Pumpkin Cloud Dough - Day 3

Y'all. This activity was so much fun for the kids, but it is EXTREMELY messy! I'll definitely be doing this outside if we do it again next year!

Here is the link for this awesome stuff!
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/09/pumpkin-scented-cloud-dough.html

The only thing I did different is that I halved the recipe. I didn't have a container large enough for the amount she called for. Also, since I had 6 kids playing in it instead of just one like the author, I put it in cereal bowls for each child.

Enjoy the pics!

Just three ingredients

(unless you opt to color it orange)

Separated into smaller bowls for each child

Getting started!

Already getting messy!

Why keep it in the bowl???

Mixing it with his snack!

(Later on he climbed on the table and kept licking it!)

Group Picture

It got even messier after this pic was taken!!

Definitely an outside activity!!

One more just because he's really cute!

(And yes, he's still wearing his chocolate frozen yogurt clothes from last night!)

Everyone had showers after this and they're all tucked snuggly in their beds! Mommy spent an hour cleaning the mess, but the dining room is sparkling again!!

Good night!

Menchie's - Day 2

The original plan for today was to make Candy Corn Milkshakes. If you don't like candy corn, don't worry! It has no candy corn flavor. And if the thought of making milkshakes stresses you out, fret not! These are actually just cups of colored ice cream! You can find instructions here:

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/spooky-eats-candy-corn-milkshakes/

All that said, we ended up scrapping this plan because Daddy promised a certain little girl named Jennifer that since he won't be off work for her birthday, we'd go get frozen yogurt on his day off. That day fell today. So after dinner, we loaded up the car and took everyone to Menchie's. We'd never been there before, but we loved it! They were extremely friendly, welcoming, and SUPER clean!

We sampled several flavors, filled our cups, added toppings, had them weighed, and paid. They gave each of the kids a toy and a coloring page. They also had a chalkboard the kids could color on. We were the only customers at first so the cashier helped us move tables so we could all sit together and helped us get settled. Except for Chance's fussiness (because it was past his bed time), we had a really great time and we will definitely be going back!

Group Picture (minus Mommy and Daddy!)

Elizabeth


Jennifer, the birthday girl, making a silly face!

Samantha with candy in her mouth


CJ


Allison


Chance, with the results of his fussiness still on his face

We also started a countdown chain. We started with the youngest (besides Chance) and each night a different child cuts a link off the chain and tells me something they want to thank God for. I'll write that thing, their name, and the date and hang it on a poster board. They look forward to it all day long!

Countdown Chain

(It only goes until November 22 

because that's when we leave for our trip.)

Thank you, God, for . . . 

Thanksgiving Story Bracelet - Day 1

First off, thank you to everyone who prayed for Emma. This dog was literally at death's door, and I believe that, if it weren't for the prayers of our friends and family, she wouldn't be with us today. That said, she is doing much better, and is back to her normal self . . . hyper and chewing up every. little. thing!!

Second, we decided not to do Halloween this year. Since they don't go to public school and we've missed church because of multiple illnesses the last few weeks, the kids have missed all of the discussions about "what are you gonna be?" Illness can be a blessing in disguise! Halloween came and went and my kids had no idea! Y'all the money I saved and the stress of last minute costume needs that I didn't have to deal with . . . let's just say that it was worth all the candy I didn't get this year! And that means a LOT coming from a sugar addict like me!!!

Third, and the reason for this post: Years ago, I planned Christmas themed activities/crafts for Elizabeth and Jennifer for everyday of December. They loved it, and I had lots of decorations for my house! Since fall is my favorite time of year, I decided to do the same thing with fall/Thanksgiving activities for all 6 kids.

*All of the ideas came from Pinterest and can be found on my fall/Thanksgiving board.*
Here is the link for the one we did today:
http://firstgradewow.blogspot.com/2013/11/retelling-thanksgiving.html

Today, being November 1, we did our first craft. Thanksgiving Story Bracelet. This one was easy and inexpensive. I paid $0.88 for a pack of 25 blue pipe cleaners. They didn't have the small package of primary color pony beads, or it would have been much cheaper. I paid $4.97 for a container of 1500 though so it wasn't too bad, and I can use them again next year. The only thing is that this container doesn't have brown (which is needed for the bracelet) so we had to substitute purple.

