the end of the year

a youth lock-in at the church last night meant a night home alone for me. everything is weird when i'm here by myself. the dogs act crazy, i do not bathe b/c i might not hear an intruder with the water running, i stay up uncharacteristically late, and there are waaay too many noises in the dark. i am always glad to see sunlight! but, on the other hand, i'd much rather be here at home by myself than locked in the church with teenagers that do not sleep! now yes...i love teenagers. i love that we have been doing youth ministry at church for 10 years. BUT, i just can not do lock-ins. i am an old fuddy duddy. god bless dustin for having the stamina to lock himself in the church with 25 crazy people for 12 hours! i told him though...there will be no sleeping all day here at the turner house, so hopefully he managed to squeeze in a few hours of rest in the middle of the chaos! we have one week to get all of our work done, and i am accomplishing sooo much more than usual with him here to help me push, lift, carry, throw away, clean, and care for the kids.

i have no new years eve plans. i remember 10 years ago sitting in our apartment in tulsa wondering if the world was going to explode at midnight. i was curious as to which time zone's cross over to the year 2000 would make it happen. i have a video of dustin and i eating steamed spinach in the dark to pretend that the electricity had shut off and all we had to eat was garden food. its hysterical to watch! for six years i struggled living in central time zone especially on new years eve because it was as if the "real" new year had already happened by the time it turned midnight central time. i am an eastern time zoner at heart and always will be. when i moved back i finally felt like i was on time again and not an hour behind.

farewell 2009.

catch up

holy crap--its been a long time since i've written anything here. sorry doug and virginia. i know without facebook you probably have nothing to read on the computer except this blog, and you've checked with anticipation every day only to find that i've written absolutely NOTHING!! haha!! but, i do have excuses, and they seem like good ones to me!

christmas has come and gone. so has the stomach illness that went along with the holiday. eden got us started with it all and threw up so much that she had to go to the hospital. next was me. thankfully, i am part machine. the machine part of me can stay up all night with a puking kid, spend the day in the hospital, come home to sleep but spend the night vomiting instead, sleep sitting up in a chair for two hours, and then get up and head back to the hospital all bright and shiny like nothing has thoroughly wiped me out! we then had a one-day intermission with no vomit. that brings us to christmas eve.

christmas eve began with ma barbie and scot coming over with bags and bags of gifts! i'm pretty sure the kids were up at 6:30 am, but we didn't open presents until 10ish. i just love watching the kids get so excited about their gifts! simone does this fist clenched shaking laughing thing when she is beyond excited, and its sooo funny!! following gift opening #1, i put all the new clothes in the wash and got everything organized. we spent the afternoon resting, and then dustin got sick. he went to bed moaning and groaning and fevered. in bed he stayed while i got all the kids ready and left for ma and pa's. actually, when i left he was hanging over the toilet, but i later found out that he did NOT vomit.

christmas eve in paden city began with supper of chips and cookies. of course there was healthy food, but whats christmas eve without cookies for dinner?? after we ate, we attended christmas eve service at ma and pa's church as tradition leads us to do every year. we have often talked of staying home and having our own "service", but i don't think any of us could really go through with it! the kids were amazingly well-behaved through the church service. nice, quiet behavior is hard to do when you know you have gift opening round #2 waiting for you at ma and pa's when church is over.

for the first time ever i think the kids really did take turns opening gifts. i know they were excited, but they were somewhat subdued as well. it could've been the 6:30 wake-up time and lack of naps. but it was nice to see them taking things a little slower and enjoying each gift as it was opened. oh...i forgot to mention that before the presents were opened, dustin showed up!! thankfully whatever sickness has fallen upon us was quick moving, and he said he felt 90% better than he did earlier in the day. so thankfully, he did not have to miss opening presents at ma and pa's. it was horribly lonely without him.

just as christmas eve church is a tradition, so is my anal organization of christmas gifts when we get back home on christmas eve night. i have dustin carry everything in, and then i set out all the presents in kid specific locations...cana and eden's on the couch, judah's in the chair, simi's on the loveseat, and nadia's on the coffee table. i throw away all trash, vacuum, and put all of mine and dustin's things away. this way the kids can wake up and see their presents all over again. dustin fought me on this tradition for about three years, saying that it was entirely too late to be doing such a thing. he would've preferred to come home, leave it all sitting in bags, and go through it in the morning. but thankfully in recent years he has relented and come to see the logic beyond the organization.

it makes christmas morning a whole lot more enjoyable! we got up and opened presents from one another. dustin and i get each of the kids three gifts in memory of the gifts jesus received from the three men from the east. after breakfast and gift opening round #3, we got ready and left for maryland.

i'll skip the gory details of the long drive in the ice storm. uffda.

we arrived at meme's in time for dinner. it had been a year since we had seen dylan, selena, and selena's kids, so it was a long overdue reunion. the kids really missed seeing their cousins when we were over in the summer, and they all had a lot of catching up to do! after dinner, we had gift opening #4, and then the kids were ready for BED! the next day we spent laying around and playing with Christmas gifts. that is, until Judah got sick. he came upstairs to tell me that he *thought* he might throw up, but it was too late. just as i was instructing him to go to the toilet, he turned around and vomited all down meme's steps. he was trying to get to the bathroom while puking the entire way there! that meant a LOT of cleanup. poor judah. he just cried and cried to come home, but there was nothing i could do but make him comfortable on meme's couch and hold the trashcan for him. the redeeming event of the evening was ordering papa johns pizza. yum yum.

sunday morning we came home. i've never been so ready to get home and back to our routine! i was just tired of being sick and the kids being sick and tired of being tired. while christmas with all of our family was absolutely wonderful, i knew that we all needed some much needed rest in our own beds with no anticipation of gift opening to keep us awake!

as it stands no one else in our house has been sick. we are rested and healthy and enjoying our week with dustin off of school. i did some christmas returning yesterday and then went to a doctor to see about my pelvis problems. he seems to think it will heal just fine and will not cause me any problems with labor and birth. i have a list a page long of projects for this week, and today i organized the laundry room. that was probably the biggest item on the list. next will be to clean out and organize the office. i had to do the laundry room first so that homeschool stuff from the office closet can be stored down there. the rest of the list includes small things that are just annoying and time consuming. but i want to get them done this week while dustin is home. i can imagine that completing this to-do list will help me get a great start to the new year! there's nothing like starting out the year with a clean house and organized life!

come january i will get back into my usual routine and hopefully will not be so neglectful of this blog.

no crafts please

if i could hire someone to teach or if i could co-op one area of homeschooling, it would be CRAFTS. i guess the technical term would be "art", but at the age my kids are, they pretty much just want to make crafts. and i dislike every aspect of it--from finding an idea to storing the items when finished. uffda uffda uffda. one good reason to send simone to preschool within the school system would be so that she can learn how to use scissors and glue! i am not creative, artistic, or "crafty". i'm glad for miss barb and chris who had the kids come and bake and paint christmas tree ornaments, and i'm thankful for jill who is teaching candle making this saturday. i am thrilled that my kids get excited over a pack of new markers or colored pencils and drawing paper. and i've come to be ok with my anti-craftiness.

praise

we are officially "decorated". for us that means the christmas tree is up. its a full-time job keeping toddlers and preschoolers out of it, and i can't imagine adding any other decorations to the mix. i did attempt to put a candle snowman out on the table this year, but nadia has already pulled his arms off. we have ma barbie to thank for our tree this year. our old one finally bit the dust. after christmas i might look for a small one that could be set on a table. that would eliminate the kids pulling ornaments off the lower branches problem.

