It's a spiritual battle...

When I first became a christian I wanted to be close to God so I went to church, read my Bible and prayed every day. I wanted to know Him, to draw close to Him, to feel His presence.

But I still went to school and had to deal with some who didn't understand my new life. Some who wanted to make fun and pick on me. It wasn't easy and I would get mad or get my feelings hurt a lot. Finding a boyfriend who wasn't looking for "more" was hard and learning to trust God became a daily lesson. I was learning that the devil was using those boys to try and take my purity. The devil was using those other kids to make fun of me or tempt me with things and discourage me as a christian.

When we (as Christians) learn to see this as a spiritual battle it becomes easier to see the bigger picture. When we can realize that God needs us to spread the gospel but the devil wants to destroy our testimony, then we will learn how to forgive the person who hurts us. The devil uses people to do his work the same way God uses people to do His work.  The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you"

After being dumped by a few guys because I wanted to stay pure, I gave up on looking and chose to let God find my future husband. I started praying for God to send me who He wanted me to marry. At the age of 16 (June 1997) my friend from church brought a guy from her old High school to church and introduced us. We hung out together with the whole youth group a few times and I soon learned he would be going to Basic Training in the Army and so we exchanged addresses. We wrote letters back and forth the whole time he was gone. When he got home in Sept 97 we spent a lot of time together in church and going out to eat getting to know each other more. Then he told me he had to leave for Korea in October 97! My heart said "oh no!!! when will we get married?" but my brain was saying  "why am I so upset? I barely know this guy".

So one night in a restaurant after we had already started eating he got down on one knee in front of a table full of college students and proposed to me and I said "YES!" but he had to stay in Korea ONE YEAR so after a tearful goodbye and a trip to the airport we wrote letters and I finished out my senior year in high school. He had a mid tour leave coming but wasn't able to come home for my senior prom (but really a christian has no business at prom anyway so I didn't miss much). He came home for mid tour leave and made it to my graduation but had to go back until October 1998. Then I married my husband Chris in December 1998. Looking back I feel like God sent him into my life and seeing where we are now in His will I just want to personally say...

TAKE THAT DEVIL!!!

~Talk about living by faith!~

Last year this time we got new brakes and rotors on our van. And they have been making a noise for a while now so we thought we should get them checked before our warranty runs out at the end of this month. Well I went to the brake shop today thinking whatever it is will be covered and free. WRONG!
It was something different not covered under the warranty, the brake lines! It is a bulging brake line and is very dangerous to drive around that way. It could rupture anytime and lock down the brakes. Bottom line it's not safe and we've been driving it for a few months with that noise. We really trust God to take care of us in every sense of the word.

So after much talking and debating I drove home because we didn't have the money to fix it and they didn't have the part. Go figure! I went very slow and all 8 lights were green so I didn't really have to use the brakes much. Thank God! And Justus rode happily in the back eating cheetos without a care in the world.

Now we just have to figure out how we're gonna pay for this!?!?!?

Dear God send a miracle to our house tomorrow please.....Amen.

Terri Cote

Who knows?

I feel like I am allergic to outside. I mean every time I step outside I get itchy eyes and the longer I stay out the more symptoms I get. Tonight I am currently a mouth breather because my nose doesn't work. My throat is very scratchy but I don't want to cough because it will jar my head too much and it might explode! I have no desire to eat and for me that is a big deal. Because if you know me, you know that I love to eat! Every time I look down my nose drips....gross I know but just being honest. Why did God make pollen anyway? I mean do we really need pollen? I'm sure it has a real purpose and I'm sure if I ate more vegetables I might not feel so yucky! I just wanted to give you a look into my world today. Last weekend Chris was sick and now me. All the boys have stuff noses and I do wonder if it's a cold or do we all just have allergies. Who knows? But whatever it is I wish it would leave our house!

The nyquil I just took should be kicking in soon so I better post this before I start misspelling everything.

Goodnight. (I hope)

Baseball Hits!!!

Last week at the baseball park Jaron's team was short several players so they asked if Jonah wanted to "help the team" and he did pretty good for someone who has never played before. Check out this HILARIOUS video! So cute!

 Jacob hit the ball all the way into outfeild (almost over the fence)

It's been fun watching them play and tomorrow is their last game. I won't miss sitting out in the heat but I'll miss seeing the looks on their faces when they accomplish something big. I think they want to try basketball this winter. We'll see...

