Merry Christmas!

We are doing well. Wed are still alive. It is snowing now, I think we got about 3 inches last night and it is supposed to keep snowing until tomorrow night. I have wanted to write so much these past few days, but I've been busy and haven't taken the time.

My mother is here for Christmas and it is so good to see her! She hasn't been here since Nathaniel was born. We did go see her when he was 5 months old, but that was a very short stay. The children are having a blast with her. We are going to make gingerbread houses today and tomorrow for lunch, we are going to have a tea party. Then on Saturday, we are going sledding.

We are having fun over here! I'll try and post photos soon!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Time to steal some.....time

It's a little after 9 pm and I really should be in bed. But Damaris is still sleeping down here (she has just started to make noises), and so I'm talking these few minutes to write something. I've been wanting to for these past few days, but the time just hasn't presented itself. Now I'm just "stealing" the moment.

We are making good strides with our new kitchen. The floor is all tiled now and it looks really nice. Adam, his father, and his 2 brothers got the double stacked convection oven into the room today. Boy, is it nice to get those off the porch! We have had them on there since September. It has gotten to the point that I can't look at the porch without cringing. We look like hillbillies with the junk on there! Okay, so it's not all junk, but I don't like cluttered spaces anyway and that is defiantly what our porch is: cluttered. My goal is to some time soon get out there and clean it up. It would have been nice to do that before the snow came, but such is life.

We still have a ways to go with the kitchen, but it feels good to be this far and to see improvement.

My mother is coming this Monday and I'm so excited! The best part...well, one of the best parts, is that the children don't know she's coming. To make room for the new kitchen, we made the school room our living room. Which then caused us to move the school room into the guest room. And that had us moving the guest bed into the girls room. So she gets here at around 11 pm on Monday night and when we get home, the children will be sleeping. When they wake up in the morning, surprise! Grammy's here!! I'm going to have to set my alarm early, just so I can be in their room to see their faces. It's going to be great!

She will be here until the 30th, which is not a long time, but it at least is something. We have ginger bread house to make and a tea party to have while she is here. She doesn't know this yet, but I'm going to ask her if she will also help my organize and clean out the school room, just in time for us to start our new school year. It is driving me crazy!! And there is no way I can spend a good bulk of my time in that room and still survive. Yes, it is that bad!

There are other things that I would really like to write about that are going on in our lives. But I'm not going to take the time right now. If I did, it would take longer and Adam would eventually come hunt for me. I am very tired and even though Damaris is still sleeping, I need to crawl in between my sheets and close my eyes.

Good night!

My little story

I have a need to tell this. My short story is a great example of how God listens, love us, and takes care of us. Early this morning, around 1 am or so, I woke up to extremely bad stomach pains. The kind that cause chills to go up and down your body. The cramps were very, very painful and couldn't find a comfortable position. I earnestly began to pray that God would take these pains away.

I got up to use the bathroom, in hopes that perhaps that would ease the pain. But it didn't. I was still praying as I stumbled back to bed, knowing that Damaris would be waking soon and that if I was still in the same condition, I didn't think I'd be able to sit up and nurse her. Esp. since she has to lie on my stomach.

I laid down on the bed again, wrapped myself in the sheets, closed my eyes....and the next thing I new, she was waking up. But when I looked at the clock, I was shocked to see that 2 hours had passed! God had answered my prayer and not only helped me get back to sleep, but He also took away those stomach pains. I felt a twinge of them a little bit, but nothing like it was. God is so good, isn't He?!

He cared that my stomach was hurting badly. He cared that I was very tired and needed to sleep. He cared that I needed to be able to nurse and take care of my children. I told Him this morning that I would publish what He did for me. Even if it's a small number of people, people need to know that HE CARES! He loves you and He does an even better job at taking care of His children, than we do of taking care of ourselves.

"Casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you."
1 Peter 5:7

Is it only our children?

Believe it or not.....



our children really do have beds.


So that leaves just one question.....


WHY?


Supper, anyone?


"The new fashion in night masks". Do you think it will catch on?

