Mary Did You Know?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water

Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new

This child that you delivered will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod

When you kiss your little baby you kiss the face of God

The blind will see the deaf will hear and the dead will live again

The lame will leap the dumb will speak the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule a nation

Did you know that your baby boy was heaven's perfect lamb

This sleeping child your holding is the great I Am

Blessings

Sometimes God uses strangers to do his work.

When Chris was in the army he met a guy and they went to Kuwait together. While they were gone I got to know his wife. When they came back 4 months later we all moved away from Ft. Benning. We came to N. Georgia and they moved back to New York. We lost touch for a few years and found each other again on Facebook. And I guess she told her mother about this blog and she has been keeping up with our family by way of the blog. I have never met Rosemary but she wanted to give us a vacation with her timeshare for FREE! (3 bedroom 3 bath) I am so amazed at how God does things. We have wanted to do this for years but never really had the money to do it. Now we are going to Hilton Head, SC for a whole week absolutely FREE! God sure is good and I hope one day we'll meet Rosemary in person and be able to give her a proper thank you.

Oh and we thought we were going to have to buy a beach hut/tent to keep the baby in the shade. I have shopped online and asked my family. No one had one and we didnt want to fork out the money for something we may never use again. So Chris went to work and was asking around and one of the guys brought theirs in for us to borrow. FREE! Thank God for the generosity of others. Now all we have to buy is gas money to get there and groceries for the week.

We are counting down the days~24 to be exact! Can't wait to get a break from the norm and just relax in the sun.

School Days

 Jaron had an awesome week last week. He didn't get in any trouble until Friday when a little boy pushed him down. Jaron squeezed his arm. They learned about coins and their value and all the presidents on each one. He loved it and I think keeping his interest with something new helped him to behave and stay focused.

Jacob rarely ever gets in trouble. He is so smart and doing great in all his subjects. His teachers always tell me how enthusiastic he is about learning.

ONLY 25 MORE DAYS!!!

The (not so) Fun Dentist

The oldest two boys went for their 6 month cleaning Monday. I, of course, had the younger two boys with me. I thought a morning appointment would work well for everyone. Jonah would be a in a good mood and I could take the boys to school afterwards and get back home in time for nap. WRONG!

Jonah was fine when we walked in the door. They have video games in the waiting room and the boys all played together while we waited to be called back. I filled out the paperwork and Justus was a little fussy. He had puked 4 times the day before with the same stomach virus the other three previously had.

Then they called for Jacob & Jaron. We all go into a little hallway and talk about concerns before they go back. Then she took them to the end of the hall and I said bye. Jonah followed them and wanted to go too. I had Justus in the stroller and had to pick up Jonah (all 35 lbs.) and carry him, kicking and screaming, while pushing the stroller back out to the waiting room. Which was full of people! Everyone was staring at me, wonder why?

I sat down, facing the wall so I didn't have to see their looks. I calmly talked to Jonah about what the boys were doing and he was still crying. I offered him water. "NO" I offered him goldfish. "NO" So I took him to the bathroom and we had a "talk". Back out into the waiting room and he was still crying. So I held him and thanked God for putting Justus to sleep in the stroller. "Jonah why are you crying?" "I DON'T KNOW!" At one point he ran to the exit door and layed down in the floor kicking and crying. I was tempted to take a picture with my cell phone, so I could show daddy how bad he was being. But I knew the other adults in the room might think I was CRAZY! After 35 minutes of screaming and pitching a fit they were done with Jaron. THANK GOD! Because when he came out and sat down to play a game with Jonah he stopped~immediately. It's a miracle!

Needless to say Mommy was exhausted and was so ready for naptime.

I haven't told Jonah yet, but he is getting his first cleaning at The Fun Dentist in October. :-\

Our first miracle

Our oldest son Jacob has such big heart. He is very loving and caring especially to me when I am sick or have a headache. I recently got mastitis and he said he was praying for me and asking about it daily until it was all better. He pets me when I am laid up with a headache too. He knows my favorite thing is to have my hair played with so that is what he does. And he if he's playing outside he'll pick a purple flower and bring it to me because he knows that's my favorite color.

He gets rewarded at school for good behavoir and he doesn't eat the candy, he brings it to me because he knows I like chocolate. He is almost as tall as me too. Jacob is a great helper with anything I need. He told me when he grows up he wants to have store called "Penny General" you know like Dollar General but cheaper. He always thinks of others and worries about people. He wishes Nanny could be our neighbor because he thinks she's sad living by herself.

Jacob changed me as a person the day he was born. I became a mother and I have learned so much from him.

Brotherly Love

Every night about 11pm I get all the boys out of the bed and take them to the bathroom. (so we don't have any accidents) and when I went in the big boys room the other night this is how I found them. So sweet. One of those moments that I will never forget.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jonah!

