A Random Update.....

.....just because I feel like blogging, and the house is quiet right now!

Myles has been at Hobby Lobby for almost 16 years now! He got a $500 (yes, that is 5 HUNDRED dollar) gift card to spend at the store as a thank you gift. He got one at 10 years too. We always enjoy spending it, and I think we even still  have some left!

We recently bought a new camera, so I don't have many pictures to post yet, and the few I do have were taken on my cell phone. Here is one inspired by Myles. He had a minor accident.....the only thing that was damaged was the mirror. The plastic part holding it on was broken, so he used his OU duct tape and "rednecked" our van!!!!

Nothing much has changed for me. I am still enjoying life, seeking to please YHWH in all I do. I mess up, but HalleluYAH, He forgives me and teaches me and helps me mature more in Him. I have been more withdrawn from others lately, but I think it is good sometimes. I am closer to my family and my heavenly Father, so I am very happy and content right where I am.

Jonathan is so big and mature now. He hasn't "shot up" yet, but I know he's about to. He is just a few inches (4 or 5) shorter than I am now! He is going to be 12 in May. He is loving Boy Scouts, and in fact, they went camping last weekend in the COLD. Crazy boys! Myles went too, but he ended up getting a ride with someone and came back after the first night. Hehe! He admitted he couldn't take it and left Jonathan behind! Jonathan did really well though. He said he was actually "burning up" the first night in his military sleeping bag with hand/foot warmers. I guess I didn't need to worry.

Jayla is REALLY into horses now and has joined a 4-H horse club.  As soon as I finish a quilt for Myles (starting to cut it all out now), I already have everything to make her a horse quilt! Her furniture is already a dark brown, and she has a few decorative pieces already; a cowboy hat coin bank, a light switch plate with a pair of boots on it, a figurine of a girl barrel racing, etc. She got to ride "Peanut" last Tuesday night. Peanut doesn't like to go fast, in fact, you really have to work hard to get him to trot, so he was perfect for her as a beginner. She has never had a lesson, but she learned quickly how to guide him and make him go. Once she was confident that she really wasn't hurting him when she kicked his sides, she was kicking like crazy trying to go faster! That girl! She looked like she knew what she was doing after just 5 minutes or so! She was the same age as a couple of other girls, but she was the only one who couldn't reach the stirrups. She had to have help getting up and down, but she didn't seem to mind, as long as she could RIDE!

Jacob......every time I look at him and think how cute or sweet he is, he either farts or picks his nose. What a kid! I can't believe he is 7 now. He is a LEGO maniac, hoarding them all and playing with them every chance he gets. He even loads up his backpack and brings them along wherever we go. He also still loves trains (but not if they have faces), and in fact, just checked out several books on trains from the library yesterday. And Jacob sure is smart. And he is reading now! He didn't want to for the longest time, so I just never pushed it, but I know he COULD have if he wanted to. I told him that, and he laughed and said, "Yeah, I could have." That stinker! He is quite the engineer too, always building things or trying to figure out how something works. He has always been like that. His latest thing he did on his own was made some jet packs for him and his two little brothers. This may not be "genius", but I was impressed that he took a quick look at a picture (maybe 5 seconds) and declared, "I'm going to make one of those!" and then off he went! I don't have a picture of the ones he made yet, but this is what his almost looks like (this was made by an adult, so it looks more.....realistic).

Jack-Jack is getting so big! He is continuing to improve in his speech. He is still often difficult to understand, but we can understand a lot more as the weeks go by. I also noticed recently that the helix (outer rim) of his ears are plumping up! This is huge to me, as this is one of the characteristics or symptoms of his genetic disorder, and it seems to be going away! We are actually trying to HEAL him with proper diet, essential oils, prayer and other things. We don't want him to just survive, we want him to THRIVE, and I believe he can (and is). We love him just the way he is, but we want to help him be the best he can be, and he's growing, maturing and getting healthier all the time! In fact, it has been about a year since his last seizure. He even had a fever a few weeks ago, but he didn't have a seizure with it! All glory and honor to YHWH!!! Thank You, Father!!! Aside from health issues, he is talking in complete sentences almost all the time now. He absolutely loves to color and draw (always has), so he does that any chance he gets, and he's pretty good! He also still loves music, and we hear him break out in a random song quite often. He is such a joy. :)

Little Joe isn't quite so little anymore. That kid gained 2 1/2 pounds in the last 6 weeks!!! He is one week from turning 14 months old now. He weighs about 22 pounds, has 8 teeth and eats like CRAZY, still nurses (even at night!) and is about to take his first steps any moment now. He can say quite a few words too, but most of it is repeating. A few days ago, Jonathan was playing a game on the Wii and saying, "Die! Die! Die!" Joe was in his high chair eating and started saying "Die-die-die-die-die!" Too funny! He still needs Mommy quite a bit, but he is becoming more independent and just has to come "touch base" every few minutes now. Jack was never like this, and in fact, was completely the opposite, so not only is Joe my clingiest baby, but I haven't had a baby even close to this in 6 years, and the one before him was opposite. So I have been very busy for over a year now with this baby! I think I can finally see my independence in the near future. LOL! But really, this is such a short time in relation to our lives, so I'm here as long as he needs me. I love this little man!