I read the accompanying story to the kids and emphasized the color words. Then we read it again, and they added the correct color bead. The bigger kids didn't need any help, but Allison doesn't know her colors yet so it was slow going while she looked at my bead (I made a bracelet for Chance while he napped), and picked out the matching color. Once all the beads were added, as I tied their bracelet and snipped the ends off, I had them tell me one thing they are thankful for. We prayed and thanked God for all of those things.

In all, it only took about 15 minutes, and they were upset when we were finished because they wanted to do more! Next year I'll probably add an additional coloring page for them to do.

25 pack of pipe cleaner cost $0.88

1500 container of pony beads for $4.97.

Samantha (5), CJ (4), Allison (2)

putting beads on their pipe cleaner!

Jennifer (7), Elizabeth (8)

putting beads on their pipe cleaner!

Allison making a silly face

at her completed bracelet!

Fire

Of all the lessons I've learned since the death of my father, some of them are directly related to that situation and have resulted in peace with my circumstances. However, for other lessons, his death was just the catapult that helped prepare my heart to learn lessons that can be applied to any situation in life. This first lesson is one of those.

One year ago, yesterday, we closed on our very first house. For an entire year before that we lived with my parents (6 months) and Chase's parents (6 months). Though they were very kind, and we appreciated the roof over our heads, it was the roughest year of our marriage. We were pulled at from all sides.

During that time, I came across a book called Hope Unfolding by Becky Thompson, author of the blog Scissortail Silk. Everyone who knows me well at all knows that I can read an entire book in one day. I'll be honest though. I still haven't finished this particular book. Not because it was bad, but because it was that good. And I felt like I learned what God was trying to use this book to teach me. For now. :-)

In one particular chapter of the book she is talking about Shardrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace (see Daniel 3 for full story). In the paragraph that changed my life, she had this to say:

"But when everyone looked inside, they didn't see ashes or smoke. Scripture says that when those on the outside looked into the flames, they saw a fourth man in the fire, and none of them were being burned. Friends, God doesn't promise that we won't walk through fire. But He absolutely promises that when we do, He will be with us."

Y'all. I've always known this. I was raised in a family that some years money for Christmas presents showed up on Christmas Eve. Where a turkey . . . or 3 . . . showed up on Thanksgiving Day when we didn't know where our next meal would come from. Where our car would break down and someone would call - without possibly being able to know our situation - and tell us they'd just bought a car and wanted to just give us their old car. Where my father took his own life and we made it through. God walked with us through every fire we faced. I already knew all of that when I read this particular paragraph in this specific book. That is a good lesson, but I already knew it.

What did I learn?

". . . when those on the outside looked into the flames, they saw a fourth man in the fire . . ."

Everyone around saw the fire these guys were walking through. Everyone around knew what these men were facing. And everyone around saw God in the midst of their literal fire. When I walk through a figurative fire, what do those around me see? Do they see me grieving over my circumstances like the lost (1 Thessalonians 4:13), or do they see a life filled with hope and peace and joy and grace and thankfulness. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that we are to give thanks in ALL things. Is that was people see when they look into my fire, WHATEVER it may be?

When those on the outside look into my flames, do they see a fourth man in the fire? He's there. Do they see Him?

Alright

I remember being at work and finding out that he had not come home from his job and wasn't answering his phone. I remember that it was storming and that a friend reassured me everything would be alright. Everything else is a blur. I can remember nothing until we got to his work the next morning. Then it became real. He truly was gone. He really had taken his own life. I remember getting out of the vehicle I was riding in, walking to his car, (with my mom thinking I was heading in to where his body was and screaming for me to stop) and laying my head on the back window with my arms stretched across it, almost like I was hugging it in place of him.

April 25, 2005

It was the darkest day of my life. It was beyond sad. I don't think there is a word for the amount of grief a person feels when their parent dies. Though I can't remember many details of that day and those surrounding it, I'll never forget the way I felt. 20 years old and fatherless.

As the days passed and the months turned into years, the pain subsided and the grief lessened. I was okay. I was doing good. I missed him, sure, but I wasn't grieving anymore. Over the following years a lot of different things happened in my life. Marriage issues, babies in the NICU, being without a home of our own and all the resulting issues surrounding that. I was okay, emotionally, with the past, and I thought I was okay spiritually. Looking back though, I can see that I wasn't. Every situation that came up caused me to question God and His ways. My catchphrase became "I know God CAN do anything, but it doesn't mean He will". He had proven just that when He allowed my daddy to be successful in taking his own life. He had proven that when He sent my babies to the NICU and sent me home without them . . . repeatedly, no matter what I did to prevent it. He proved that when He left us without a home of our own for a year. And then I realized that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't okay. It seemed as if everyone I knew had learned something or gotten closer to God as a result of daddy's death. I didn't. Life went on just as it had before with the exception that daddy wasn't around anymore.