We actually celebrated his birthday Saturday but it's really today. April 4th. My mom, stepdad and nanny came over after we got home from the zoo. We had chicken fajitas and birthday cake. Then he opened his presents. He got a new woody doll, a Leap Frog movie, soft ball w/ bat & one big squishy ball. And I think there is some coming in the mail from out of town too! He seemed fine Saturday and a little fussy sunday but when he got in the bed sunday night he puked all over the place! The boys have a had a stomach virus. First is was Jacob last weekend, then Jaron was puking Tuesday and Wed now Jonah has it. We did not sleep much last night. He hugged the potty (sanitized first) most of the night. I cannot wait for naptime.

Wild Animals

Zoo Atlanta gave every library in GA one copy of a dvd "The History of the zoo". If you check it out and return it your reciept gets 2 adults & 2 kids in the zoo for FREE! So you know me always looking for ways to save money. I checked our six libraries in our county all week and finally found one available. I raced to the library to get it before some other crazed mommy did.

I tried to imagine what it would be like with 4 kids in public place as big as this...what if we lose them? will it be too hot? can we bring our lunch? How much walking do we have to do? What if it rains? There is a lot of planning that goes into something like this. I read the zoo's entire website learning all about it and looking at all the pictures, trying to get a visual in my head how it might all work.

We dressed them all in the same color and off we went! We got there just one hour after they opened and had to park on the street! They were packed (apparently everyone went to their library this week!

When we got to the gate Jaron was already complaining he was tired of walking so we rented a double stroller and Justus was in his carseat/stroller. We got to see flamingos, elephants, kangaroos, monkeys, lions, bears, birds of all sorts, pandas and gorillas. They boys loved it! We found a table and sat down to have a picnic lunch and a took a potty break.

Then we were on a mission to find that "choo choo". They all got to pick what they wanted to do and Jacob wanted to climb the rock wall. I recorded him doing it but cannot upload it to blogger. (too long) Jaron thought he wanted to but after getting strapped in he decided it was over his head (literally). He broke down crying and asked if he could get off. Of course I let him and the nice man gave him his ticket back to use for something else. So Jonah and Jaron decided to ride the train with daddy. When they got back they found us at the kids playground and they "got some energy out".

It was way past Jonah's naptime and we were all exhausted so we made the decision to head back to the gate. One last potty break after returning the rental stroller and off we went back to the van with a quiet ride home.

Dreams

Jaron has had a difficult year adjusting to kindergarten. He started out scribbling on every paper they gave him. He never drew anything recognizable. He ALWAYS wrote his name in all caps no matter how many times we told him not to. I was very worried he might even fail. But there has been some progress and definate improvements with his work. He brought this paper home to me last week and I couldn't believe it. I really didn't think he did this all by himself. I must have asked him 4 times if anyone helped him. I also asked his teacher. She said no he did it all by himself! I am so proud of him. He can really do very good when he wants to. The assignment was: If you had $100 what would you buy? He wrote "I wud buy a monstr truk" Notice all the details on the truck: Yellow lights, green truck, blue man inside, black tires and mud slinging out the back! He has NEVER colored in the lines this good and never written words that perfect on the lines before either. We definately got excited and told him we can't wait to see some more like this.

Antarctica

Jacob made this at school. He said it took him "weeks" to finish. I am so very proud of all his hard work and details he put into this. I hope you can read it all. You might try to click on the picture and open it up bigger. He is so smart and doing great in all his subjects. He rarely ever gets in trouble. And for being so good he gets to pick things from the prize box. Some days he'll bring home candy and give it to me or one of his brothers. He is so thoughtful and very helpful. He told me when he grows up he wants to have a store and call it the "Penny Store". (kinda like the dollar store but cheaper)

Handsome Man!

Jaron would wear his suit "like daddy's" every sunday if we'd let him. Just too handsome for his own good! He has recently taught himself to tie his shoes and lost one of his bottom teeth (literally). It was very loose for weeks and he finally pulled it one day at school and said he lost it in the hallway. He has finally reached 38 pounds! He is getting taller just still very slim. He does still have trouble behaving in school despite the 1000mg of fish oil he gets every morning. I am running out of options and I REALLY don't want to give him prescription for ADD. I do think he may have it but I just believe in treating things as natural as possible. If you have any suggestions of "ALL NATURAL" supplements or anything we can do to help him focus please comment below. I am getting desperate. My hope is that he will mature over the summer when he turns 6 years old and maybe do better next year in first grade. He has come a long way with his drawing and writing skills. I have some of his best work I need to scan in and post on here soon. Anyway...I am tired...had a long day.

Hysterical!

Good Times

 After we got back from "Meeting in the middle" Jonah could not wait until bedtime...