on a different note...as many of you know, i have been sick at my stomach regularly since august. when i say "sick", i mean everyday type of sick...not just an occasional pain here and there. no matter what i ate, i was getting sick with pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. its amazing that i've continued to grow so "plump" this pregnancy because at times i felt I was wasting away to nothing. the sickness caused me to not want to leave the house. i cancelled plans with friends on numerous occasions, had to leave places, and even sold tickets to the wvu pitt game that i had looked forward to going to on my birthday. i just was so weary of being sick that at that point, i could not imagine driving all the way to morgantown and being sick at the game or in the car. whatever the problem was had become a hinderance to everyday life. and then two weeks ago someone told me that God wanted to heal stomachs and that they would pray for me. bear in mind, i had prayed and prayed and prayed. i basically had just decided that for whatever reason this sickness was going to stick around and had made the choice that in sickness or in health i would glorify god in my body. but, by the grace of God, his plan for me was different. i was prayed for, and my stomach was healed. i do not know what the problem was that plagued me for weeks, but it has been gone completely for two weeks now. there is no explanation except that by God's power it was healed. i have tried everything to make myself sick again--eating ice cream, overeating, eating junk, eating quickly, not eating, etc, etc, etc, and NOTHING makes me sick. now, maybe its insane to put God to the test like that, but its something i had to do for myself. so this morning i give praise to God. by his power and his mercy, my stomach is healed and functioning as it should. i am able to enjoy my days without fear of being sick, and i can make it through nadia's breakfast and homeschooling without having to run to the bathroom 20 times. and i can spend my afternoon rest time reading or knitting rather than having to sleep from the sheer exhaustion of being sick. hallelujah!!

i am reminded of hezekiah's poem in isaiah 38:
Lord, your discipline is good,
for it leads to life and health.
You have restored my health
and allowed me to live!
Yes, it was good for me to suffer this anguish,
for you have rescued me from death
and forgiven all my sins.
For the dead can not praise you;
they cannot raise their voices in praise.
Those who go down to destruction
can no longer hope in your faithfulness.
Only the living can praise you as I do today.
Each generation can make known your
faithfulness to the next.
Think of it--the Lord has healed me!
I will sing his praises with instruments
every day of my life..."

thurs afternoon

a phone call from doug reminded me what a blogging slacker i have become. but, seriously...there is just nothing going on. we're all in a dark days of fall/winter funk i guess. i am being militant about our homeschool schedule because it is a wish of mine that we be in position to take off two, three, or maybe four weeks in march. we are on target to do so, but i can't afford to slack. so, we do school, eat lunch, nap, eat supper, pick up the house, go to bed, and repeat the same the next day.

i am thinking about really going out on a limb here today and going CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! i figure with as slow-moving as i am, i'd better plan on at least two trips out, and i'd prefer to avoid saturday shopping. so i am planning on going tonight, monday night, and maybe next thursday night with kaycee. i have made my list and checked it twice and then again a third and fourth time just to make sure i have all my ducks in a row. i hate traveling an hour to shop and then finding out that i forgot something!

third trimester

its hard to believe that i only have three months of pregnancy left! this past week i set up a guessing game at expectnet.com where people can guess the sex, birthdate, height, and weight of the baby. its fun to read everyone's guesses, and i am surprised that only three people have guessed the sex of the baby to be a "girl". could already having four girls have something to do with that? remember, i did get a boy dog recently to keep judah and dustin company!

i did the same sort of guessing game when i was pregnant with nadia, and my sister-in-law, rachel won the game. i told her if she wins this time, she should charge money for people to hear her predictions! i am pretty sure she's right on the date. she guessed march 1. my due date is february 28th and is a full moon. i am counting on the moon to pull me into labor during the day and for the baby to be born in the middle of the night on march 1. although i would LIKE to have a february baby, i'm not known to birth before my due date. however, dustin insists that this baby will be born early. the baby is big, my belly is big, and i feel more like 36 weeks pregnant than 28 weeks, so that is what is forming his guess.

either way, i'm just really really really excited. i want to start planning for what i need/want and organizing things for the baby, but its way too soon. after christmas, baby preparations will move to the top of my priority list. i love getting the carseat, bassinet, blankets, clothes, bottles, diapers, etc, etc, all washed up and ready to go! i love going shopping for the few new things i buy with each baby such as a special blanket, a new outfit, or some new tiny diapers. i love the anticipation of the final weeks of pregnancy, so here we go...two trimesters down and one to go!

sweet pea...jr.(?)

about a week after sweet pea died, dustin came home from school with a kitten. a kitten that looks exactly like our sweet pea!! sadly, as soon as eden reached out to hold it, it jumped down and ran away into the woods. so much for the promised "tame" kitten!! during that week, my cousin's dog went missing. the kids prayed fervently for paisley's return, and at one point eden added the kitten into the prayer. thankfully, paisley did return home, and then poor eden couldn't figure out why God didn't answer her prayer about HER little animal. fast forward another couple of days. the kids heard meowing at the neighbors, and lo and behold, eden's new kitty had returned after over a week in the woods! it was still wild, so it took some maneuvering on the kids part to catch him/her, but finally they had the kitty in their arms. we had to let it stay in the basement for a few days to get acclimated to life with small children, but i am happy to report that "sweet pea" has adjusted wonderfully, and eden is thrilled to have a baby kitty once again. i really did try to get them to name the kitten something else, but they insist that his/her name is sweet pea.

judah nate is eight!

eight years ago today, judah was already six hours old. he was born just after midnight, missing pop-pop's birthday by 32 minutes. its cool for judah though because since he could vocalize his thoughts he's been enthralled with "the midnight"...meaning anything that goes on after dark. so, at some point "in the midnight" my boy turned eight. for months he has been planning his birthday party, which at this point, involves allie (his BFFFFFFF) coming over for a french toast supper and then going to church with us tonight and then his male friends coming for a sleepover friday evening. last year he had allie come WITH his other friends, but he said that this year he wants to have her come separately because the boys have gotten stronger in a year's time and might hurt her this year. earlier this week he said, "i'm supposed to keep her safe.". for now we have two parties planned, and we may add a third before its all said and done.

so today we celebrate JUDAH NATHANEL. my lone boy in a household of girls. when judah was eight days old we had a guest speaker at church who looked at him in my arms and began to pray over him. i got the tape and wrote down the prayer, and it is uncanny how the prayer has come to pass in his life. it was said that he would have dustin's mannerisms, which he definitely does. it was said that he would be such a combo of his mother and father, which is IS--frightenly so at times! and it was prayed that he would be a comfort to his mother, which he has been. judah has prayed almost nightly for me, for my health, for my babies to be strong and healthy, and for our family to be safe. he has a great, childlike faith that makes me smile and puts my heart at ease. his attention to detail, sharp mind, and logical thinking have caused me chuckle many times. judah is everything his name means...a "praised gift of jehovah"...god's gift to me.

Happy Birthday Judah Nate!!

a man after God's heart

in christian circles such as the one i'm in, you often hear of the scandalous lives of this big minister and that big minister and many make jokes about the plastic-faced men who color their hair to preach on tbn. i admit that my experiences in such circles have left me slightly jaded when it comes to "big" ministries, "pastors" spending more time on jets than in their churches, and prosperity as a theme of a message preached on sunday morning.

in the time i spent living in tulsa, ok, and in the years since, there have been countless stories of men and women that i heard speak as celebrity ministers or even knew personally that have been caught living a lie in one way or another. but through the years there was one man who i was honored to have as my pastor for two years that as far as i know has lived a life above reproach and has walked in as much humility and integrity as any minister i have known.

pastor billy joe daugherty.

in recent months pastor billy joe fought against cancer in his body and died last week. i was shocked. pastor billy joe preached multiple messages a week to thousands, traveled all over the world, reached out to the most down-trodden in his city, sat on boards of universities and some of the largest churches in the world, and yet still he knew my name in the hallway at church. he took time at school to ask questions about my life, my family, my dreams, and on more than one occasion prayed specifically for the issues most important in my life. before i ever had children, i remember him talking with me after class one day and praying that my children and my children's children would be lovers and followers of God. as far as i could tell this man loved God, loved his family, loved his church, and loved the people of his city and of the world.

