Three Yellows and a pair of wet pants

All three students passed their yellow belt tests. Now the house has three yellow belt Shotokan-Do Karate students. Watch out bad guy, they will kick your @$$. Life is great when the children accomplish tasks that are instrumental in their development as adults. Hopefully this karate class will help them maintain focus throughout all tasks that they are presented. Also the self confidence that these classes bring to them will pay off dividends later in life. No one will walk all over my children unless they let them. Oh yeah the wet pants....LELE did it. Thought this phase was over for her, but if Gini is a gauge of the girls, this may go on for a few years. Hopefully this will not come to pass. Smell smoke......Pizza is done....Time to eat.

Daddy's Turn

The last three days have been my turn to be Mr. Mom. I do not see what is so hard about this job. Women get all outta whack because they are not organized. They rely too much on their own strengths to get the jobs done. The children know how to clean up after themselves and get dressed. Letting them do the work that they are supposed to do helps eliminate the stress level. Oh yeah another tip, cook outside in the summer. NO pans to wash and dry!!
We recently were blessed with a washer and dryer from our karate instructor. Thank you Adam and Christy. Laundry has taken half of the time and is cleaner. Nessa is happy and it will help to make her job easier. It already is but you have to give her a chance to sound off. Nessa has been working at the horse ranch for a couple of days and it has been great spending time with the children. Lele has more energy than the sun. Michael thinks everything is funny. Gabe and Gini are themselves of course. Riding bikes and running all over the neighborhood is a normal day for them.
Today is the belt test for Gabe, Gini, and Dad. Testing for the Yellow Belt in Shotokan-Do Karate is easy for the children, they do not have to do all the steps that I have to do. Well it is good that they are in Karate. Gabe's focus is sharp and pays attention in class. When the other students are goofing around he is like a pillar in the class. Gini has pretty good focus, although she does start to goof off, she sees Gabe not doing it. This really helps her to re-focus on the class. She has come close to hitting one of the goofing off kids for getting in her face. She has controlled her anger pretty well and stopped before she leveled him.
Watching all the children playing together is magical. They all get along, and sometimes have their spats with each other. At the end of the day they pray and give each other hugs and kisses for bed. It is interesting to see them outside of their environment and how they react to uncomfortable situations.
I am glad that I have two boys to protect....Not the girls but the boys that the girls might have problems with. The girls have no problem taking care of themselves and I am sure that the boys will also join in the defense of their sisters. Maybe the girls can help the boys in their time of need.
Well I have to go and do school work. 25% done with school this summer and can not wait until I finish the degree. I am hoping that this will open more job opportunities in the future. Only time will tell.

Summer Time!

Wow! We have had so much going on these last few weeks. The children are growing like weeds! of course they're way cuter than weeds. Gabe is already looking forward to going to school, although Steve and I have mixed feelings. It's bittersweet, for sure. He is so curious as always, of learning how things work. He is getting much more mature, and is so much of a help! He loves to watch Transformers (the old hand drawn cartoon) with his dad. Very soon we need to get him his own small tool set and an old lawn mower engine or something that he can take apart and put back together and see how it works.
Gini is trying to be older, and recently got to go to a princess birthday party for her friend Natalie. I curled her hair and painted her nails, and put on her princess dress up dress. She had such a blast! She wants to go to school as well, so we may possibly let her go to pre-school. I struggle with wanting to protect them from some of the things that they will learn too early at school, but will continue to pray about it, and just follow whatever God leads us to do. She is very musical, loves to sing and dance and play with Lego's , her babies, etc. She loves Transformers just as much as her daddy and big brother. She is a good helper, and we recently when through a phase with her whining more than normal, but the last week has been amazing!
Elyana is learning so much! It's amazing, and I do see why they see children are like sponges! She can say her ABC's, she likes to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and she can count to 20. She is fully potty trained. We put diapers on at night til she starts waking up dry, but it is so nice! She wanted to potty train at 18 months and I put it off, kind of dreading it. However, a few weeks before she turned 2 she started going in there on her own and trying, so I had a choice. Either I help her, or clean up messes! So I used underwear and wool diaper covers that I had knit for my cloth diapers, and she trained so fast, with minimum accidents!
Michael is now saying bye, hi, all done, I got it, and some other things we don't understand!! lol He's very vocal and tries to do karate like the older kids. He likes to go in and try to sit on the toilet, so I am hoping that he wants to potty train early as well. He knows what he wants, and is all boy . He loves to watch his dad work, and is very interested in tools, trucks, wrestling, trains, etc...

