Fight like a girl!

As the last minutes of October fade away I feel remiss at not posting about Breast Cancer Awareness. As I was getting ready for bed I started thinking about the post I have read, the information I have received and I felt compelled to write this post.

When I was freshmen in college my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember the call, feeling that this was not real. I remember the surgery and I remember that it was successful. What I don't remember is my mom complaining. I don't remember her crying. I don't remember any self-pity or why me's. I can't tell you for certain that she didn't do those things but what I do know that whenever I called from school she was positive. When I came home on the weekends she was doing physical therapy with a broom and a smile on her face. My mom has been a cancer survivor for 15 years. Thanks Mom for showing me how to smile through the hard times. To be an encourager even when I don't feel encouraged. To put others needs before my own even when I have a real need. You were such an example of Christ during that time and I didn't even realize it until today. I love you Mom! You are my hero.

Field trip

We go once a month on a field trip with two dear families. We are all new to the home school thing and we all have small children. Recently we went to J Razz and Tazz farms. We had a blast. There a tractor drawn hayride and the had a mountain of hay stacked up for the kids to climb. A tractor made out of hay and a mini corn maze for the little kids. Ethan was so wanting to try the big one but I was afraid we would get lost. I wasn't sure Caden and Sophie had a mile maze in them.
But by far their favorite thing to play in was the shilohs filled with shoepeg corn. They had a blast.
Thanks for the pics Rebecca.


They had so much fun. We were the last ones to leave.

Mommy date

Yes tonight was just a girl's night. The boys all went camping and Sophie and I had a mommy night. I must say 4 years ago when I found out I was pregnant again I was a little(totally) terrified of having a girl. When my friend Marsha and then my pastor said they were praying for a girl I knew I didn't stand a chance. For those of you who know me I am very much a tomboy. But Sophie came and it is so nice to have some pink and lace around. She has completely balanced out our family. I am so thankful God(and Pastor and Marsha) knew exactly what I needed. So back to my one-on-one time .. we made the most of it. We dropped the boys off and what did we do, we shopped of course. Straight to Target to pick up "jewels" to put on her crown to go with her princess costume. We walked hand and hand through the clothes, shoes, books and make-up without having to say don't throw that or don't climb on that. Then we bought sparkly pink fingernail polish. After a yummy meal we went to the pet store to "pet" the animals. Then to Toys and Co. to peruse the aisles. I got some great ideas for Christmas. After that I introduced Sophie to the girl store,Starbucks of course, and we had a smoothie and talked about when she was a baby. Then onto the movie store to get a chick-flick. Nothing with testosterone I assure you. Back home to snuggle and watch a princess movie. Now she is asleep in my bed.

Oh my precious girl. I am so thankful for you. I pray that you find Jesus early, that you know Him, love Him and serve Him with all your heart. Mommy loves you.

I did not post my Not me Monday late Sunday night because I didn't know how to schedule post. Nope not me.

I did not put in a two hour Jeff Corwin video, exclaim this is science today, and come work on my blog.

I did not have to chase Sophie through the corn field at a corn maze. She thought it was much funner to stay off the path.

I did not just use the word funner.

I did not have to dry Sophie off after falling in my sister's pond.

I did not spend the whole day in my pj's on Thursday.

I definitely did not put on a sweatshirt, instead of a bra, to watch the kids ride their bike just in case a neighbor rode by.

I did not watch my 6 yo fall from the top of a pine tree.( No broken bones)

Lastly, I have not been pulling clean clothes to wear from my hiding spot under the bed from when my in-laws visited last weekend.


Until next Monday. Can't wait to see what this week holds.

Check these out

I just wanted to tell you guys about two websites that I frequent. My friend Pam is a doula and this is hers motheringthemother.blogspot.com. She is much better about posting than I am.

My churches women's ministry just started a new blog. It is really neat and has daily post.
cornerstonewoman.blogspot.com

Both of these will bring laughter, tears and encouragement.

Check them out.

Tara

MMM! Smells like a boy.