as a minister in a "word of faith" church, pastor billy joe believed for the healing of his body. i can only imagine what kind of wholeness that death brought to him. as i watched his memorial service for three hours today, i was reminded of hebrews 11 that all those mentioned having faith "all died in faith, not having received the promises but having seen them afar off" and "were assured of them and embraced them". pastor billy joe may not have experienced the healing of his natural body here in this lifetime, but he died in faith, assured of God's promises and embracing them.

his life is a picture to me of integrity, humility, the hand of God reaching out to the hurting and unlovely, and authentic faith. i am thankful that i had the opportunity to learn from him.

thanksgiving break

its been a strange week here at the turners. due to thanksgiving break, we're all out of whack with our schedules, and this poor blog suffers. i haven't had a cup of coffee all week either. and no school for the kids. i've basically just enjoyed time at home with dustin and have taken the opportunity to do little things here and there with each of the kids individually. hunter dougie has taken up residence in the guest room for this week of hunting season, but so far there are no deer hanging in the garage.

today i helped ma ruth and pa prepare for our big dillaman thanksgiving tomorrow. i honestly have no idea how they have done it basically by themselves all these years. what a lot of thought and preparation. i had no clue. but, i am so happy that i was able to help out today and get some cooking lessons as a bonus. i now know the secret to ma's delicious chocolate pie! after being there today, i am a million times more thankful for my grandparents and what they do to make these big events happen every year. i can't wait for us all to have dinner together tomorrow!

besides having doug around all week, virginia and lily were also here for an evening. and luke, rachel, and the kids arrived today. my mom has officially moved, and tonight we all had our first dinner at "ma barbie's". i am just beside myself in excitment and thankfulness for all of my family.

hopefully next week, i can get back to my routine and will have more to say here and maybe some pictures to share.

happy thanksgiving.

Dog Show

Today Judah wrote his first "full length" story. I was soooo proud of him. One of my basic homeschool philosophies is to focus a lot on what the kids are naturally GOOD at. I just figure there will always be weaknesses, and it seems like too many people spend too much time trying to make weaknesses stronger. I'm sure that has its place as well, and I DO cover weak areas, but I have really tried to focus on each kid's individual strengths. Judah's strength is logic and math. We have skipped a grade in math, and he amazes me at his ability to understand and remember mathematical concepts. It just comes easy to him, which in turn, makes it easy for me to teach math to him. However, last year I began to dread teaching him language and writing. He just couldn't wrap his logical mind around the meaning of being CREATIVE when it came to writing sentences. We struggled and struggled. Then once he mastered the art of writing a sentence, he had difficulty expanding on an idea or making it more descriptive. So, we have practiced a lot, and today he wrote his very first story. I just figured any story would be some sort of progress, so I was taken aback at what he wrote. It is a fun, interesting story, and he thought of it and wrote it all by himself!!!! I am just so proud of him that I must share it with everyone. The story below is "as is" with no corrections made by me. I like that "Joe" is very logically spelled as "Joa"...like boat, coat, soak, etc.

Title: The Greatest Dog Show

On November twenty eighth a boy named Joa went to a dog show. It was in Califoria. When they got to the dog show it was his turn. He was very nervous when he got up on stage. Finily he and his dog started doing tricks. The best trick of all was when the dog rode a bike. After all the tricks all judges judged all the people in the show. They annouced that Joa won first prize of all the people in the show. The End. To Mom and Dad.



And while I'm bragging on Judah, let me just say that I LOVE how this boy cleans his room. Its a little different every time, but it makes me smile no matter what he does to organize things. Here is today:

soon enough

four people this week have asked me about when my baby is due. one asked if i am having a thanksgiving baby, another asked if it is a christmas baby, and the other two were just general due date questions. i can not imagine having a baby within a month or even two months. time is just moving too quickly. it seems like i *just* had a positive pregnancy test. i still have a test in my drawer, and i'm waiting for just the right moment to do and see my last positive pregnancy test ever. there's just nothing quite like seeing the pink dye move across the little window and leave TWO lines in its track. ahhhh... so, time...please just slow down. i'm not having a thanksgiving baby or even a christmas baby. i'm having a february/march baby, but even those months are coming too quickly! i wish there was something i could do to get ready for baby. but at this point, there is nothing i need or want. i figure at about 36 weeks, i'll just set the bassinet up in my room, wash the carseat cover, and get some little newborn clothes and diapers ready. i've been trying and trying to think of things that i need to buy...just something that i could put down on a "what to get for baby" list, and there's just not much. thankfully, because there is no need to make many physical preparations, i can just sit back and enjoy this time of "expecting". i want to remember the kicks and the rolls and to make as many memories as i possibly can as this season of my child-bearing years comes to an end.

11.12

when coherent thoughts and paragraphs fail me, thankfully i can fall back on list-making

--gorgeous day
--homeschool art gathering this morning
--sick baby
--fruit flies freak me out
--i'm way behind on pictures in albums
--my mom's house looks great. i've been visiting while its cat-free.
--simone is so cute when she wakes up
--i don't feel like cooking supper
--must do laundry
--25 week pregnant. wow.
--i need more hours in a day to knit
--can't wait till thanksgiving week
--too many options for tomorrow night. must decide what to do.
--simone says "ants live in little holes up there" (while looking at the textured ceiling)
--should drink some water
--and get off the computer
--and do somthing productive
--like laundry
--or shower
--laundry made the list twice
--speaking of, nadia finally needs new diapers
--oh...and i love my new purse (virginia). a lady at oglebay complemented me on it.

christmas list '09

i have received the annual "christmas list" requests and have no clue what to reply. i can't think of a darn thing that i need. the few things i want include big ticket items like a flatter yard, a new room off the back of the house, a new roof, and a garage door. so i don't think i'll be putting those things on the list. and as far as the kids go...there is nothing they need, and they're having a hard time thinking of things they even WANT! well...except cana, who wants a cell phone. you know...because its not quite the same to call friends on a regular old house phone. how boring is that! judah has only mentioned legos, but how many legos does a boy need? they all look the same to me. plus he has his birthday december 2nd. eden has requested fake nails and lip gloss so that she may use them at her birthday party. (her birthday is in MAY) simone says she would like a pink beaver and some makeup, but i am pretty sure that she is just listening to her older sisters talk. she has no clue what making a christmas list is all about. and nadia says she wants some bigger cloth diapers, which is a very practical, legitimate request in my opinion. its just so hard to think of items to put on a list when there is nothing at all that we really need. so, if you have any good ideas of what i might want to ask for for christmas this year, feel free to let me know!

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Turner

May 5, 2009-November 8, 2009

Our Beloved Kitten

"Follow" (mama kitty) went into labor early in the day on monday, may 4, but there were still no kittens by the end o the day. it must have been a difficult labor. on tuesday morning, around 8:30 am, Sweet Pea was born. in the hours following, four more kittens were born but never took their first breath. eden sat and prayed that they would live, but sweet pea was the lone survivor of what could have possibly been a difficult pregnancy and labor for this first-time mama kitty. until about a month ago, the kids were sure sweet pea was a girl. but as it turns out, "she" was a "HE". nevertheless, eden carried sweet pea around endlessly...dressing her/him in clothes, taking her/him on stroller rides, and most definitely overfeeding her/him. his wish was her command! first thing in the morning, eden went out to find sweet pea to hold him and love him. ironically, she is the one who found that he had been hit on the road last night. she said something just told her to look outside, and although it was nearly dark, she saw his still body lying on the road. dustin said she screamed like she was being murdered, "SWEET PEA'S DEAD...SWEET PEA IS DEAD..." over and over. it seems quite possible that he did die suddenly as he was hit by a car. a house too close to the road, drivers who drive too fast, and a black cat at dusk...a deadly mix. the kids spent the next hours drawing memorial pictures and writing notes to sweet pea. eden sealed hers in a plastic box with packing tape around it so that it could be buried with him. she went to sleep hugging titus, claiming that he would have to be her "new best friend".