It's all about Balance

When we got married we realized very quickly that we had to put the others needs before our own. It wasn't just about me anymore. Being married is a constant effort by both people to make the other one happy. So that was a big challenge that took time for both of us to learn. After 3 years we decided we wanted to try for a baby and God gave us Jacob.
My world changed then and I was balancing my role as a wife and mother now. A newborn baby requires a lot of attention but so does a marraige. I always felt like I was forgetting about Chris because my world revolved around the baby and feeding times. Not to mention I was always exhausted. I wanted to be a good mother but I couldn't forget my role as a wife. After 2 years I felt like I had figured things out so we asked God for another baby and He gave us Jaron.
Jaron was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate which means he couldn't drink a bottle normally. So that meant more attention than my first baby. And once again my strings are pulled in different directions. I want to be a good wife and mother to Jacob but I needed to do so much for Jaron it wasn't easy. After 3 surgeries and lots of therapy I felt like I was ready for another baby so God gave us Jonah.
Having 3 children to me wasn't much different than having 2. I mean by now I was so used to running around doing for everyone else I just took turns with each one. It wasn't easy but I knew with God's help I could do it (cause I'm supermom). My boys took most of my time but we always had a set bedtime so Chris and I could have our time to talk and relax together as a couple. It all seemed to become normal and I was comfortable in my role as a mother and wife. I thought I didn't want anymore children. And one day God changed my heart and said "This is who you are....a mother. You are doing your best and of course you could handle one more as long as you keep Me first in your life."
So we tried for one more and we got Justus. Our precious little baby who hardly ever cried. He has been more sick than any of the other boys at this age but I guess it's to be expected with 3 big brothers who pass around all their germs. Now having 4 children is definately a challenge and it's non stop laundry but I love it!

I love my role as a mother and a wife. I am right where I always wanted to be~at home with my children. We have settled into a routine and we love it. We have our good days and our bad days but it's so worth it. I cannot imagine my life without my boys.

And my husband....well I love him more today than I did the day we married~seriously! I know him more and I am closer to him than I was then. We can read each others minds. We still make time for ourselves everyday to sit and talk and reconnect. I think that is what's kept us together.
Terri Cote

Old Fashioned Tent Revival

Our church and 3 others were in a tent revival last week and Friday night they had "old fashioned day" so I went to the thrift stores and got overalls for everyone! After I washed them they boys were so excited to try them on the day before...

Of course I had to get an old fashioned dress for me too....

 Jonah was absolutely beside himself in his overalls....he loved them!

Glow in the dark paint-Art

 Well just because we homeschool doesn't mean we don't have art. So in this first picture the boys used water colors to create something unique.

 The next time we did art we used our "Glow in the Dark" paint. It was awesome. We turned off all the lights and without my camera flash this is all you could see.

 Then with the flash you can see they are painting the pictures that came with the paint.

And we got a little carried away with the paint since we had so much left over and it glows up to 4 hours! We painted their faces can you see it? It was fun! Our garbage can was glowing for hours.

Jonah turned 4!!!

It was actually a month ago and I forgot to post pictures. I got so excited about all the Easter crafts I forgot to post about Jonah turning FOUR years old.

 Our biggest baby...So handsome and could melt anyones heart with his beautiful eyes.

 He got preschool books to start homeschooling like his brothers.

 He also got some baseball stuff to practice his swing like the big boys.

 He was being shy when we sung to him.

But you better believe he ate some of that cake. Jonah loves to eat!

(like his mommy)

He is 40 lbs and getting taller all the time. He is no longer wearing a pullup to bed at night either. Jonah loves to ride his scooter outside and he also loves to sing.

Lets just say God blessed Jonah with a strong will in all areas and sometimes that can be a good thing and other times it can be a bad thing. But we love Jonah more and more as we see his personality develope and watching him learn new things.  

Our Trip

We just go home Saturday from a trip to New Hampshire. My husbands family lives up there and it's been a while since we all went together as a family. We drove once when Jonah was a baby but its just not fun being in the car 20 hours with children. So this time we flew up there and being on a plane for 2 1/2 hrs is much easier to manage. The packing is a big job which I usually like to do myself. It is actually an all day job for me to pack for 6 people to go somewhere for 1 week. We have 2 large suitcases and they were stuffed full! The weight limit is 50lbs. per checked bag and they were 49 lbs. and 52 lbs. With a double stroller and my carry on, 3 backpacks and one laptop bag we made our way through the airport security to our gate. We had to request new seats because we weren't originally sitting together. We strategically all went to the bathroom just before getting on the plane so we wouldn't have to use the inflight toilet. And we board the plane last allowing the boys to get all their energy out before being seated that long. We were the last ones to get on and went straight to our seats without a problem. With Justus in my lap it is a little cramped but he's free so I didn't complain and then the girl next to me moved so I had a free seat for him! What a blessing. Jonah was absolutely beside himself with excitement. He couldn't believe we were in the air, in the clouds!