I love the smell of my boys after a day outside. We went on a mini-trip to visit my mom and sister at the beginning of the week. The weather was wonderful and the kids had a great time playing with their cousin, Taylor. Taylor's house has these great pine trees to climb in and as monkey's will they climbed all day. (Sorry about the broken branches Uncle Bud). At the end of the day I left the kids overnight at my mom's because I had to work on Tuesday. As I was leaving I bent down to kiss and hug them and I was struck by how good my boys smelled.(Not that Sophie didn't but it was just different) They smelled like sunshine, fresh air, dirt, pine and sweat. I love that smell. To me that smell means we had a great day exploring and enjoying God's creation. To me that smell is pure boy. To me that smell is innocence. To me that smell is why I home school. I didn't want to leave. I good have just held them and sniffed them forever. Thank you God for my smelly boys.

Not Me Monday

I did not check my phone messages this week and then proceed to talk to the person,my sister, on the machine. Not me.

I then definitely did not get upset with my sister for continuing to cut me off when I was trying to tell her the answer to her situation. No way, not me.

I did not then realize that I was talking to the message and bust out laughing. Not me.

I did not fill a squirt bottle with water and tell Sophie to wash the windows so I could finish math with Ethan. I would never do that.

I did not teach my children to blow on our windows and then write in the "fog" just to buy some time till supper finished. Nope, not me.

Lastly, I did not hide laundry under the bed because I was tired and didn't want to put it away before my in-laws arrived. I would never do that.

Hope you have a great Monday.

Tara

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I had no idea such a day existed until my friend Pam wrote about it on her blog. As I sat there and read her entry it all started coming back so fresh that I knew I would have to write about it at some point today. I think it is wonderful to have a day of remembrance. It is nice to think someone knows you need to remember. I am one of those people who remembers. I remember the excitement, the fear, the joy of finding out I was pregnant. The dreaming, the planning the anticipating. The hurt, the pain, the confusion, the anger. I remember seeing other people with babies and physically aching for want of one to hold of my own. I remember barely surviving a good friends baby shower. I remember a hurt unlike anything I have ever felt before. But then the rain stopped, the clouds got lighter and the sun eventually came out. God put three people in my life at the time who truly pulled me through the dark. Katherine who gave me permission to be angry and brought me ice cream. Jan who gave me a goal and new kind of pain through running. Sandy(my sister) who gave me a flower to plant so I would know she remembered. Thank you God for those ladies. Now, the pain is not so sharp. I think about my babies with God and smile that I will see them again one day. I still remember every birthday and sometimes wonder what if... but God has a plan. He always has and always will and today I have 3 children here with me to nurture and love . Who bless me beyond what I ever could have dreamed.
There are many of you that have had miscarriages like myself or have lost a child after only moments with them. I hope you give yourself this day to remember. For those especially close to me, Sandy, Pam, Dana , Cassy, Tiffany I want you to know that I do remember and I love you.

Tara

Hallelujah!

I am so excited that my cousin, who is 36, accepted Jesus a few weeks ago. It was such wonderful news to receive. Honestly, I was shocked. God really convicted my heart. I have a list of people or groups of people that I pray for concerning salvation, but as I searched my heart I realized that I was not praying expecting anything to happen. I think there is a group, depending on age and lifestyle, that I had truly given up on. I just had just gotten tired and frustrated with no results. God showed me. He is still working and changing lives. I am so thankful that He never gives up on me. Hallelujah!!

Pocporn and Icees

Today was THE big errand day. Five places, 3 kids and rain. Once a month we have a big errand day. My kids are not particularly fond on this day but normally it goes pretty smoothly. I have my list. I am organized to try to speed up the process. Today, not such a smooth time. I know my kids say my name 100s of times each day but on errand day it is ten times that. I should have known by the weather we should have foregone errand day and stayed in our pjs. By stop two it is, "he looked at me ugly." Stop 3 "She touched me." By stop 4 I was wondering "how many times can three children need to go to the potty." We had one more stop. Now many of you are wondering why I just didn't pack it up and head home. We live a good drive from most of our stops so I try to be efficient with our gas. Today though I seriously considered throwing in the towel. I had lost my list and my mind. Last stop Target. We walked in and there was my sanity. The popcorn and icee stand. I wheeled it in, placed my order, plopped them all in the cart and shopped till my heart was content. I even found my list.