Last words to Sweet Pea

"you were the best kitty in the world and always will be. i will miss playing with you. you always made me laugh when you and titus wrestled. everyone loved you..." cana

"i'm sorry you died sweet pea. i will always remember you. and i will always love you and you will always make me happy." judah

"we love you sweet pea and i will always remember you and i will miss you and never forget you." eden

"sweet pea you should go to the animal doctor." simone

sabbath rest

i love fridays. not because the week is gone but because of what is ahead. we call friday "sabbath preparation". we get the house spic 'n' span, school finished, food simplified, and settle down for our day of rest. there is just something so peaceful and mysterious in the knowledge that there is one day set aside at the end of the week to just REST. i wonder what god was thinking as he completed his work towards the end of that 6th day. did he pre-plan his rest, or did it just occur to him in the moment that creation was finished and he still had a day left with nothing to do? i tend to think it was planned from the beginning of time. it just makes sense. in our american lives we rush here and there and everywhere, and i hear so many people say, "rest?? what is that??" all the more reason to take a day. and truly, if god himself took a day to rest from his work, how silly of our human minds to think we can survive without it.

"so, god...i look ahead to tomorrow. thank you for our week and thank you for this day of rest. you bring us peace. you are lord and your mercy endures forever. amen"

ma katy plays yahtzee

if i believed in reincarnation, i'd say that a good portion of ma katy has been reincarnated in simone kathryn-ruth. from about the time she had words, simone has been very intrigued with ma katy. she will ask, "when is ma katy coming back?" "is ma katy still sick?" ""what is ma katy doing today?" she told me once, "ma katy isn't dead". and i said, "where is she?", to which simone pounded on her chest and replied, "in my heart". i think that simone looks like ma katy. i imagine her growing up with dark wavy hair and a narrow mouth with a slight overbite. she reminds me of ma katy in the way she thinks and acts. she is quick to say what she thinks in any given situation. maybe its just because she's three, but after having three other three-year-olds, i am pretty certain it is a characteristic unique to simone. simone is confident, bold, and quirky. she often looks in the mirror and says, "i'm beautiful. i love myself". she states that when she grows up she will "drink beer". now i don't think i ever saw ma katy drinking beer, but i disctinctly remember her telling me that everyone SHOULD drink beer so that they wouldn't be so crabby! i always thought that was funny when she'd tell me that! the clincher happened a few weeks ago. we were walking home from church, and simone was talking about ma katy as she often does. i was asking her questions like
"do you love ma katy?"
"yes."
"is ma barbie going to live in ma katy's house?"
"yes."
what does ma katy like to do?"
"play yahtzee."

her answer to my last question stopped me in my tracks. there is no way in the world simone would have ANY clue that ma katy loved to play yahtzee. where did simone's answer come from? ma katy is the one who TAUGHT me to play yahtzee. i remember beating her and her making me play again so that she'd have another shot at winning. i remember her sending Poppop to the store for more scorecards in the middle of the evening so that we could keep playing. so yes simone, you're right...ma katy DOES like to play yahtzee. now the true test might be when we sit down to play the game with simone in a few years--will she already know how to play?

once a year rant

mark it down folks. this is a rant. i don't often behave this way in public, but you know...today is just one of those kinds of days. i am seriously wondering why it is that teachers are paid so little that a person can not work as a teacher in the public schools of our state and be able to provide for his/her family as a one-income wage earner. has it always been this way? if so, i just don't understand it. i mean, i teach three kids everyday...for about 3 hours, and i'm worn out. who says to teach is not work? obviously the person who has never done it! it seems like it ought to count for more than poverty level income for a man or a woman to go to work 40 hours a week within our state's schools and teach the next generation. oh...is it the summers off? gosh...you know...with all that money they make through a school year, i'm sure teachers just have it made and can sit on their butts and do nothing all summer! yeah right...the one that chooses this profession to earn a living is out working in the summer to try to make up the difference for the rest of the year! not just in the summer either! he/she must take a second or even third job after school and on weekends just to earn above poverty level. is the degree not legit? why go to school for four years and then pay thousands for a graduate degree so that you can rise above the poverty level income if you could just go down the road and get paid almost double to ____________??? i'm not even going to fill in the blank b/c this isn't to rip on the jobs of others or meant to de-value what they do. my point is that i believe that teachers in our public school systems are under-valued, thus under-paid. come to think of it, maybe its that the idea that a man should be able to go out and provide for his family so that his wife can stay home and nurture and educate the children has become archaic???? has our school system become a place for women to go and get jobs? women that are the second wage earners in their family? maybe so. heck...it'd be a GOOD second income! but for the love of pete, when i type in the numbers and find that our family can qualify for $500 in food stamps because we are that far below poverty level, it just seems like there's a problem!!! is it the 6 kids??? maybe. so, i re-did the screening and indicated that i had "only" three kids, and we still qualify for $300 a month is food assistance. granted, i'd never take it, but still...come on! maybe i should have stuck at the national average of 1.8 children, put them in daycare, and gone to work as a teacher. is that really what family's have to do to make it these days? its sad. so sad. it makes my heart ache. even as i am starting out the day as a full-fledged pessimist, i will choose to thank God that He alone is truth and justice and goodness. He is my strength and my refuge. i am safe to put my trust in Him. i have no doubts that we are right where we need to be for this season. but gosh...its just frustrating sometimes. my once a year rant is over--you won't hear it again.

dress up

this year was the first year in a long time that i did not dress up for halloween. i just couldn't get into it for some reason. at the last minute i put on something of a costume that i thought was hilarious, but i just couldn't get out of the house with it on. nevertheless, the kids had fun, and we have enough candy to last us until easter! they each decided what they wanted to dress up as. cana was our prom queen, judah a "professional" mountaineer basketball player, eden an animal doctor, simone a "barina", and nadia (she didn't really choose) was a penguin.

the funniest thing of the trick or treat evening was when eden saw a real dog and ran over to it. it was a tiny tiny little yappy thing. it was going crazy, and eden was just kissing it and petting it. she said to the owner, "i'm an animal doctor", and the lady replied, "well, then if you give him [the dog] a shot, maybe he'll calm down". so eden reached in her pocket and pulled out her syringe and proceeded to hold the dog down and give it a "shot"! by this time everyone around was watching and laughing, and eden was just taking her job as serious as could be!! oh eden...you make mama smile!!! :)

rescue

most of my life i have heard about being "saved". who's "saved" and who's not, pray to be "saved", stay "saved", saved, saved, saved. "saved" from WHAT? saved from hell, i suppose? you hear it so much that it becomes as mundane as the commericial on TV that repeats itself every 10 minutes. i admit there was a time when my heart became hard to the notion of being "saved". it just didn't seem to be that one could pray a prayer and receive his/her ticket to heaven, thus being "saved" from hell. i became a skeptic.

god met me in my skepticism. over time, my eyes have come open to see--or at least BEGIN to see--my need to be "saved". so, if someone would ask me if i am saved, i would reply, "yes...i have been rescued. many times. and probably will be again." for whatever reason, god in his mercy, chose to rescue...to SAVE me. even when i didn't see the danger and when i didn't believe.

god has literally picked me up--rescued me--many times in my life. he surrounded me with love in my high school years and rescued me from a life of rebellion. a few years later, through heartbreaking circumstances, he rescued me from what could have potentially been a crippling relationship. he took me to a safe place for many years where i could learn to love my husband and to be a wife and mother. and then from that place he rescued me from a church situation that could have killed my faith. these are major examples that i have come to see god's hand in my life. but i'm sure to there are the everyday things that i have no idea how god came to deliver me--to rescue me.

