Babys, birthdays,beautys and more...

Laurabeth and me yesterday( 11-30-11)

Daddy and 2 of the boys playing play duh.

Hannah Banana and Laurabeth

My super basketball player Cody 10, he started bball this past week.

Ethan William-James on his 5th birthday

This is my favorite time of year. The lights, smells,happiness and Jesus on everybodys mind. Its the time of year I know people are being saved because more people are talking about Jesus and spreading the Word. It makes me happy knowing more people will be in Heaven to enjoy beauty's our Father has made for His children. We put up the text books and turn our attention to what the season is about. The only thing we wont put away is math as we cant afford to review a months worth of math we would forget. Yes we do school year around and kick myself for taking a huge break this past summer. But thats ok we know now we cant do it again.we have more field trips and playdates in fall/winter than summer when its so hot we hate going outside. Anywho we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family at my sisters house. Jolene was pretty sick with her fever but we still went and Im so glad we did because the kids needed to play with there cousins. We are doing Christmas this year at my house and Im beyond excited. Only because that means I dont have to take an extra 2 hours in the morning to get everybody and load the mom bus with all our things and drive. Yeaaaaahhhh. I don't think my family realizes how hard it is to keep everybody ready and loaded. So I'm just glad now the Christmas celebrations will be here. My Dad smoked a turkey and I have to say we will be investing in a smoker because it was the best turkey I have EVER had. My sister made one too but honestly I only ate the smoked because I loved it so much. This years Thanksgiving dinner was different for me. Laurabeth cant have dairy,which means I don't get dairy. I slipped up on that day and she did have a hard time that night and next day. But I'm very careful and I'm sticking to my Ulrameal protein shakes and light lunches. I don't even use creamer in my coffee any more!!! Thats huge for me. I have learned to just adjust to what I can eat. I'm see results in my weight since I had to cut dairy and fructose. My face is slimmer and puffy, my tummy is bloated and its starting to shrink. The husband has been noticing ;) Good times ;) I'm very aware now of what goes in my mouth. I double think everything. I think the only thing I'm having problems with is soda. I'm down to maybe a cup of soda a day compared to my 5 or 6 cans a day. I'm very proud of that! Ice tea is my new favorite drink. Today we have pictures for the kids and Laurabeths 2 month photo shoot. Jeff told me last night he wants to get our ( just me and him) done in black and white.So I need to plan that also. He is so sweet. Although he told me I have to wear my hair down because when I have it pulled back he thinks I look like an old grandma!!! Thanks hun! We have never had our pictures done together alone. I wonder how they will turn out?? Anywho..... i have alot to do this month but since we put the books up it will be a relaxed month.I'm praying for snow. The 27th was Ethans 5th birthday. He has wished for snow and unfortunately his Daddy had to leave for Indiana at 5 that night BUT 2 hours after daddy left, it started to snow. Not alot, just beautiful snowflakes that we watched for while until it stopped. God is so good. He made my sons face light up and the kids giggle with delight. It was a moment I paused and gave thanks. I cant believe Ethan is 5. My mom came over and gave him is birthday gifts.....a new super cool dvd player with a Christmas movie! He was so excited. She had got him one last year but it broke because he was a little to ruff with it. This one he is super careful and loves it. Daddy also got him batman stuff of course. Jolenes 2nd birthday was on the 2nd and i cried! I cant believe they are growing so fast. Jolene is amazing. She holds her ground like the boys and I'm pretty sure if you made her mad, she would take you down. She will be holding her baby doll in one arm and a light saber in the other beating the boys. This house of ours is filled with nonstop noise and playing. This so far is the best time of my life. I pray my husband could be here enjoying this with me. I know I cant be angry or unhappy about the path of him not being here. I'm joyful, happy and just choosing to be that better person for my kids. Hannah and Cody are helping around here all the time. We do have times where they would rather roll there eyes at me or ignore me completely but at that age its to be expected. It doesn't happen alot. I have good... great kids. well I must go I have a sweet little baby needed my snuggles. May God Bless You today.........

Ahhhhh......