Still figuring it out

Sorry to be MIA for 2 days. I obviously have not figured out how to write a post and publish it at a later time. I'll keep working on it , so, don't give up on me. I will write a post later today.

Great Day!

Well, I am wrapping up another day. I am a little tired but content with a great day. We started our day with a nature hike before the rain started. We filled up paper bags with pine cones, needles and whatever else they liked. Then we had our morning devotion. We role played the pharisee and the tax collector praying at the temple. It was so neat to see the boys act out the story. It has been so awesome watching Caden start to grasp who God is and what Jesus did for him. Them we sang some praise songs. If you see Sophie ask her to sing Holy, Holy, Holy. Then we rolled out finds from our nature hunt in playdough and talked about texture. We had our reading lessons. Caden is so excited about reading his first words. Ethan played a game with letter cards. Spell as many words as you can in two minutes.(He loves a race). I didn't realize he was going to try to spell every potty word he could think of. Oh well, he did great sounding them out. We did fractions while baking a yummy new cake recipe. Lots of tickling, hide and seek and chase.(That was PE) Great school day for me. The boys spent the afternoon pretending and building with tinkertoys. Sounds like a great day right? Well we hit some turbulence about 5:15. As I was changing clothes and getting ready for my volleyball game Sophie cut her hair again. I had no idea she could reach that high. It had just grown out from the last time. Then we get 10 minutes down the road and Ethan informs me Sophie peed in her panites and on the carpet. I love days like today. I have a great time with the kids. They were excited about their lessons for the day. Found a great new recipe. They played well together, I got all my house work done and got to hang out with my hubby and watch a little TV. Sounds like a great day to me.

Tara

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I did not tell my boys I was going to snuggle their sister at nap and then fall asleep before she did. Nope not me.

I did not wake up to two boys dressed in their sister's Sunday dresses and blue lipgloss on their eyelids. Nope not at my house.

I did not send said boys to a campout with blue lipgloss on their eyelids. Nope I would never do that.

I did not fuss at my kids about not getting dressed for the day and then realize I was still in my pjs. No way, not me.

I did not cover the kitchen table in flour and encourage my 3 monkeys to "draw" just so I could have five minutes in bathroom. Not me.

I did not leave a bag of chocolates on my desk and find my youngest monkey surrounded by wrappers. Not me.

And there you have it. Have a great Monday.

Tara

My favorite day of the week

I just love Sundays. I sometimes find myself unable to sleep because I am so excited about Sundays. I love to go to church to worship, learn and fellowship with other believers. I especially like to sing. I start most of my days with music and we have worship time every morning for school. I love how God uses music to minister and heal our hearts. Have you ever started singing and felt like every word sung was being branded on your heart? That is how today was. It was a wonderful time of praising God for who HE was, is and forever will be.
I especially enjoyed looking out from the choir loft and seeing my boys singing at the top of their lungs. Their joy and love for God written on their face. They have complete trust and faith in their Creator. Watching their unwavering trust reminds me of how often I don't completely trust God but try to intervene and work things out on my own. What great accountability my children are. They keep me on my toes, not only physically but spiritually too.

Well, we have had taco soup and tickle time on the couch. It is nap time. Sophie is waiting for me in the guest bed to snuggle and I hear the boys snuggling(wrestling) with Dad. Time to go get all my "kids" to sleep.

Tara

I did it.

I finally did it Pam. I have created a blog. Granted it is not perfect but I am up and running. This is for my three monkeys, Ethan 6, Caden 4 and Sophie 3. I regularly send funny, scary or gross stories to my friend Pam. She has been encouraging(nagging) me to start a blog and share my life with others and have a record for my monkeys. I hope that others who read this page will find a laugh, a cry some encouragement or all three. More to come. Please remember I am in process. Be patient.