i'm still not sure about the whole notion of getting my ticket to heaven. if thats true, then great. but what matters more to me is that i have one who sees me here in this lifetime and watches out for me. in his grace and in his might, he deems me worthy of being rescued. i will offer my devotion to him and pray that i would not "neglect so great a salvation". his ways are higher than mine--his thoughts above mine. many aspects of god i will never understand. but i hope that even in my short-sightedness and ignorance, i will continue to be able to see evidence of god's rescue from the beginning of time to today and to put my trust in it for tomorrow.

a post on a thursday???

this week i've been sorting through all my baby clothes. now that i that i know a healthy baby is coming in february, i feel a little more comfortable going through things to see what will be seasonally appropriate for the new baby and what i can safely get rid of. my last three babies have been born in the summer, so i have an abundance of 0-3 month SUMMER clothes. they won't be any help to me in february! into the boxes they go!! i love sorting and organizing!!! but i overdid it monday with all the lifting and now my back feels like its falling apart. so now i have to drag boxes and sit and carry small armloads of stuff. i feel like i'm getting OLD!!

not much else going on. soccer season is over, so dustin is home now in the evenings. he is still looking for a second job, so i don't know how long the home in the evenings is going to last. i'll just enjoy it while i can! in the meantime i will try not to worry about money. i think that how those who follow God handle and think about money is one thing that sets them apart from the rest of the world and i am determined to not give into the worry of this world's system. i remind myself that even with one source of income, we are among the wealthiest in the world. and in a time where many can not find work, we are blessed to have a dependable job that dustin can go to and actually ENJOY what he does. so, no complaining here. just prayer and hope that he finds a second job that is just what we need. smack me upside the head if you hear me whining!

tonight is trick or treat. i'm still thinking on costumes for the kids. good thing i don't get too into it all. surely in all the basement dressups there's something that can serve them well for an hour walk around town for candy! if all else fails i can break out the old red raider basketball uniforms!

to do today: feed tik, clean kitchen, put in laundry, homeschool kids, clean office, make lunch, clean kitchen, laundry, nap, put on supper, put laundry away, find halloween costumes, eat supper, clean kitchen, trick or treat, wash kids, kids to bed, bath, read, bed.

mountaineer judah

judah went to his first mountaineer football game this weekend! he said it was the best day of his life! i especially loved just having him along, as its always special when i get to do something by myself with just one of the kids.

judah had all his clothes for the game laid out all week. he said he could hardly sleep for five nights just thinking about it. and even with all of his thoughts, i don't think he was prepared for the hugeness of it all! his eyes looked like they would pop out of his head when we entered the stadium. and thought just the drums were the band, so when the whole band came running out, he just said "wow". he loved that they made the shape of the state and must have asked me about 20 times "how did they do that?"

he says his favorite part was when "the west virginia put his arm out and ran away, and the connecticut tried to get him and couldn't catch him and he made a touchdown". he caught on quick to the rules and would inform me of when we were on offense or defense although he couldn't understand why connecticut would get a point for running to the end that says "mountaineers" (the endzone). his logical mind thought that one end should say west virginia and the other should say connecticut. that makes sense, i think!

as soon as we got in the car to go home, he was asleep. after nights of not sleeping from excitement, i think he was just totally worn out.

its a BABY!

i had my ultrasound on friday. i was trying to add them all up, and i'm pretty sure it was the 21st or 22nd ultrasound of my lifetime. although i pretty much know what to expect, i still get crazy nervous to lay on the table and see my baby on the screen. i guess i'm just the pessimist who is always afraid of bad news. but thankfully, this friday and this ultrasound, we heard nothing but GOOD news and saw a healthy, healthy baby!! all of the measurements matched my due date perfectly, and the baby was estimated at weighing 1 pound 3 ounces. we were undecided going into it if we wanted to find out the sex of the baby. dustin definitely wanted to know, and i was leaning towards not knowing. i thought it would be nice to have a surprise for my last baby. but, in the end, dustin won. he was insisting that he could find out and not tell me, but i wasn't so sure about that. then the ultrasound tech said she couldn't tell him if i didn't want to know. what the heck...i've done it both ways--surprise at birth and surprise at 20 some weeks, and there really isn't one thats better than the other. so besides knowing that the baby is healthy, i DO know the sex. and don't ask me, because i will NOT tell you. there isn't a bribe you can offer me that will drag the news out of me, so don't even try. (doug) unless of course you want to pay off my van loan or dustin's school loan.

i pray now for a continued healthy pregnancy and uncomplicated birth here in a few months. we throw around the name Jehovah Jireh--God my Provider--when it comes to money, but there are many things more important than money. its in those things that I can rest in knowing that Jehovah Jireh, God that Provides, is the one who sees ahead and makes a way for me and for the life in my womb!

the weekend must have thoroughly worn out the kids. its nearly 8:00, and i am still sitting in the kitchen alone. i haven't heard a peep from them. so, i'll just enjoy the quiet and my coffee.

the slumber party/fashion show/dance off/ birthday party was a success!! i promised cana i'd post a picture. its not even technically her birthday yet, and she's had a friend party, went on a "date" with dustin and me, and shared a birthday gathering with her baby cousin. i hope the actual day doesn't come with let-down that most of the excitement has already happened! perhaps she'll want to pick out something special for supper on Wednesday. i suppose the double-digit birthday does deserve a weeklong celebration!!

in other news, if there is one thing i've learned from being a mom for (only) ten years, its that there just is rarely a black and white/right and wrong way to raise a baby/child. i was talking with my cousin the other day about things i said i'd never do when cana was first born. things like use a crib tent, bottle feed, homeschool. also, i would never ever ever let cana get messy. but...things just change. ten years later, i've used a crib tent (simone), bottle fed (all), homeschool (older three), and sometimes i have to think back to when the most recent bath was (mostly eden). when i'm in a group of mothers--old and young--i do a lot of listening. i have so much to learn, and i hope that someday my experiences can guide other young moms into lives of parenting grace. all i know for now is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. whether in a grocery cart or a baby wrap--in my bed or in a crib--educated at home or in the public school--i pray that above all else i would be able to teach my children to love God, to love people, and to love LIFE.

tonight's the night

if you think i'm a planner/list maker, you should meet my daugher, Cana!!! she gets it honest--thats for sure! for at least 11 months now she's been planning her 10th (double digits!!) birthday party. she has practically an entire notebook full of lists...lists of games, friends, ideas, foods, decorations, etc, etc, etc. and tonight is finally THE night. after school my house will be invaded by nine and ten year old girls. they were each instructed to bring their best dress for a fashion show! cana has arranged for someone to come at 6:00 to do hair and makeup, and then the show will start at 7. i have let her plan the entire event herself, so i am looking forward to the surprise of it all! she's made all the phone calls, shopping lists, and arrangements all by herself.

i find it all comical because i remember turning ten and still thinking that i was still at least half boy. i was wearing boys high top tennis shoes and carrying a Go-Bots lunch box to school. in 4th grade is the first time that one of my friends came to school with a bra on, and i thought that i would rather kill myself than to EVER wear a bra!! i had a red trapper keeper that i wrote J.D. Hog on the front of because i thought it was so cool that my initials were J.D. yeah...so it is absolutely amazing to me that i have produced a daughter that plans fashion show slumber parties! she is exquisitely feminine, and that makes me happy. she is beautiful and confident, and is 100% sure that her friends are about to attend the "best slumber party on their lives".

titus turner

i don't think i've posted about one of the best additions to our family!!!! in august i got a baby jack russell! i've always always always wanted a jack russell, and it just never worked out for us to get one. in august my friend was trying to find a home for her JR pup, we took him for a "trial" run, and he's been here ever since. i just love him sooooo much. his birth name was colby jack, but we re-named him titus. i've always liked the name titus, but we could never use it on a child b/c of the alliteration. it fits him perfectly. titus turner. and dustin calls him titus timothy turner.