Jolene thinking of swimming

Hannah doing her school

Its one of those days where I'm so thankful for all I have.The sun has been shining and my kids have been laughing. I have been soaking up the sun with the kids and letting Laurabeth get a tan on her already dark skin. We got some school work done. We have to hit the books hard until the 1st of December, which is when we put the books away and focus the month on Christ. As we study hard and long in the bible we know a lot more than we did last year and we will be doing things a little differently. As we will still celebrate Hanuka and Christmas, we are just aware of some things that I don't have time to post about right now.( I'm waiting for Hannahs piano lessons to be done). Last night my mom came over and had a good old time sawing my table!!! MOM!! We don't break from school just text books.I think we have learning when we put those way and study the bible with crafts and other reading books. We will be doing the Little House Christmas in honor of our Little Laura Elizabeth this year. What fun!! my husband gets Thanksgiving weekend off and we are looking forward to much needed family time. The kids have missed him alot. Cody and Dad will build a big house, will be taking the kids to Chuck E cheese, doing some movie watching and oh yes THANKSGIVING with the fam! Also we have to birthdays to celebrate Jolene will be 2 tomorrow and Ethan will be 5 on the 27th!!! Oh my goodness!!!! My babies don't stay babies for long.Ethan asked me today if we could have as many kids as the Duggars so he could have more brothers and sisters to play with.... I said ill try :)Anyways I have some things to look up while im on here. I better go

Really?!

Laurabeth 6 weeks and Remy almost 3 months.Pretty close in size huh?

Cody doing his science.

LauraBeth 6 weeks old

The little boys at the water park.I have a bunch of pictures of all the kids but they are underwater I cant see who is who!

We like to pretend play around here so we have many many many different outfits he changes into though out the day.

My heart breaks tonight for the little baby that was kidnapped and now in the hands of Jesus.Why is this happening all the time? I hold my kids extra tight tonight and say extra prayers over them. When my nephew was kidnapped a few years ago ( he was found a few days later and ok) I went into a state of panic and i have never lost that feeling.I trust no one with my kids.I am always looking around. I hate that feeling and I pray for contentment in that area.Im so on edge tonight and I worry.I know I am to leave my worries to Jesus.Not having my husband to be protected by him makes me want to pack my kids and head to Indiana.This is nuts. I know im able to hold my ground on things but im such a baby! grrrrr!!! How someone can hurt a child is just unthinking able. I dont watch the news but people were posting stuff on facebook about this and we have had alot of missing babies lately.This world is just getting worse and worse. Not sure what to say or even think. I just know when I nurse my sweet baby i cherish that moment forever.When I dress my child in the morning i cherish that moment forever. When I sit and teach my child I cherish that moment forever. When my child asks me questions off the wall or makes a mess with paint to make a special picture or when my child brings me a bunch of weeds for flowers because he loves, I will cherish that forever. My children are my life.They are the reason Im on this earth.They are the reason for my everything. I cant imagine not have little feet to touch and hands to hold and diapers to change. I cant imagine not having those silly but meaningful talks with my oldest daughter. My children are amazing and im so thankful to have them. ( even though im 29 with a head of gray hair :)

Anyways- we have been busy here doing school and rearranging the house. This just doesn't have that HOME feeling to me. Not sure what it is but you know the feeling you get when you go to grandmas and its like ahhh home and you are safe and content? Why don't I have that here? My husband built this house for us and I try sooo hard to make it home and comfy but its not working.So I'm rearranging everything and going to thrift stores to make it home......

( I went to bed and now im finishing this post)

I clicked on facebook a min ago and found that the horrible no good witch killed her sweet little baby! What on earth is it with these moms killing their babies. Its like every week you hear of that.If you are feeling over the edge or like you cant do it anymore turn your baby over to the police or church anybody. Dont hurt your child. its so sad. I look at little Jolene and just smile right now. How could anyone lay a finger on child when they are so sweet? Satan is really getting to alot of people but in his damn face because we believers just grow stronger. Im so sad for that baby though, I still have goosebumps!!

As for school today we are slow.Yesterday spent the day cleaning and moving our school room. SO we are still in the messy mess. My mom is coming out so we can bring in my huge huge table for the dinning. I need to move this table down stairs for school. So excited.I have my totes of Christmas stuff out and ready to be put up ( hey my maiden name isnt Jolley for nothing). I have to go birthday shopping for Jolene who turns 2 Friday.I might cry just thinking about. My baby!!! Laura will be 2 months on the 21st!!! I cant even believe that.

I havent posted in forever so its hard to update everything.....so ill try real fast. We had to birthday parties in one weekend. There was an outdoor birthday party with fire and roasting hotdogs and marshmellow with leaf piles and pure country fun. then the next day my nephew Mason had an indoor water park party and it was so much fun for the kids. They had the place so freaking hot though I thought I was going to die. So much fun though. Hannah has been flying though her piano lessons and I love to sit and listen to her play.She is teaching Cody how to play and guess what? He is really good at too. Ill have to post later children call me!!!!

Daybook entry Nov 2

Little LauraBeth and me over the weekend

LauraBeth 5 weeks old!!