Our homestead is coming along! We are still putting up fences and pens, but we now have two dogs, 7 chickens (still), 6 ducks and a goose. We probably won't get any more ducks now since they are mostly for pets (some lay eggs), but we do want to get lots more chickens, for eggs and meat. We also plan to get some meat and/or milk goats, and/or sheep, and/or a cow. We haven't decided yet, but we will definitely be adding more animals very soon, probably for milk first, then meat. We also want to get a guard donkey and maybe a horse or pony or miniature horse. So many decisions! I love that we are moving toward being more self-sufficient though. In fact, we already are buying most of our groceries now from co-ops and only use the grocery and health food stores for those occasional items we forget to order or run out of. I love it! So much fresh, raw, organic foods, many locally grown!

The younger three are up now, so I guess that's it for this update. Please leave me a comment and let me know how YOU are doing! I'm not good at keeping up with blogs these days, but leave the link to your blog in the comments and I'll check it out. Happy Thursday to you!

Life Moments

I just wanted to capture this "moment". :)

Right now Jonathan is playing a simple song on the piano that I taught him. He is experimenting with the pedals and varying the notes and rhythm. I'm enjoying listening to his creativity!

Jacob is playing with his wooden tracks. He actually hasn't played with them much in a while until this week, now he's getting all the pieces he can find (including buildings) and making really cool tracks! This has always been one of his favorite things to do!

Jayla is playing with the dogs and taking care of the puppies. They are digging now, so she is making sure they are all in the yard and have food and water.

Jack wants to play with Jacob but is hesitant because Jacob doesn't like him to "play" with him (because he often tears up Jacob's creations). He is playing with the Legos some too as well as cleaning up cat food and dancing to Jonathan's music. Wow! All of that as I was typing it! Ha! Busy kid!

Train show

Last weekend we went to the train show. We mainly went for Jacob, but we all had a good time. I don't think I've been to one before. I loved all the model trains all throughout the building! I can totally see Jacob doing this as a hobby when he is older, or perhaps even selling them himself in his own little hobby shop. He even told me that when he gets bigger he is going to buy such-and-such, and a couple of times he would wave over the whole table and say he was going to buy them all. :) He is certainly good at building things and has a great imagination and a lot of patience to go with it, so I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Jayla and Jacob each got an Engineer's hat (Jonathan was too old for one, I guess), and they also played a train simulation game where they got to drive the train. It was just a Microsoft game on someone's computer, but it looked pretty cool. He even had a console with operating switches and levers, and they could (had to at times) blow the horn. Fun!

There was also a play area, but it was a little crowded, so we didn't spend much time there. My favorite display was the Lego train tracks! Click on the images to enlarge and look at the detail. They are made completely out of Legos!

A moment in our lives

Right now we have just finished up breakfast.

Jayla isn't feeling too well, so she is laying down and watching cartoons. She ate breakfast, so I guess that's a good sign!

Jacob is building tracks and bridges with his train tracks. He has had them all over the living room this week. Myles showed him how to use the couch cushions to support a track and build a bridge from the couch to the cushions, so now he uses anything and everything he can find to support a bridge, and they go all around the room!

Jonathan is reading. He has been reading a LOT lately, mostly nature books. He just told me all about how gravity works and about mass. I didn't realize he knew so much about that stuff! LOL! He is also constantly telling me about some kind of animal, where they live, what they eat, etc.

Jack is drumming with a piece of track and standing by the heater (no worries, it is not hot to the touch!). He giggles when he first gets next to it. :) So now we have all four of them fighting over 2 heaters! (sigh) He is also drumming ON Noah's (the turtle) aquarium. He wants to get a closer look but I have it guarded so he won't touch the light. It is indeed hot! He can't reach it though. :)

So that is our little moment of our day. Next we are about to do some cleanup, but I also promised Jacob he could play computer games. If I have time later today, we may make some play-dough. That's always a big hit! I just need to find that "perfect" recipe and the icing coloring.....

building creations

Here are some pix of some things the kids have built recently with the Legos, Bristle Blocks and train tracks. I wish you could see them in person. The boys have a story line to go along with each creation, and some of them have moving parts! Hmmm, I guess I didn't take any pictures of their Lego creations, but they have been playing with them a LOT lately.