Jaron and Jacob have flown so many times before they new what to expect and barely even looked out the window. Justus didn't even realize we were in the air and he slept most of the way up there.

 We visited friends with BIG DOGS! This included lots of slobbering and a few tails might have wagged in Justus' face.

 We met the Green Lantern!

 And Jacob just couldn't resist posing with Captain America and Superman!

 And one more silly pose....

 Then we went to the mall and they played on the indoor playground for a little while. Justus was a true Cowboy.

 We visited cousins and Jaron was instantly Blaine's best friend. (Jonah was grouchy, can you tell)

 They rode the lawnmower with their great grandpa Adams.

 Then we took one last picture before saying our goodbyes.

 The boys really had fun in the indoor playground in Boston Airport.

 This is on the Hertz rental shuttle bus...

Oma and Justus on the swings at the park. We had so much fun. The baby was a little fussy at night and Jonah had his moments because he didn't nap the whole week but overall we had fun. Our rental van was AWESOME and we hated to give it back. But all good things must come to an end. We had to get another suitcase to pack all the new stuff we got shopping so fitting in the van to come was interesting to say the least. But we made it. The flight home was nice since 3 of the boys slept and Jonah may or may not have been sitting in the floor with his head in his seat sleeping. Jaron didn't want to leave NH. He wanted to stay with Oma. We let them spend the night with her a couple nights while we stayed at the hotel. She has a little doggie and they loved her.

It was nice to get away but there's no place like home. Everyone sleeps better in their own beds. (except for Justus because both of his ears are infected, no wonder he was fussy in NH)

Heart Strings

When I became a mother,
My heart was not my own.
It's like we were connected,
As if our hearts were sewn.
Love without conditions,
No matter what you do.
We'll always have those heart strings,
Your pain is my pain too.
Some day you will be married,
And be devoted to another.
But please son always remember,
The love of your mother.

Brothers

 When we first got married I would have never guess we'd have 4 boys....

 They all look different but they favor each other too....

 My love for these boys is more than I even knew I was capable of loving anyone....

 They have taught me so much while I am daily teaching them....

 They are each handsome in their own way...

 With different personalities...

 and silly faces...

And they are my world....my life...my everything! I cannot imagine my life without them.

Sooooooo Tired.....

I have a confession. Justus will be 16 months old and was still taking a bottle until yesterday. I have finally decided it's time to ween him off. Or should I say make him quit COLD TURKEY! He also still wakes up at night about every 3 hours and I gave him a bottle of milk. I know it's bad for their teeth and all that but I have done all my boys the same way and it's my fault for not breaking this sooner.

When a crying baby wakes me up at night I would give him just about anything he wanted to make him be quiet. Not to mention I am usually sleep walking. So it's time to break the bad habits and create some new ones.....SLEEPING! I am so tired of being tired. Every morning I wake up feeling exhausted like I didn't sleep at all the night before. One hour here and one hour there isn't REAL sleep. And since we know this is our last one I am ready to move on to the next phase in my life and that includes getting a full nights rest.

Our oldest son Jacob is 9 and I don't think I've slept a full 8 hours in 9 years. Of course my husband does get up with them sometimes too but being a light sleeper I hear every little noise and cannot just lay there and listen to my baby cry. So I have done everything imaginable to get them to sleep. I've slept in the recliner more times than I can count with a baby on my chest because that was his favorite place to be. I've put them in the bed with me against all the rules because that's what felt natural and most comfortable for us. I've gotten in the bed with them so we wouldn't wake up daddy. I've slept sitting up in a rocking chair while nursing. I've fallen asleep in the floor of his room. I've walked laps through the house singing and praying for him to sleep. Through the last nine years I've done what I had to do to help my baby's feel loved and comfortable.

Now it's my turn! I need to be able to think clearly and focus on what needs to be done each day like homeschooling, laundry, dishes, dinner, baths, checkbook and being a wife. So last night Justus got his last bottle. I washed them all and bagged them up for our next yard sale. I resisted the urge to give him a bottle all night last night. He got milk in a sippy cup this morning and he didn't really drinking all of it.

