Kindness

"Treat everyone with kindness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are."

One of the most important things I teach my children - to always be kind.

I tell them to be kind, but more importantly I show them to be kind.

There are people in this world that can hurt you.

There are people that will be rude to you.

I think it is very important to just continue to be yourself. Don't let another person change who you are.



Thoughts

"Children may not always seem to be listening, but they are almost always watching. Be kind."

So the other day Jacob points at my tummy and says "Baby."

Later that same day Sarah asks me when I'm having my next baby.

And to top it off, our dog kept following me around - which he does when I'm pregnant. (It's kind of sweet.)

But what does this mean? It certainly had me wondering about our family's future.

Tom and I have chosen to accept all children God has planned for us.

I know I have enough love and care.

And I am to the point where my faith is bigger than my fear -

fear of having enough space and money.

I truly feel our children are blessings.

Each one just feels "right." Like my heart has known them forever.

True. We are a big number.

We have had to accept that we aren't going to be included in some things.

We don't get invited to parties like we used to.

We can't afford to go out and do certain activities anymore.

I do catch myself feeling sad when I know we've been left out.

But our children are worth every penny.

Our children appreciate each other and have fun together.

Their bedrooms are crowded, but they are only for sleeping and keeping clothes in.

When they are laughing and playing, my soul just smiles.

I say "thank you" to God and I feel Him smile down on me - like He is saying "thank you" to me for taking care of His children.

He has given me a very important job. I am going to do it well.



November - Thankful

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."

November.

A time to really think about what I am thankful for.

My birthday was this month.

I am thankful for another year.

And what a great year!

 Another little member of our family has joined us.

Last year on Thanksgiving is when we shared our pregnancy with everyone.

CJ is such a blessing. He is very happy. He loves to smile.

Waking up to a little smiling face with eyes sparkling at you is the best way to start a day. Holding CJ and having his arms reach for me and his little hands grab at me is the best feeling.

Even when my hair gets yanked.

And the smell of him.

I truly think that Heaven smells like a baby's head.

I am thankful for our messy home.

Toys on the floor, counters full of crumbs, a sink full of dirty dishes, coats and shoes on the floor, towels and laundry piled everywhere,...

Signs that:

1. We are a large family.

2. We are able to provide for our family what we need.

3. Our children like to have fun.

For these, I am thankful.

Chores are patient.

By the end of the day, they will get done.

(Or maybe the next day.)

I am thankful for family and friends...

especially those who know and accept that our home is messy. It is messy because our family lives here, not because we are lazy. And let's face it - more people means more stuff. Plus, there are just more important things to do sometimes.

For example,

Jacob and I have joined a parent-child play place. I used to take my younger children, but stopped going when life got a little too busy. Now I realize what is important. 

I found a photo of Brandon from about 14 years ago. He was almost 2. Jacob looks a lot like him.

It makes me realize how quickly time goes by.

Having Jacob and Cameron is like flashing back to when I only had Brandon and Ethan.

I want to really enjoy my husband and children.

Really enjoy my life.

I am thankful for the kindness of others.

I have been blessed by many who are close to me, but I have also been blessed by many strangers.

To those I can not thank in person, may they know that I am very touched by their kindness.

I plan to continue the kindness.

I plan to pass it on.

God has surrounded me and my family with so much goodness to be thankful for.

Halloween 2011

"When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, 'tis near Halloween."

Halloween was a lot of fun again this year.

Our 3 girls were fairies and I was their Momma-Fairy.

Our oldest boys were Reapers.

Jakey was a bat and Cameron was a puppy.

The cutest part was when you'd ask Jakey what Cameron was, he would say "Baby a Woo Woo."

(Woo woo is doggy in Jakey language.)

Jacob got the hang of trick or treating very quickly. He loved running up to the doors and getting candy. The first couple of homes he let them hand him candy - after that, he would reach in and grab his own.

He did get really good at saying "Thank you!" by the end of the evening.

Jakey went for over 2 hours! He wanted to keep going, but it was getting late. Plus, it was dark out and he was running around in an all black outfit.

Good thing his shoes light up.

I was thankful that Tom got home in time to spend the last hour with us trick or treating. He was too.

Another fun night of trick or treating with our neighbors and friends.

Our children are off from school for half of this week. Parent-teacher conferences. Looks like I'll go alone, but so far I am very happy with how our children are doing this year.

Sarah enjoys preschool very much! She has the same teacher that Leah had. Leah learned so much in preschool - I am happy she has the same teacher. (She also has the same bus driver which is wonderful! She is the best driver and really starts Sarah's day off right! Plus, Jakey loves to go out and blow kisses to the driver and assistant on the bus.)

Leah loves kindergarten! And we've been blessed with the same teacher as Rachel and Noah had. She is wonderful! Love her! I got to go to Leah's class on her birthday and help celebrate their Fall party. Extra special day.