One month

Can you believe it has been a month, ONE WHOLE MONTH!, since Damaris was born? The word on the street is the older you get, the faster time goes. I have found this to be true. But come on! This is crazy! The last 3 weeks of my pregnancy with her took longer than this!

She truly has been a joy to have. Not that my other child weren't/aren't, but you know what I mean. She is still a wonderful sleeper, sleeping on average 7 hours strait at night. It has been great fun to get the "girly" stuff out again and yes, acquire some new things just for her. But most of all, it feels so good to have a baby in my arms again. I suppose that sounds funny, since Nathaniel is not quite 2 years old yet. But it's about this time, that I've always had another baby and so I'm ready for the next one. Actually, it's usually around the time a child is 3 or 4 months old that I'm wanting another one, but God in His perfect knowledge and timing, has given us the next on between 18 and 23 months later. And that really is the perfect timing, at least for our family it has been.

I realize that it's not the norm to have 6 children by the time you are 30 (yesterday was my birthday, by the way. I usually do a write up about the the birthday person, but I figured it would be a little vain to do so about myself. And since Adam refuses to write anything her, this little blurb is all I'll do. So I'm now 30. Am I an adult yet?). And it's even less normal to want more. But I'm okay with that. I've never been one to worry much about being "normal" and caring what others think. I care what my husband thinks and I care what God thinks of me.

Adam and I are living the way we believe God has asked us to. That includes the way we dress, why we homeschool, why we don't have a TV, why we don't use any form of birth control (no, not even so-called "family planning").... and many other things and areas. We weren't raised in these areas with these convictions, and so most of our family don't understand it/us (and some down right rebuke us). But we know they still love us and we still love them. For we are not here to live to gain mans approval, no matter who that man is. But we are here to gain God's approval and we believe we are doing just that.

But back to Damaris being one month old. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but don't we make cute children? *smile* Unfortunately, for her, she is losing the hair on top of her head. But I told her not to worry. The bow covers it up.

I just don't want to

I have a confession to make. And it's really making me feel super guilty. I confessed it to Adam this morning, but he didn't really have a response for me. I'm not sure what to do about it, for I have thought about it over and over in my mind, and I can't come up with a good conclusion. Perhaps ya'll can help me.

Here is my confession: I don't want to use cloth diapers any more. It's not because I don't like them, for I do ....well as much as one can like a diaper, I suppose. They are Mother Ease diapers that we bought before Maacah was born. Yeah, they are old but they are still holding together very well. Although there is a reason for that. I used them from birth to potty trained with Maacah and she always had the worst diaper rash. It would never go away and often they were open, bleeding sores! It was horrible! Neither the doctor nor I could find the reason for it. Then Grace came along and she was in the same diapers and with the same horrible diaper rash. I chalked it up to the girls having very sensitive skin. This is true, but it wasn't the whole culprit.

At one point, when Grace was around a year old, we went on a trip and for the first time, I brought disposable diapers along instead of the cloth diapers. We had gone on other trips before this one, but I always took "our" diapers. Anyway, we were gone long enough, that while she was in the disposable diapers, her rash went away! I was shocked! And then I figured out that because they have sensitive skin, the cloth diapers don't wick the urine away from the skin well enough to keep it protective. Even though I would change them as soon as I saw wetness (for I often let them go without the cover on), it wouldn't change anything. Since then, with Grace on down, once the child is eating more solids than nursing, I put them into disposables and put away the cloth diapers. So it's only the first 8 - 12 months that we use cloth diapers; which is also why they have lasted for 8 1/2 years.

But all that isn't really the reason I don't want to use them anymore. It's for a far more practical reason: I'm lazy. I just don't want to have to wash them every 3 days. I know, that's a real poor excuse, but it's the honest one. That's the reason I've gone back and forth within myself about this. On one hand, we already have the diapers, so there would not be any added expense. Even though I'd be washing them, I'm not sure the added water, soap, and my time would add up to the same amount of disposable diapers for a month (some of the diapers are getting thread bare and soon need to be replaced. And every so often, we need to get new covers. Should that factor into the cost effect?). On the other hand, disposables are easier, both here at home and going places. I wouldn't need to bother about soaking them and the stink that it can generate in the house. There also wouldn't be any juggling of bringing the dirty diapers down from up stairs to be washed and making sure there are clean diapers going back upstairs. Plus, when we go out for more than an hour (like to church), I take along disposables, not the cloth. So we are buying disposables anyway, just not as often as we would if we used them exclusively.