sadly, about a month ago, titus fell down the basement steps and broke his leg. it was one of the most sad, pathetic things i have EVER seen. he just sat with sad, sad eyes and cried. dr. meckley got him all fixed up in a neon green cast, and tomorrow is the 4 week mark at which time he will get his cast off. the first pictures are the day he came home from the "hospital", and the last one was taken this morning--the last day of the green (now brown) cast!

oh...and the one is of him "smiling". he is so excited to run to us that he smiles the whole time. its hard to capture on camera, but this is the best picture i've been able to get so far.

and...the one of him laying on his back was when he was bored with the mountaineers getting beat. he sat all interested for the first two quarters, and then he got mad and went to the floor in protest.

the smell of chocolate

this past weekend our good friends from hershey, pa, came for a visit. i love love love having guests in my home!!! we were supposed to go see them this summer, but our vacation did not work out. so it had been almost a year since we had all been together. we ate a lot of food, let the kids play, did some crocheting, the guys went to see a movie. they were able to experience the great Red Raider alumni parade in middlebourne! not much that can beat that! kaycee and i took amanda on a b/deer drive to the middle of nowhere. she wondered why the deer don't run away from cars but rather stand and watch them. we told her thats just what west virginia deer do. we thoroughly discussed life, god, kids, work, and took naps in the afternoons. it was an awesome weekend.

yesterday my week began with a shopping trip!!! to me shopping is like going out for the hunt. i'm like the woman in proverbs 31 who is anointed to find bargains, and yesterday i brought home the kill!! i got four summer dresses for the girls for $3.50 each, had a coupon for $20 for old navy so i got judah some jeans, and they had cream of potato soup (the kids favorite) at gabes for .99/can, a whole .50 cheaper than in the regular stores.

oh...and my little animal girl, eden, had another animal adventure this weekend. a chipmunk crawled into her hand again. except this time, it came to BITE her!! she was so shocked because she was so sure she was the chipmunk whisperer! poor little thing. she had two tiny teeth marks on her finger. but i think it hurt her heart more than it did her finger!

and now a talkin' tik

nadia has been my latest talker. i blame it on simone's advanced vocabulary and excessive amount of words. nadia has had no reason to talk. simone thinks and speaks FOR her. however, in the past week, i have had to start curbing some of simone's talking so that nadia can get in some words. with five kids in the house, i guess i have becoming like a crossing guard when it comes to talking. we all have to take turns.

so, for this week, its been so fun to see nadia's thoughts be made into words! now, if you ask her "nadia, how was your sleep?", she will look up in the air and say, "ummmmmm" and just grin. she says book, baby, mama, dada, cana, kaycee, mo-mo, yes, no, please, thank you, all done, night night, kitty, ok, uh-oh, woof woof, meow, mooooooo, eateateat, up, puppy, and i'm sure there's more, but this is all i can think of right now. its so funny to me that i was concerned about her ability to think and speak, and here all this time, she's had all these thoughts and just not had room to get them out!! wow. i definitely learned a lesson!!

never a dull moment

for those of you who love a good kid story, i can't resist posting this. hopefully eden will read it someday and laugh!

she came out of the shower this morning, wrapped in a towel, with a profusely bleeding lip!! i said "eden! what in the world did you do to your lip????" she said "i was shaving", wiped her lip off, and went to get dressed.

later, i explained that women (most women) do not shave their faces. to which she replied in astonishment, "daddy uses a PINK razor???" ahhhhh eden....you're a funny, funny girl.

animal rescue

last week eden came upstairs holding a bathroom towel in a wad. she had a sheepish look on her face. i said "eden??? whats with the towel?" she was reluctant to show me. eventually what i saw in the towel was a baby mouse with its neck sliced...bleeding...barely alive. with tears in her eyes, eden said "i am saving his life." now for a mother, this is a very delicate situation. what do i do so that i protect my daughter's tender heart and at the same time be able to get a bleeding, dying mouse OUTSIDE of my house??? so, i thought quickly and said, "well eden, i think the baby mousie's mommy might be looking for him. and he is hurt and scared and would feel better if he could be WITH his mommy. so why don't you take him to the garage and lay him down." so she did. towel and all. within minutes the towel was empty, and the mouse either ran away or fell prey to our cat once again. eden says the mommy came and took him home.

then tonight simone came running in shouting, "mom! mom! mom! eden caught a "chickmunk"! come see!!!" i went outside, and eden had captured a chipmunk and had it contained in an empty catfood bag. she said she once again rescued a poor animal from the jaws of our cat, and decided that it would be safe in the bag with a few bites of cat food.

so, this week eden has rescued a mouse and a chipmunk and has also decided that she will dress as an "animal doctor" for halloween. i'm definitely seeing a future in this for little edie.

the same

see?? i'm horrible at keeping up with writing! i have a running blog in my head, but it just doesn't seem paper (screen) worthy! you know...its all about every day stuff like food, dirt, dishwashers, dogs, kids, poop, fruit flies, mail, teeth, school, clothes, etc, etc, etc. we get into our routine, and although i love what i do, there's just not much to write about!

as i stated on my facebook status, i am experiencing my annual autumn restlessness. i feel restless and anxious and start making lists like a crazy person. so far i have made lists of birthdays, budgets, job possibilities with their earnings, christmas lists, birthday lists, list of books to read, list of home repairs, list of things to buy when dustin's gets his soccer check, things to give away list, chores to do in the house list, and...i think thats all. i started a new "list" notebook so that all my lists are in the same place. if i had the money, fall would be a very productive time of year because i'd be all over home repairs and chores!! i did buy knobs for the entry closet doors last night. as much as i like making lists, i HATE feeling this way. i have thought and prayed about it so much because there is just no rhyme or reason to it. i have narrowed it down to the possibility that there have been a lot of key changes in my life during the season of fall, and that somewhere deep in my sub-conscious my being begins to expect (or dread) a change.

some of the autumn changes i can think of are school starting every year as a kid, meeting dustin at fairmont, having my first child, moving to west virginia, hearing devestating news about levi, my grandparents dying, dustin getting a teaching job, and certain life-changing spiritual experiences. i think more impactful events in my life have taken place between the months of october and december than in any other time period of the year. so, this is my theory for now. while i live fairly independently for most of the year, its during this season that i have a strong need for community. i have begun to pray that God would see me through.

oh...and i'm reading a really good book for the third time. some books just get better and better the more you read them! this book is called "i am not a social activist", but the title is somewhat deceiving. my friend steffi bought it for me, and gifts is my love language, so its an extra special book to me! since this post is getting really long, maybe later on this week i'll write some of my favorite lines from the book. :)

some days there are just no words. i yield my will to the will of God. i honor my husband. i love my children. it just seems so simple. today there is a just humility in the presence of a powerful God. who am i to be so blessed? i pray that my life would be a reflection of the redemptive nature of God.

hungry hungry hippo

dustin has been making waffles every saturday morning for a couple of months now. last saturday the waffle iron died. it was only a 2-seater anyway, which means i'm in the market for a new, LARGER waffle iron. i've been online shopping for one that makes four at at time so that dustin can make waffles for all seven of us in less than an hour!

i think i'm hungry. waffles are on my mind, and i'm sad that i won't have them this week. popcorn also sounds good. as does chocolate pie. and iced tea with no sugar. and french toast from choochoos. but, i suppose i'll just eat some carrots like a good pregnant woman should.

hopefully by next week, i can have some waffles.

house list edit

i'm going back to do my first edit of my house wishlist! THANK YOU Cassie & crew for the bedframe!!