I interviewed for a job at the local horse ranch to be a trail guide, and I got it! I'm very excited, and praying that lots of people come ride on my weekends, as I get paid by the person. We found out on Mother's Day that we were going to have another baby. Unfortunately, this past weekend, I had a miscarriage. I am dealing with it. I won't lie and say it's easy, because it's so much harder than I ever thought it could be. Gabe put letters in a row on the refrigerator and said "I spelled the baby's name" ( don't know what it spelled) and I lost it. I sat down to finish knitting Gabe's hat and lost it again. It brought to mind the little hat and booties, etc that I was going to knit for the little one. God has a plan though, and I will rest in that. He is in control. I will trust in Him! I will hold on to Jeremiah 29:11. A song that really touches me all the time, but especially today part of the lyrics are " I will praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands, for You are who You are, no matter where I am, Every tear I cry, You hold in Your hands, You never left my side, and though my heart is torn....I will praise you in this storm." It's by Casting Crowns. It's amazing, and if you get a chance, you can listen to it on You Tube.
We are going to try to turn the car in, in June. We found out through Honda that if the car appraises at or above what the pay off would be (wholesale value) you can turn it in (a lease) and be free and clear of it. You have to have it appraised by a private appraiser, and turn it in within 30 days of the written appraisal. We are so very close, and believe it will work in June. Then we will pay cash for either a mini van or suburban, and save over $400 a month!!! We are so excited that God has given us this opportunity!! Then we have a plan to pay off the student loan in 18-24 months if possible. God is so good. We are so happy to have had the opportunity to take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course, and learned so much, not just about getting out of debt, but about insurance, investing, college saving.

Mother's Day Extravaganza: The New 16 GB Apple iPad

Mother's Day Extravaganza: The New 16 GB Apple iPad

I entered to win an Ipad at The Thrifty Mama! Go on over and check it out! It would make for an awesome mothers day gift!!! :)

Reflection...and a Yellow Stripe

I'm sitting here watching Castle. It's a very fun show. It's drama, and comedy at the same time. Heavy, and yet light. I wanted to watch it one night when Steve was home, and now it "our show" that we watch together when he's home. I look forward to it every week!
There has been so many things that have happened in the last year alone! We have moved 4 times in the last 2 years! Our children have been real troopers for sure, and my family has tried so hard (succeeding ) to support us, all the while missing us desperately as we do them.
We had the privilege to have my sister Elyse come visit us for a week. Oh what fun we had with her. We didn't go do a lot of stuff. We wanted to be able to take the time to have a good visit. We did go to the gym and work out a couple of times, and managed to go to the zoo. It was nice to have her help for the younger three children's doctor appts! I managed to not cry when I dropped her off at the train station, but it was so hard. My little sisters and brothers are growing up so fast. Sometimes I regret not being as close to the youngest two, and that is mainly because we haven't been able to spend as much time with them. However, now that they are getting a little older, and more comfortable with going places on their own, we can work this out!
We have been taking Gabryel and Virginia to karate classes that are free, being offered by a 2nd degree blackbelt instructor, who is also the pastor at the local 7th day Adventist church. He sets up a mat in the church, and then has three classes. The children are having so much fun! So, Gabe has been practicing with Steve, and tested for his yellow stripe! He got it! He was so excited, and he showed everyone in the room (there were only 3 other people), gave them high fives, and came to me to show me again. I was going to give him a high five, and he stepped in and gave me hug. Man I feel loved, and special! Gabe is so special. All my children are. But you know how they are all special in their own way? I look at one and think "he/she's so cute! I just can't handle it " then look at the others the same way! Steve and I are just so blessed to have our children. I read a quote from an online friends husband about birth control. " the only reason I wouldn't want more children would be selfishly motivated, I want more time for myself, for me and my wife, more money to spend on me, a quite house, etc. etc... When I personally was convicted about it though was when I realized how often my prayers would include asking for the Lords blessings and then you get smacked in the face with Gods word that says children are His greatest blessing to us, it just seemed silly to deny myself what God had intended to Give me. (The complete conversation is here.
It really made me think though. So many times we pray for God's blessings, and when He tries to give them to us, we turn away, because it's not what we thought that we wanted. Does that make sense?
I love just having one baby in diapers as well! Ahhh it feels like such a break! lol funny right? Michael is also only nursing about 2-3 times a day, sometimes turning it down fora drink out of a cup, or even a different snack. So, that's a morning feeding, nap time, and bed time. He is such a good baby and so fun, with such a good attitude. He is starting to realize though that he can try to be naughty and get away with things, such as running away when I tell him to come to me, deliberately ripping stuff off of shelves, or throwing food on the floor. The we get the "oohh" what a silly boy. :)
Virginia woke up today and said her neck and back really hurt. I called our chiropractor, made an appointment for her for tomorrow (she's never been) and asked what I could do for her. Ice? Heat? Both? She said ice, so Gini laid on the couch watching movies with the ice pack. She said it does feel a little better, but I told her this morning it was probably because she slept wrong. So tonight she was throwing a FIT about going to bed, and finally said (or wailed) "but I don't wanna go to bed! If I go to bed I might sleep wrong and wake up hurting!!!!" So I gave her a hug, and put my hands on either side of her face, and said " Jesus is going to take care of you. In the morning if you're still hurting, we're going to see Dr Jodi and she will help fix your back and neck so it won't hurt." She said okay and was able to then go to bed. I've realized that lately she is getting better at saying why she feels the way she feels instead of just saying " I don't know"! There are days, lots of them in fact, that she severely tries my patience, but I think that I am making progress with her. This past week has been rough but a few weeks before that, were better than normal.