Time wise, disposables win. Cost wise, cloth wins (I think). Convience wise, disposables win. Never running out of diapers, cloth wins. Not dealing with diaper rash as often, disposables win. Nice idea, cloth wins.

All these reason sound pretty petty to my ears, I know. But I'm still not sure on what to do and what would be the best route to take. Right now, Damaris's diapers are about $20 a month and Nathaniel's are about $35 a month (we buy the Walmart generic brand, "Parents Choice"). I realize that we are not talking "big bucks" here, but when the budget is tight already, sometimes those costs make a difference.

Does anyone have a solution for me?

To all those who think there is no God....

I have many reasons to believe in Him and many situations, big and small, that point to no other deduction. I won't post them all, for I don't have that much time, but here are the top big ones that have lately occurred in my life.

1. My fifth child, Nathaniel, was born with brain damage. Those two words alone can make one tremble and fear. And when you hear that, in connection to the newborn that you just gave birth to but haven't seen yet? You can double the fear factor. Nathaniel had a stroke before he was born and was having seizures because of it. He was in the NICU, 2 1/2 hours south of our home, for 9 days after birth. There were many things that went on in that time and beyond it. Nathaniel will be two in about 1 1/2 months. How is he? He's as normal as can be! He is talking (or at least trying to), he walks, runs, jumps, laughs, understands, plays with toys...in short, he's like any other 2 year old. The seizures have stopped, he is no longer on medication (and hasn't been since he was about 5 months old), and he is a joy! His doctor said that he has benefited from having so many older siblings, for they keep him stimulated. And you can be sure he attempts to keep up in every way with them!

2. When I married my husband, I wasn't sure if I really loved him or not. There were many reason for that, reasons that prevented me from knowing the truth for the first whole year of our marriage. I know how foolish it sounds to admit that, esp. when coupled with the fact that I knew going into our marriage, that divorce was not an option. It took the birth of our first child to open my eyes to the reality of what true love is and feels like. Then, I could say with confidence, that I am completely "head over heals" in love with my husband. God is no fool. He knew what He was doing when He put us together. Adam know me to such a degree, that it's often scary! He knows my weaknesses and loves me in spit of them, all the while gently filling in those weeknesses with his strength. He lovingly corrects me when I need correction, he holds me when I need to be held, he laughs at me when I need to be less serious, and he always tells me the truth (except the question that I asked him last night. I asked if I still looked pregnant. He wisely abstained from that one!) whether I want to hear it or not. These last few months have been very hard on me and he stood by me with such strength, endurance and love...there is no way all that came from him by himself. I believe that Adam has sought God to give him that love for me and He has done so. God also knew who He created us to be with and we complement each other is so many ways that it's impossible that we "happened" to meet "by chance".

3. Our 6th child was born with Pulmonary Hypertension. That's one of those words that most people (including us!) have no idea what it means, but it doesn't sound good. She, too, was taken away from us after birth and flown to the NICU 2 1/2 hours south of our home. When we arrived at the hospital, she had been intabated and was on drugs to keep her comfortable and not waking up. This time, Adam was with me the entire time (for with Nathaniel, he had to go back to work 2 days after he was born). She was born on a Friday and the doctors were telling us she is so sick, that we need to expect to be here for a couple of weeks. As with Nathaniel, there were many people praying for her and by that next Wednesday, 5 days later, we were going home!. The doctors and nurses couldn't believe how quickly she had recovered.