 The boys were outside playing and Justus wanted to go out so bad....Jacob blew bubbles for him.

 The conversation went like this "when you get bigger you want to share my toys with me?"

We took the boys bowling and Jonah was waiting to see how many pins he knocked down. Like father~Like son.

I can't...

Well I was on a roll there for a while posting on here daily...I just got too busy and tired. Sometimes sleep just has to be priority. My eyes are closing now as I type. I still haven't taken out my contacts. I skipped nap today because I took my Nanny to the grocery store. I drank too much sun drop and not enough water. I love water by the way incase you didn't know. I am addicted to water actually. I have to have it during the night by my bed since I was a little girl. I drink it all day long like most people drink tea. I do not like tea. My favorite color is purple and I could eat chocolate 3 meals a day. I love winter (because I am so hot natured) and I love to sing. I also enjoy sewing anything I can think of. I wish I had a place to set up my machine and sew every day but there just isn't enough time. Well I guess this turned into a post of favorites....Now I'm too lazy to go up and change the title. Oh well goodnight. :-D

Happy Birthday Uncle Tim!!!

Today my brother turned 33 years old. We miss you uncle Tim and hope you have a great day!

Liquid Gold

Well for those of you who don't know...I nursed Jacob for 4 months. Jaron received donor breast milk for 11 months. I nursed Jonah for 11 months and I am also nursing Justus. I believe God gave women milk to provide complete nutrition for our babies. The doctors and nurses all refer to breast milk as "liquid gold". Every drop is precious. I don't waste any! As they get bigger (3 months) and get distracted easily, I begin pumping my milk so they can drink it from a bottle. I do still nurse them at night because it's easier than getting up to pump. Also it makes it easier to feed him out in public places. I have done so much research and I wanted to share some of the things I have learned about the POWER of a mother's milk. I copied this info from http://www.llli.org/

Human milk contains live cells, like those in blood. Some components of human milk also enhance the effects of others, so the ingredients of human milk work together. In contrast, only a small percentage of some ingredients of formula are absorbed; mixing ingredients in formula does not guarantee they will act together the way they do in human milk.



Human milk provides different kinds of defense against disease, including secretory antibodies against specific pathogens. It also contains lactoferrin, which not only is the source of iron for breastfed infants, but also appears to have antibacterial and antiviral properties. Other components in human milk protect infants on a molecular level because their actual shape hinders certain pathogen's access to the infant.

One gastrointestinal hormone, cholecystokinine (CCK) signals sedation and a feeling of satiation and well-being. During suckling, CCK release in both mother and infant produces a sleepy feeling. The infant's CCK level peaks twice after suckling. The first peak occurs immediately after the feeding. It peaks again 30 to 60 minutes later. The first CCK rise is probably induced by suckling; the second by the presence of milk in the GI tract. The drop of infant CCK levels 10 minutes after a feeding implies a "window" within which the infant can be awakened to feed from the second breast or to reattach to the first side for additional fat-rich milk. Waiting 30 minutes after the feeding before laying the baby down takes advantage of the second CCK peak to help the infant to stay asleep.



Human milk contains levels of vitamins and minerals appropriate for the healthy, full-term, human infant. It is ever-changing -- from the beginning of the feeding to the end, from feeding to feeding, and from day to day. The infant provides many signals that stimulate some of the changes in his mother's milk. When following her infant's feeding cues, a mother can be assured that her child will benefit from those changes. For instance, if the milk taken at a particular feeding is lower in fat (fat is the most variable constituent of mother's milk), the infant will become hungry again sooner. If his cues are followed and he receives the next few feedings close together (cluster feeds), the higher fat milk he receives (fat content goes up when the breast is less full) will ensure his overall fat intake is adequate.



The essential fatty acids in human milk optimize cognitive function and vision. Studies have found that premature infants who received human milk via feeding tube were more advanced developmentally at 18 months and at seven to eight years of age than those of comparable gestational age and birth weight who had received formula by tube. Such observations suggest that human milk has a significant impact on the growth of the central nervous system. Also, breastfed infants have higher visual acuity. These benefits of human milk can be attributed to the presence of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA). Although some formulas have recently added these ingredients, it is unknown if they will have similar effects long-term.



The hormones, live antibacterial and antiviral cells, and essential fatty acids are just some of the reasons why human milk is the vastly superior infant food. It is a truly unique substance that cannot be copied artificially.

Meeting in the middle

My dad and stepmom live in FL and wanted to see the boys especially our newest addition so we met them halfway in Valdosta, GA for the weekend.

We just hung out in the hotel room and played with silly balloons and a few new toys from the walmart right next door.

They brought the boys costumes...which of course they LOVED!

And we ordered Pizza Hut for dinner. It was a short visit but nice to get away from home and see Meme & Pepe!