Busy Days

Shew! We have been staying way to busy! We joined the gym here, and daycare is including, and our whole family loves it! The children (especially Gabe) tell me "I don't have any energy I need to go work out". It's so dang cute. So, we work out about 5 times a week, on Steve's day's off we all go together, when he's on nights he stops by after work, and when he's on days, sometimes we meet him there after work.
Gabe woke up this morning with his very first loose tooth. I went in to change Michael and Gabe popped right up, and said "mom, my tooth is loose". I didn't believe him at first ( I didn't let him know) I just said, "It is? Let me see." It was! hah! He's so stoked, it's hilarious, endearing, and cute. He's been playing with it all day in hopes that it will fall out faster.
Gini is our little scholar I think. All of our children are well beyond smart (I could be a little biased) but she just begs to do extra pages in her workbook, and has a memory like you wouldn't believe. Now, I realize that children have a great memory, but Gini never ceases to astound us with hers! I have started giving her piano lessons, and she loves it. Both her and Gabe are doing a free karate class offered at the Seventh Day Adventist church near us. So fun!
Elyana has potty trained herself . She has been wearing underwear from the getgo. Her butt is so skinny that her clothes don't fit! they don't make underwear her size! She is so big. She knows pretty much all of her ABC's (she loves to repeat the song over and over and over and..well, you get the picture) and her potty training lasted under three weeks! She just turned two on Sat. Only one in diapers now! Woohoo!
Michael is our little love. He's so stinking cute (like the rest of 'em). He started walking a couple of months ago, and just turned one. He can say no and go.. and can sign please, all done, and thank you, more, and eat.. He usually sleeps through the night, and is our little door nazi. hehe he goes around with Elyana and closes all the doors!
Tuesdays' Steve and I started doing the kickboxing class at the gym, and we love it!! She works us hard, makes it fun, and it's non-choreographed, so we use the gloves and pads and such. Very cool.
We just got done doing a series out our church on sex God's way. You can find the messages here, and they are video messages, so you get to see all the expressions, etc!~

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.

This week I did not urinate in a cup first thing in the morning intending to take a pregnancy test. I did not then leave it behind the toilet on the shelf partially hidden because I needed to get a test from the store. I didn't then forget about it only to have my 5 yr old come up to me later and say "Mom, why was that yucky juice on the back of the toilet?" I.was.mortified!! I said " that wasn't juice it was pee!" All he said was "oh". Oh my word how horrible!

We also did not tease MckMama on a trip to her house telling her we had already left and were almost there while she had other guests that had stayed overnight, and and a photo-op that day as well, when we hadn't even left the house! Sorry MckMama! :) (We did however let her know that we were just joking and we wouldn't be there til later in the afternoon. )