4. Once, when Grace (our 2nd child) was still nursing through the night, there was a time when she was very fussy. It was very late at night (or very early in the morning, which ever way you look at it, we should have been sleeping!) and she wouldn't calm down. She didn't want to eat, be burped, need a diaper change... nothing was working! Finally, after more than an hour of her being fussy, she calmed down. But came down with a horrible case of the hiccups. She was so loud with those! It rivaled her crying! After about 30 minutes listening to those, I prayed for God take them away so we could both sleep. Before I had even said "Amen", she was quite and asleep. The other night those hiccups came back. While Damaris wasn't as fussy as Grace was, she was just as loud! Before it became a long wait, I prayed the same prayer. And again, she was quite and asleep before I said "Amen".

5. Adam and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in March. Even before we were married, we talked about having our own business. But the Lord has always said "no", even though we kept asking and even went to see some buildings here and there. At the end of this last summer, He gave us the green light to our dream. So here we are, a family of 8. We live on one income (which is a good income, but not a large one), in an economic time that is very rocky and God is giving us the green light to start our catering business (which is Dewings Catering and Confections, if you can stand a little advertising about it). Not only that, but He has said "yes" to our taking the living room (which is a large 16 x 20 room) and converting it into the kitchen for said business. He also has given us the ability to have money in our savings account and pay for this kitchen. We still have much more to go, but God is good and He will get us there. It may not be on our time table, but we will get there.

So there you have it. It may not prove 100% that there is a God and that He listens to us. But it proves it to me. And maybe it will help someone else, too. God is there. Talk to Him. He listens.

Reluctance to Repent

"I feel when I have sinned an immediate reluctance to go to Christ. I am ashamed to go. I feel as if it would not do to go, as if it were making Christ the minister of sin, to go straight from the swine-trough to the best robe, and a thousand other excuses.

But I am persuaded they are all lies direct from hell. John argues the opposite way-'If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father;' ... The holy sensitiveness of the soul that shrinks from the touch of sin, the acute susceptibility of the conscience at the slightest shade of guilt, will of necessity draw the spiritual mind frequently to the blood of Jesus.

And herein lies the secret of a heavenly walk. Acquaint yourself with it, my reader, as the most precious secret of your life. He who lives in the habit of a prompt and minute acknowlegment of sin, with his eye reposing calmly, believing, upon the crucified Redeemer, soars in spirit where the eagle's pinion [wings] range not."

--Octavius Winslow, 1808-1878, considered by some to be one of the foremost Baptist preachers of the nineteenth century. He was a direct descendant of Edward Winslow, a pilgrim leader who came to the New World on the Mayflower.

Isaac is 5...and other stuff

I'm a week late, but I wanted to share with you that Isaac had his party yesterday. He turned 5 on October 29 and we were planning on having his birthday party last Saturday, October 31. But, we were a bit busy that day (not to mention we weren't home!). So we finally had it last night and he had a great time. It was also the time that Damaris made her debut with the rest of the family.

Here are some pictures from his party. Can you guess what his favorite gift was?






































































I have a confession to make: we are cheap frugal when it comes to most things. Picture taking is one of them. Besides, can you imagine what it is like with 6 small children in a small photo studio? Neither can I, because we don't do it. No, that doesn't mean that we neglect far away family and don't send pictures (that's actually something that is very important to me. I don't get monthly pictures sent off, but I do get annual pictures done of the children and of the whole family.) What we do is take the pictures at home. We set up a nice place somewhere in the house and take as many pictures as we want/need. You know how they make you decided what picture you want before you're even done with the session? Well, this way we can choose the best ones after we are all done. Nice, huh? When we are taking pictures of the whole family, we set the timer on our camera. Then Adam does his work on the computer with the pictures (cropping, blurring, sepia....whatever we choose. He has a great, FREE program called paint.net that is fantastic program to use.), we sent them off to get printed (usually Wallyworld), and they come back to us nice and done. With minimal tears, cost and everyone is happy. This has really worked well for us.

Anyway, all this is to say we took the annual childrens pictures today and I wanted to share some with you. These aren't the ones we will print off, but they capture the children fairly well.














































And because she is just so cute, some more pictures of Damaris.

Just Damaris

We are home! She is doing very well and everyone is adjusting good. So far. Here are some more pictures of our littlest miracle. By the way, here is some information about what she had, which is call Pulmonary Hypertension.