False Teachers

Wedding Weekend

 Congratulations to my cousin and his new bride!  Here he is with his whole family.  The father of the groom is my dad's younger brother.
Two people are missing from this shot...the bride has two young children she adopted.  They are included in a photo down a little further.  My aunt and uncle are blessed to be grand-parents now as well!

 Here are my gorgeous daughters with my parents.  We had a wonderful time at the reception.  There were many young families with babies---the place was probably at least 10% infants! (Ok, I might be exaggerating) It was a very relaxing time for me since I didn't bring anyone along that needed to be supervised!  I even got my own bed in the hotel, in a room shared with a cousin of my dad's.  Her daughter wasn't able to come so she had room for me!  So quiet from 10:30pm to 7:30am!!

 My youngest cousin is the gal in the mint green dress, she is close in age with the three daughters I had with.  They had a wonderful time during the trip and hotel stay.

Here are my parents with Dad's siblings and their spouses.  The only one missing is Dad's sister, and I know I am not alone in feeling her absence.  January marked five years since she passed away.  At my own wedding, 22 years ago, she did my hair and helped me stay gorgeous and fresh throughout the pictures and ceremony. I know she would have loved helping with this wedding, too. Miss you Aunt Dar!

These sweet Guatemalan children are half siblings and were adopted about a year ago by the bride.  The children were first her foster siblings.  They started praying for a dad and the Lord answered that prayer in less than a year!  Love this story!

Happy 15th Birthday, #4

Here she is sporting a stylish new haircut and awesome jacket.  The bee poking out of her jacket is her new "Cray Cray", a gift from #6.  (Olive Plant #6 saved up and planned for 2 weeks to get this for #4)  She loved it!
Our celebration day will find four of our clan at a family wedding 6+ hours away, so I am guessing the actual birthday party, cake, presents will settle into next week sometime. Par for the course around here.  Birthdays usually last a couple weeks, don't they?
#4 is looking forward to applying to a job that hires 15 year olds.  Life is a maximum mixture of happy and sad, easy and difficult for this young lady.  She has had to grow up in a quick hurry.  I sometimes wonder if she wishes for simpler days of youth and play.
Love you with all my heart, #4....So glad you are here.

Let's Catch Up!

 Here is a classic picture...don't all kids try to fit into the cereal cupboard?  Somewhere in my non-digital storehouse of dusty photos there is a picture of Olive Plants 1 and 2 in a door of the microwave cart---only it was a different cart and 18 years ago!  Here we have Olive Plant 9 who was able to get himself into this position AND shut both doors all the way.  They  only stay this cute and small for such a short time.

 Olive Plants 7 & 8 are enjoying the February snow....took us until February to finally get enough to play in for more than 1 day!

Perfect bedtime treat...lick the cake batter off the beaters and bowl. (then stick the littles into bed so they are asleep before the timer rings for the oven-I am mean but I am not that mean-I let them taste some)  Olive Plants me helped polish off the hot-fresh-moist-chocolate-fudge cake....with one piece left for Mighty Man.  Our only frosting was a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  This is our new favorite treat.  We use Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix.  This is the only mix, available at regular grocery stores, without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. 
Which brings me to another subject. Artificial ingredients in today's foods are presenting a problem in parenting.  First, someone might say, "yeah, those kids and all the ADHD/ADD, anger problems, betwetting, "allergic/sensitive" to everything out there..." But I have discovered something since we removed certain of these ingredients from our diet.  Moms benefit, too!  Plus, moms are better moms when their bodies are overloaded with toxins! 
Don't get me wrong.
I am not calling myself a good mom, or better, or whatnot.
I am simply stating the difference I feel when I DO EAT the "artificials"...for the next  couple of days I am a disorganized overwhelmed yelling mess of a sad mom.  The kids might be behaving perfectly, but mom flips out over the noise of their playing.
Ahem...yeah.
The kids are starting to ask me "what did you eat?"  Guess I am better off without those "food" I am used to, and not just the kids.
Everybody wins!
I am going to share a website here, but don't take this a medical advice or anything...just check it out if you are fed up with brain fog/Mommy brain, headaches, skin issues, cravings, anger....long list, see for yourself, take 10 minutes and watch the two short videos.

One Lazy Momma

Life must just be a cycle.  I keep coming around to a "season of laziness".  I am in a rut right now and it really plays havoc on the getting meals on time, enforcing computer and movie time limits, following through on school assignments, laundry....you get the picture.
I can be doing fine with the schedule for several weeks...then have a week that just takes the wind out of my sails.
I have a preference of more productive days...ones I don't have to be ashamed about when I am going to bed very late without having finished my kitchen work---that means Mighty Man gets met with quite a sight when he comes home in the early morning.
It reminds me of those early days of marriage.  Young wife has a hard time prioritizing her day and many days will be left 'undone'.  I am just an old young wife now.
Could be the change in weather...or lack of change.  I am ready for spring, but not for the work it brings.  I am ready for rain, but not the clouds that bring it.  I am ready to open the windows, but not the heat that soon will follow.  I am ready for walks, but not the slipping on the ice.

Now that I have shared that part of me---vulnerablely honest---I would like to share a love song on this Valentine's Day.  This song is true love for humanity, like the Father gives.  A compassionate and sensitive love.  I long to have eyes for others like God has for me.