this weekend we had two great testimonies of healing. #1 a lady at church had a mammogram last week that showed a lump in her breast that had the possibility of being cancerous. she went for further testing, and the second round of tests showed no lump. comparing the two tests, one could see a lump in the first, and it was gone in the second. the second test was after she received prayer for health and healing. #2 diana stender's mother came to church last wednesday for prayer from the elders b/c she does not want to live on pain medication and was asking God to heal her body of pain. she was prayed for, and diana called to give a report on saturday that after receiving prayer, her mother is pain free and has not had to take any medication! is there really anything too small or too great for God?

friday

today will be a great day! dustin will be home for dinner!! when i looked at the calendar last sunday evening, i knew this would be one of those weeks that i must just get through! three games of soccer, which means late, late nights for dustin. appointments on three evenings, which means later nights for the kids. and the unexpected: titus breaking his leg and having to spend hours at the vet! thankfully, we were able to turn it into an "educational" experience. ;) but, alas...its FRIDAY! i'm not one to rejoice in fridays on my facebook status, but here in the privacy of my own blog, let me say "i'm glad this week is over, and i'm soooooooo happy that its friday!"

today i will meet with my midwife again. i am 17 weeks closer to a homebirth. the idea that i am going to have to take this a week (or even a day) at a time has been great for me. it prevents me from making any concrete long term plans, which is good for my character and patience. i am anxious to hear what she says about my dr. appointment from a couple weeks ago. and hopefully i'll get to tell her all about the midwifery retreat!

i will make crockpot lasagna for supper. that way i can cook when i have my morning energy and then not have to think about it for the rest of the day!

oh...and something i've been thinking about--when my children are grown i pray that i never ever ever forget what it is like to have a young family. i want to be the kind of older woman that titus 2 talks about--teaching younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and pure and to take care of their homes. i pray that i remember these long days at home with no adult conversation and that i can be the voice of encouragement in a young mother's day. and i want to welcome little ones into my home so that tired moms and dads can take a night out together. so, here it is in writing. i can go back and read and remember what i committed to on today.

last but not least...this is how i love starting the morning: simone in the living room, spinning and singing, "god is great, beer is good, and people are crazy!" you gotta love that girl!! ;)

travelin' tik

nadia is officially WALKING! i consider anything more than eight steps and a fall followed by the attempt to get up and keep going "official" walking. she is slightly more steady in bare feet than shoed feet. and she is very, very, VERY proud of herself! of course, every step is celebrated with cheers and clapping from her brother and sisters, so nadia has started clapping as soon as she stands up! its the most adorable thing in the world!!

"at your cervix"

wow!! what a weekend!! i attended the "women helping women" midwifery conference at spruce knob, and my heart is full and my brain even MORE full!! i was the least experienced woman there as far as catching babies, and it was intimidating to be in a room with 50 women who, among them, have delivered literally THOUSANDS of babies!! but, everyone was so welcoming and helpful!

my class the first day was 8 hours of "beginning midwifery skills". i learned how to wash my hands, do diagnostic urine testing, use a fetoscope, check blood pressure, temperature, respirations, pulse, all about female reproductive anatomy, how to measure fundal height, how to feel baby in-utero, charting, informed decision making, and so many other things that i can't remember them to list right now! there is a lot for me to practice, so i need many women that i know to get pregnant so they can be my guinea pigs!! :) (hint hint: virginia, emily, brandy, tina)

after supper we learned about the different pathways to midwifery, and then we had charades and wine. fun times.

day 2 was more classes--some for the whole group and others that we could pick a topic such as post partum hemmorage, post partum care, shoulder dystocia, placenas, etc.

highlights:
+meeting two women whose business is called "at your cervix" LOVE it!
+a ob/gyn from mo-town teaching on post partum hemmorage. what a great class!
+ stuffing plastic women with cateloupe uterus' with plastic and gauze
+many one on one talks with experienced midwives. so much knowledge and experience from which to glean!
+playing with real placentas and learning how to capsulize them
+a divine connection with a doula/student midwife from marietta who is planning to attend my birth
+the game of charades that eventually ended up with wine-filled midwives acting out every word as "orgasm". wow.
+the drive up and down a 10 mile one lane gravel road. definitely almost heaven west virginia.
+carrying my own cup and napkin throughout the weekend in order to conserve wash water.
+feeling a baby within ruth ann's womb as i learned the leopold's maneuvers.
+spending an entire weekend with no tv, internet, radio, phone, etc. how peaceful.
+coming home. i missed my family soooooo much.

who wants to come with me next year????????

flip flip flip flip

back handspring update: judah can now do a roundoff followed by FOUR back handsprings!! he is unbelievable!

i'm gearing up for a midwifery filled weekend!! tomorrow morning is a meeting regarding "birth choices" in our area of west virginia! yay! i will attend an in-home meeting with the best midwife i know and am anxious to hear her thoughts.

then friday morning i will head to the mountain institute for the 2nd annual "women helping women" midwifery conference. my entire day on friday is a class called "beginning midwifery skills". i am BEYOND excited.

so...in preparation for my big weekend away, i'd better get to cleaning the kitchen. a shiny sink before bed is a must! and then i think i'll start some diapers in the wash. that will give me one more thing to cross off my to-do list. :)

victory

Judah learned to do his round-off back handspring today!! He asked this morning if he could watch a video on youtube about how to do one. So, I let him watch it. He said if his stomach hurt that meant he could do it, and his stomach HURT. He went outside, and three minutes later he came in yelling, "I did it! I did it!!" A bit skeptical, I went outside to see for myself. And sure enough--HE DID IT! Amazing! I am so proud of him!! A couple of weeks ago he was scared to even try to do a back handspring by himself. We talked about it, and prayed for courage, and today he did what he thought would be impossible--a ROUNDOFF back handspring! Yay Judah!!! :)

week 14

I spent the first 13 weeks of my pregnancy so exhausted and nauseous that clutter and disorganization around the house hardly bothered me. I know...unbelievable! As long the floor was clean and the dishes were out of the sink, I was happy. And now, at 14 weeks, the weeks of not caring have all compounded into one big weight of "ohmygosheverythingissuchamessandsodisorganizedanddirtyandclutteredandscatteredicanhardlystandit!"

This morning I woke up short of breath, thinking of all the things that need tended to. Its like I'm "nesting" with 26 weeks to go! Yikes! Either I will freak everyone (including myself) out with my psychotic need for clean, or I will somehow settle into a pattern of meticulous organization that will carry me through to baby's arrival. So...today I started in the back of the house--the office, the girls' room, my bedroom. It was a good start, and I am thoroughly exhausted in an i-was-very-productive kind of way! :)

Slacker

is what i am. sorry virginia!

so...what have i done since my last blog on august 23rd??

i homeschooled the kids on all weekdays. i went to walmart and bought a new dvd player b/c i thought i could live without one, and it turns out that i can't. actually SIMONE is the one who needs it, but its for my own sanity. i went to church. i got sick at church. someone had to drive me home. i felt better by thursday. friday i took cana shopping, and WOW is all i have to say about that! she is hard-core and wore me out. thankfully, she found some "skinny" jeans. mission accomplished. saturday i did nothing but sit and sleep. in the evening we went to choochoos with dad and billie, and then kaycee and i hit the road for some back road adventures to doug's camp in the middle of nowhere. sunday was church again, and i had nursery...baby nursery, which is a little more mellow than toddler nursery. we had a day of visiting with doug, vd, lily, kaycee, mom, scot, emily, and hazel. em gave me a crochet lesson. monday started a new week of homeschooling and laundry. and today i went to the doctor. he told me homebirth for me is "not cool" and that he has to do some "investigating". hmmm... came home for about 15 seconds and packed the kids up to go to dustin's soccer game! they won! it was a good game to be at. now its bed time.

kid highlights:
cana: side ponytail and skinny jeans
judah: reading the bible front to back
eden: pooped in the grass and the dog ate it
simone: prayed at supper "thank you god that mom and dad do not fart in my face."
nadia: yells "GO" after cana says "ready...set..."