With the 10 year anniversary of his death just around the corner, this realization hit me. So I prayed. I asked God to let this be the year that He taught me. I didn't want his death to be in vain. I didn't learn anything that year. But God began teaching me, though I didn't see it then. I saw pain and heartache. God saw teaching moments. It was kinda like when a person prays for patience and then everything seems to go wrong. God's giving opportunities for patience. It was the same for me. I didn't see the end result (I could safely argue that I won't until Heaven!) before the 10 year anniversary. I did start seeing the beginning of the answer to that prayer though.

It has now been a little more that 12 years since that awful day in April. But y'all. I have learned so much. There is no way to put it all into one post. I want to share it though. It's trying to burst out of my chest. I feel like I shouldn't rest until I get it all out. And I'm going to. But pray for me. Pray that God will help me put it into words that make sense. There are so many lessons and so many backstories that I can't seem to get them all in order in my head. Pray for organized thoughts. And pray that Satan will stay away and not "sift [me/my family] like wheat" (see Job 1) as I share what God is showing me.

This journey has been long and hard and filled with lots of pain and tears, but as my friend told me the night we couldn't find my dad, everything is alright. And I wouldn't change one second of the past 32 years for one. single. thing. God is in control. He is holding every bit of this world in His hand. He has planned this life. And everything is more that alright. It is perfect.

139

PSALM 139: 1-6 & 13-16

O LORD, you have examined my heart

   and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.

   You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.

You see me when I travel

   and when I rest at home.

   You know everything I do.

You know what I'm going to say

   even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.

   You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

   too great for me to understand!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

   and knit me together in my mother's womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

   Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

   as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

   Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

   before a single day had passed.

This isn't . . .

This isn't the way it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be able to make them matching big sister/brother shirts like I did when Jennifer, Samantha, and Allison were born. They were supposed to be baseball themed like they were when CJ was born.

This isn't the way it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be surrounded by my children shortly before giving birth. We were supposed to take one last picture as a family of 7 like we did when all the others were born.

This isn't the way it was supposed to be. I was supposed to make it to at least 38 weeks so that he would be fully "baked". I was supposed to be able to skip the NICU stay this time around like we were able to do with Elizabeth and Allison. (As of this writing, we're still about 15-20 minutes from knowing for sure whether he'll be staying there or not.)

This isn't the way it was supposed to be. I was supposed to have an epidural that blocked the pain from my belly to my feet like I did with the 5 previous. I was supposed to be protected from the pain of pushing/delivering and not just the contractions. 

This isn't the way it was supposed to be. I was supposed to have my 5 oldest waiting in the waiting room to come see their new brother. I was supposed to let them in my room to hold him and snuggle him and meet him face-to-face. I was supposed to be able to get at least one picture of us as a brand new family of 8.

This isn't the way it was supposed to be.  I was supposed to be sitting in my hospital room, recovering, with my newest baby boy curled up in my arms. I was supposed to have him by my side, not laying in a bassinet somewhere else in the hospital, trying to figure out this game of life on his own.

And then it hit me . . .

He's not alone. Joshua 1:9 says that God will never leave us or forsake us. He is in the room with my little boy right now. He is holding him in the palm of His hand. What an assurance that is for a mommy separated from her baby!

God's not surprised by any of these "supposed to be" moments. He's not surprised that I desired events to be a certain way. (Psalm 94:11) He knew beforehand that they wouldn't turn out the way I wanted them to. (Proverbs 16:9) He knew He had other plans for this moment in my life, in Chase's life, in Elizabeth's life, in Jennifer's life, in Samantha's life, in CJ's life, in Alison's life, and in Chance's life (Psalm 139)

Just because our circumstances say that Chance will be admitted to the NICU, doesn't mean he will. Johnson 16:24 says, "Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you WILL receive and your joy WILL be complete." (Emphasis added)

God's in charge and He isn't leaving me or my boy to figure this out or walk this alone. 

*Thank you, God, for your gentle reminders.*