We read The Pumpkin Patch Parable over and over in the month Oct and we craved our pumpkins to make all smile. Then a skunk came and stoled Chases pumpkin and ate the faces of the other!

Hannah and Cody in front of the ST.Louis Art Museum.

Ethan and his NAME!!

Around the house: Its quiet with Laura and Jolene sleeping, Hannah went shopping with her girlfriend she never gets to see. Cody is out mowing the back yard one last time before we put the mower away. The little boys are having a snack for down time.Amazing how quiet a house can get when all day long we are louder than a jumbo jet. Floors need to be mopped and laundry put away but honestly today I'm tired and going to enjoy the breeze through my windows awhile.

Im praying: That God changes the path we are on with Jeff gone all the time. Rather its a job in state or out we need to be together.Family. Its something that I have been struggling with so much secretly on the inside since I had Laura. Its something I have shed many many tears on the last weeks.Theres no jobs in St.Louis for the work my husband does ( Union electrician) and we know this fact. we have to keep this line of work for many reason. It pays good and we have a large and growing family that needs a good income to support.Second, Jeff has been doing this for 20 years and loves it.Im praying God will set the path and we follow.I pray that what ever it is my family understands and doesn't give the guilt party. I pray the path is well heard and we listen.I pray I stop having these mental battles over how I do things.I was talking to my girlfriend who is also a mom to many littles and a homeschooler and we struggle with the same issues.Am I doing enough on this and doing enough with this child and so on. I know im not alone on this but feel like Im the only one who struggles.Its not like I can just sit next to my husband in bed at night and talk it out.Hes not there!I mean the list can go but ill spare you the list. we homeschool for alot a reasons but the main reason is to protect our blessings from the falling world and they don't get sucked into the " world" and lose their propose. So many people just live and go with the flow of the world. and I struggle here with this because this is the battle im talking about in my head. Jeff hates that we gave Hannah a phone because its glued to her 24/7. We got her a phone so when they left the house she could call us if needed.wells turned into a non stop texting phone and he thinks she is to young.So we will cancel her phone and give her a track phone for when she leaves the house with out us. We have so many problems with obeying in this house and its not big stuff just backtalking and sleeping in until lunch etc... my littles are always screaming and not using their words and so on... we have alot to train on. So we take things away and don't allow sleepovers but some how I'm ALWAYS guilt ted into letting them have sleepovers. Drives me crazy I'm not respected enough around.I feel like im a child in my own ability to parent. WHY? I'm a strong headed big mouth in your face kinda person. Why is it when it comes to my kids and this I'm such a baby?Its time to grow balls and man up to this!

In the kitchen: I have beef stew in the pot and thinking of making bread.I wanted to start my day juicing but I haven't had time to leave the house to get a juicer just yet. So soda it is for me. I'm working on changing the way we do grocery's here. I spend around $1200 a month on food and diapers a month. So I bought a roasting pan and I'm going to roast turkey and chickens instead of buying nasty lunch meat every week. I spend alot every week on lunch meat and its so not healthy for ya. I'm working on simply changing all the junk we bring in this house and start really making the life change on living right.

I'm wearing: gray yoga pants and a t shirt with fuzzy blue socks :)

In the school room: Ethan finally wrote his name in order today! Huge moment for us.He has been able to write letters and knows what letters are in his name but he never was able to write his name right until this morning he was on the ball!!! Good job big guy! we are learning about Jamestown and the pilgrims. Today Cody and Chase are doing a science experiment with an egg in vinegar to see what happens to your teeth when we don't care for them right.Pretty cool! Hannah is reading about the Fall of Roman Empire. She is loven all she is reading and having alot of " light bulb" moments.We are using Abeka History of the World. neat for sure.

Out my window: the sun is shinning and breeze a little chilly.I love the fall soo much but I'm very ready for the snow.

I'm feeling: Overwhelmed with all my thoughts, Missing my husband badly and making plans for another trip to Indiana. Laura should sleep the whole way.Not sure what week we will go but thinking around Jolene's 2 birthday. I cant believe she will be 2!!!!

I'm reading: Exodus and Ezekiel. Amazing to read and re read!

Plans for the week: Tomorrow we have piano and library again. Basketball starts on the 28th. Bummed they wont let Hannah play.we do upwards and they didn't have any 7th grade girls sign up leaving Hannah all alone.They tested her and called me last week and said it wouldn't be fair to put her on a 6th grade team so they cant use her this year. COME ON 7 th grade girls where are you!!!!! Cody will be playing and is really looking forward to that.Last week we did field trips to the History Museum and Art Museum in st.Louis. Lots of fun and looking forward to go again next month.