Home

We're home from vacation. I'll post pictures later. We had a great time in Maryland!!

And now that we're home, its back to business, and I am going to make an online list of my "House Needs/Wants" as of today, August 23rd, 2009. I have done this before, and it is always fun to go back and see how the items have come to be crossed off--some we save for, some just appear, some mean that friends or relatives have come to our house to build or help, some show miraculous and supernatural provision, some are great deals that i come across at just the right time. But, some way or another, it seems that every time I make one of these lists, within two years all items have been crossed off!! :)

Here goes...

House Needs/Wants --August 23, 2009

1) roof

2) garage door

3) Simone mattress & bed frame--frame received from Cassie 9/18/09

4) girls' closet doors--mattress purchased--new bed complete!

5) basement carpet and padding for toyroom/future girls' bedroom--march '10 basement bedroom for girls complete!

6) refrigerator

7) toilet seat--bought dec '09.  yessssss...

8) kitchen stools--awesome deal on sturdy sturdy stools.  purchased from scot's boss.  jan '10

9) ceiling fan for bedroom

10) sliding glass door with screen for dining room

11) screen for front window

12) locks for all doors--dec '09 bought lock for one door

13) vacuum

14) futon frame

Thats all I can think of for now. Good night.

Vacation

This weekend the Turners will be on vacation. On day 1 we will drive four hours and then take the kids to eat at an over-priced pizza place with ridiculous games and dancing animals. . Then we will sleep. Then on day 2 we will take the metro to the Smithsonian followed by a picnic lunch at the Washington Mall. If there is time, the kids would also like to meet the president. No problem, right? Later on day 2 we will most likely relax on meme's patio and watch the kids play in the yard. Or maybe we'll go fishing. And then some more sleep (yay!). On day 3, we will return home, stopping along the way at the Fossil outlet for a new purse and the Stride Rite outlet for Tik and Simi shoes.

I am also thrilled to announce that we have a new member in the Turner household--a 4 month old Jack Russell. He and Nala (big sister dog) are GREAT friends, and I hope and pray this will make her want to stay HOME. I think she's always wanted a little brother. I do not have any pictures of Nala and Pup together, but I will post some others...

Good morning Virginia! Since you are one of my #1 fans, I will honor YOU this morning by posting a picture of one of the most adorable babies that I know! Its been almost a year ago that you conceived this little miracle. What a ride, huh? I remember the day I woke up and could NOT stop praying for you to conceive and bear a child. I will never forget the morning I drove in a near panic to Morgantown--convinced that I was going to hear horrible, horrible news, only to be surprised with the news that you were 6 weeks PREGNANT! I can recall the exact moment I saw Lily's heart beating on the ultrasound screen--it was like time stopped, and the faithfulness of God became almost tangible in the room. And Lily's story is just beginning... Enjoy your day with her. :)

A Name

Dustin, my valiant fighter.

Cana, pure in all her ways.

Judah, praised gift of Jehovah.

Eden, delightful and radiant.

Simone, a child who is an answer from God.

Nadia, hope made flesh.

Each name holds special meaning. The power of a name is amazing. Do we become our name or can a name truly come from the heart of God and be destined for a person? ?The second is possible I suppose if we believe that the same God that knew the prophet Jeremiah before he was in his mother's womb also knows each one of us. Is it a coincidence that the name Levi Abbott means "a man united with God the Father" and was given to my son who now rests in the spirit of God before we ever knew his flawed body would be incompatible with life on this earth?

I wonder about this life that is now growing in my womb. Who is he? Who is she? What name will this one carry?

School Postponed

I'm three days late getting started on our school year. Start date was Monday, August 10th. But upon my morning review of my bank account, I discovered three unauthorized charges that had to be dealt with. I spent three hours on and off the phone with the bank and the "company" that is charging me nearly $100 for a mystery "subscription". It all ended with a cancelled bank account and the customer service guy for this fabulous company telling me that he is "sorry" i'm so "stupid" and "its not the 70s anymore". yeah...nice.

Why not start school on the 11th? I don't know...just something weird about starting on a Tuesday. So0000...I guess we'll start NEXT week. :) Thats the beauty of homeschooling, although not an advantage to be abused. Thankfully I am anally scheduled, and I will make sure we get all of this year's work completed. I was starting early so that I can take a month off when Baby is born. Obviously my baby break has just been reduced by a week.

Just the fact that I CAN homeschool is something for which I am soooooo grateful. I'm not paranoid about the bad kids at public school. I have no gripes with the teachers or the "system" of education necessarily. I just want to be with my kids. For this time in their lives, I desire them to be HERE at home where they can combine school work with life skills--academic learning with emotional learning. They are being socialized in our home--learning how to work together with siblings and to appreciate the value of a family. They will spend the majority of their lives being husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers, and in my opinion there is not better place to learn about those roles than right here at home. There is no great debt that I owe nor promise of wealth that would cause me to leave home during these years. I even hesitate to say its my "sacrifice" to be a stay at home mom as I often hear other women saying. Its my calling. Its God's gift to me.

School will start next week, but training is everyday.

Our God Who Heals

One of the first miracles I witnessed in the life of one of my children was after praying the 128th Psalm. At 4 months old, Cana was a very small 10 pounds with poor muscle development in all of her body. At 6 months, she was referred to a physical therapist who came to our home to work with her. There was not much improvement in the next 6 months. At a year old, her pediatrician suggested that she could have a mild form of cerebal palsy. We came home that day feeling defeated and discouraged. Dustin took out the Bible and prayed the 128th Psalm, and we prayed that Cana would come to be like the olive tree--that she would sit around our table--vigorous and healthy. Within about a week, Cana started crawling. In less than a month, she was standing. In just a few more months, she was walking, and soon she was running!! I would just watch her in awe. Months of physical therapy and very little progress. Within weeks of praying for God to do the impossible in her body, she was nearly caught up to what a normal child her age should be doing. Today she walks and runs...dances and spins...and sits around our table--vigorous and healthy! She remembers this God who healed her tiny body many years ago, and today SHE is the one who believes for teeth to grow in so the dentist won't have to cut slits to make room for them, for her siblings' sniffles and earaches to be healed, for mamas who couldn't conceive to bear children, and for babies who are born with holes in their hearts to live and be whole. Praise to Jehovah Rapha--our God who heals.

The 128th Psalm

How happy are those who fear the Lord
all who follow his ways
You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How happy you will be. How rich your life.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine,
flourishing within your home.
And look at all those children!
There they sit around your table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees.
That is the Lords reward
for those who fear him.

May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.
And may Israel have quietness and peace.

Little "Shits"

No...I'm NOT talking about my kids. Yes, turnersaroundthetable IS a reference to all of us Turners that gather around our table several times a day...for games, to eat, to read, to sit, to do schooolwork, etc, etc. However, the title of this inagural blog is NOT a reference to any of those darlings but rather what one of them said this week.

I took the kids out to the big Tyler County Fair on Monday night. We skipped the barn and went directly to the rides. Big kids on big rides. Little kids on little rides. Same ones over and over and over. At 9:00 I left to take Simone and Nadia home to Daddy so they could go to bed. I could not visit the fair without going through the barn, so we made it our last stop of the night. Simone dearly loved the bunnies and the chicks. She thought the horsies were "soooo cute". But, a cow mooed at her--terrifying her and ending the night.

Fast forward 24 hours to all of us sitting down at the table for last night's supper. Dustin asks Simone, "so, what did like best at the fair?" Simone's eyes got wide, and she said "I wuv the whittle shits...the whittle brown shits were sooooo cute". Dustin nearly choked and said, "the WHAT?", to which Simone replied, "the whittle SHITS". Obvious to ME, she is saying that what she liked best at the fair were the LITTLE BROWN CHICKS.

You never know what you might hear with all the turnersaroundthetable.