dude left! He just drove off. So, that just made the whole thing worse. I'm not sure I really want to meet him at this point after that little scenario.















But, in the end, we had 3 new baby goats. It was a little ignorant of us to only get 3 thinking we did not want to crowd them and limit their food supply. Grayson quickly informed us, after being told that he could not go back there until they ate the grass down a little, that it would take them 80 years to eat that much. Then he said we could have 50 goats and they'd still be eating next spring. Yes, that is probably pretty close to accurate. So, after watching them we have decided to add some more to our goat herd collection we have going. I'm not sure when they're set to arrive. I do know that once we give him the go ahead to deliver I''ll be up at the crack of dawn, dressed and presentable, each morning until they get here. They'll have baby goats in the spring too so we'll also add to the herd that way.













But after checking out goats and talking to many goat ranchers we have decided that we are also going to get some dairy goats in the spring. In the meantime, we are reading and educating ourselves on every aspect of it. Since the children are so allergic to cow's milk and we want to get out of the pasteurization process we have decided that not only would it save us thousands of dollars a year on milk but it would also greatly benefit us in our health. So, we are preparing for the spring and to begin our own milking process. We have lots of knowledgeable people surrounding us to get us through this process and get us on the road. I think that must be why I'm so excited about it all. Otherwise, I think the sheer thought of it would be quite overwhelming and I might turn tail and run. I'm really excited about the health benefits of it too though. I've really been convicted lately about what we eat and what I feed the children. The whole month-at-a-time cooking is going well but it doesn't mean in the least that it's really healthy.

(Some more of the greeting committee)

And so with our new endeavors on the livestock end we also are now adding the chickens that were planned long ago. Brad is getting the materials with this next paycheck and will start in on it promptly. They're inexpensive to build and we found instructions on the internet at....get this....howtobuildachickencoop.com!!! Who would've ever thought? We actually found better ones but I thought it was extremely funny that when I put it in the search engine that came up! So, we will be raising our own chickens to eat and also laying on our own eggs..........well, not literally, I guess. They'll be laying them.....I won't.













I'm getting excited though. Between our own goat's milk, yogurt and cheese, in which I am taking lessons right now on the latter 2 to be good at making our own by the time they arrive, and then our own hormone-less chicken and lower fat/lower cholesterol eggs...not to mention the fun of gathering them.....we'll save a ton of money and I'll feel better about what we ingest. We also are going to get some turkeys so we don't get insanely sick of chicken. Brad had some guys kill some deer during hunting season so between the chickens, turkeys and deer we'll be able to eat much better and much healthier for a fraction of the cost.

And we also finally got the tractor to begin plowing up the middle pasture for the garden. I'm still a little uncertain as to that project but it won't hurt giving it a try. I love to plant but keeping the animals out......we have TONS of wild rabbits....and then keeping it watered are things I haven't actually resolved yet. The rain water system will not happen until next spring. Anyway, I made a list of what we are going to plant and I think we will have most veggies covered. The fruit part will still have to come from the coop since there's no way in the world I'm going to try fruit trees with all of their little fruit flies and rotting fruit falling from the trees. Once my confidence builds a little I may give that a go in a few years. If it doesn't work we can always kill them, I guess.