So here we go again tonight. I hope it goes better and more quietly than the last.

My Heart is Breaking...

After I had some dental work done recently I explained to the boys what was done. Jaron asked me "Do I have to get fake teeth?" Because he is missing his two front teeth and the two beside those where the cleft was. I tried my best to explain to him that everyone has different teeth and he will need braces and maybe some fake teeth. to fill in the space. We'll just have to wait and see. But I assured him that I love his teeth and there is nothing wrong with him.

Then a couple days later he told Jacob, while they were playing outside, "That's it! I want to cut my lip off!" And Jacob came to tell me about it. I asked him why he would say that and he said I don't know. I said were you looking at Jacob's mouth and noticed he looks different? He said yes. I told him he has the best cleft lip repair I have ever seen and Dr. Mulliken did an AWESOME JOB! I reminded him that God makes us all different. Some people have fat lips, thin lips, wide lips, little lips. Everyone is unique and that's what makes us all special. I told him if we all looked exactly the same this world would be pretty boring. He agreed and we didn't talk about it again.

Then the next day while taking a bath he said "Hey mommy I had bully." I said what's his name? And he told me Thomas was saying mean things to him like "you're so little, you can't even swim" I said well he doesn't know you very well because you can swim. I asked Jaron if Thomas only said that one time or a lot and he said about "17 times". When I asked him if he told the teacher he said no and I also asked him if said mean things to Thomas he said no.

But now we are homeschooling and won't have to worry about bullies anymore. Well maybe when they are adults but they will be better equiped to respond.

My heart is breaking because Jaron is finally noticing he looks a little different and he's not happy about it.  I want him to be confident in who God made him. I knew this day would come. I hope we as parents can do and say the right things to help Jaron feel more confident and not be ashamed of his mouth.

Our new neighbors have 4 children the youngest is a 6 year old girl and Jaron likes her. I told him to keep his cleft a secret and see how it takes her to ask about it. I said she might not even notice. And so he agreed we'll keep it a secret until one of the children asks.

Do you have cleft affected children or family members? If so were they bullied? How did you encourage them? Suggestions please....

Jacob is Homeschooling too!

After I homeschooled Jaron for 2 weeks Jacob was begging to come home. He walked in the door Friday and said he brought everything home with him and he thought he was making the right decision. He wanted to be home with his brother so Jaron wouldn't have to learn alone. Over the weekend we talked about it a lot and decided to let him stay home. He was begging! I knew he had a math book he could work on from school and I can print things online to get us by for the first few days until I decided what to do.

Monday and Tuesday went well. I had Jaron at the counter and Jacob at the table working on all different subjects. Going back and forth helping each one as needed and encouraging them to keep up the good work. All while Jonah and Justus were playing in the living room and watching Baby Einstein. I wanted to try out time4learning.com so I signed them up yesterday and we got up this morning after breakfast and tried to get comfortable using it. They offer an online curriculum for PreK-8th grade. We are taking the day to practice with it and get a feel for how things work. It seems pretty self explanatory and very user friendly.

The work is graded automatically so that saves me a lot of time and paperwork. I can print reports to keep on file of their school hours, grades and work completed. They even offer "playground time" with games but I can limit the use of that. They each have their own password to login with. It's really a neat program so far.

This is not a christian curriculum so we are going to be reading Bible stories and memorizing verses still everyday after they complete their online work. I am just using this time4learning to finish up this school year~only 8 more weeks.

Terrifying Tornadoes!!!

 Well I'm sure everyone knows about the awful tornadoes that recently hit our country. Here in GA we were also under tornado warnings and that new trundle bed came in handy. It was our safe place because we don't have a basement. After the boys all fell asleep I got them out of the bed and put them under Jonah's bed.

 Jacob and Jaron didn't even wake up....Jonah and Justus did....they were not happy. I had flashlights and shoes for everyone and bottled water and of course my bag. My "mary poppins bag". I have everything in my bag. That's a whole other post. We ended up staying under there all night because the warnings were until 5am and I wasn't comfortable taking them out. We have a lot of big trees in our yard and it was VERY windy here. Thankfully God kept us safe.

 We are so sad for those who lost their homes or their families. I cannot imagine how hard that must be.

The big boys woke up asking "why were we under Jonah's bed?" they really had no idea they slept there all night. Ignorance really is bliss.