Rachel is enjoying school this year and I am learning that she has the best teacher this year! I was able to go spend time with Rachel on Halloween in her classroom for their Fall party. Rachel's teacher allows siblings which is great for our family! Jakey, Sarah, and Cam got to come with me. Her teacher is very sweet and kind. I think she is the perfect match for Rachel.

(Hopefully Leah will get her for 3rd grade.)

Noah has the same teacher Ethan had for 4th grade.

I am looking forward to meeting with her this week. Noah was just diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and we know from Brandon that our child's school and teacher are very important during this time. So far it seems that Noah's teacher is very willing to help us. She communicates well with me and uses positive reinforcement with Noah. Noah really likes his teacher and he told me that he thinks he got the best 4th grade teacher.

Ethan and Brandon are doing well enough that we won't have conferences at their schools. I kind of wish we were - just because I like to know the face of the person I am emailing with. Plus, I only hear what my teenagers think of their teachers. I would like to meet them and decide for myself what they are like.

This morning I had to take my boys to the Orthodontist, but before that I was sitting in my room with my girls. They like to go through my old "dress up" jewelry. My 2 oldest girls had a little conversation that went like this...

Leah: Mommy has had 8 babies.

Does that mean she and Daddy have

gotten married

over and over again?

Rachel: No.That just means that

she has kissed Daddy over and over.

That's where babies come from.

But Mommy, how do the babies

get in your tummy?

Me: Ummm....

Leah: God puts them in there.

Me: That's right. Thank you Leah.

Leah Marie 6

"Daughters will melt your heart whenever they want to."

This week we celebrate the birth of our 5th child, Leah Marie.

She is the one my blog was named after. She is our blondie who loves to gather everything that she likes or loves.

Leah is going to be a little superstar someday. She is only 6, but she has a lot of self confidence. She loves to sing and act. I have a feeling we will see her on stage someday.

We did get to see our son Ethan on stage last week.

He was in his middle school's musical performance of Guys and Dolls.

He did great. I love that he has it in him to be on stage in front of an audience. I went to all 3 of the "public" performances. The students did a wonderful job!

While we were at the high school seeing the play, (That's where it was performed - bigger stage there.) we were able to see our oldest son's art work he did last year. It is a still-life drawing. They have it framed and hanging up. Brandon has such a talent for art. His drawings amaze me.

Tomorrow we are having a party for Leah. It is going to be a costume party. Tom has his yummy chili already cooking. I can't wait to eat it!

We will start the day with church. Ethan and Rachel will be singing in the choir. This will be our daughter Rachel's first time singing in choir during mass. She is very excited! And she loves that she is with Ethan.

Cameron is now rolling over back to tummy. Big boy!

And this will be his first Halloween.

It's cute when you ask Jacob what Cameron is going to be for Halloween. He says, "A woo woo."

Which is Jakey's way of saying "Dog."

Cameron is going to be dressed as a puppy, Jake is going to be a bat, our girls will be fairies, and our older boys are going to be Reapers. (I guess that would be the best way to describe their outfits. Just wearing all black.)

I have a fairy costume to match my girls.

Tom - I'm not sure. We'll do something with him. We try to do "matchy" outfits. We were thinking of some sort of "fairy catcher." Kind of like Gargomel (sp?) is to the Smurfs. I'm sure our girls would get a kick out of that.

I am just looking forward to spending a day with family and friends, celebrating one of our beautiful children.

Lights in the Dark

"Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?"

Today.

Today we took Noah to his annual appointment with his Neurologist. It went ok.

Noah opened up to us about the words he feels the need to say - not good words. He could hardly tell us through his tears. He felt so bad. But we explained to him that it's not his fault and we will do everything we can to get him through this. His physical tics have continued as well.

Noah has now been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome.

Tonight.

Tonight our family went to our church.

Tom and I went to our Couple's Bible Study while our children went to the childcare rooms.

Cameron was with me and Tom. Cam started crying, so I left the room to walk around with him. I was singing to Cam, trying to calm him down. I sat down on a pew in the Narthex. I was thinking about how overwhelming things feel sometimes. I was looking through the windows into the church, staring at the altar. It was dark.

I was nursing Cam when I thought - it would be amazing if all of a sudden a light shined inside the church. Then I thought - it would be amazing, but also a little "scary." Would I be able to handle a sign like that?

After a very short moment, our priest (Monsignor) walked in the front door and walked by me in the Narthex. He was talking on his cell phone, but stopped for a second and said "Hi Chris." Then he opened the glass door and turned on the lights in the church.

I just sat there with Cam.

I stared at all the lights suddenly on in the church through the windows.

I whispered - "Whoa."

T is for Tooth

"What we remember from childhood, we remember forever."

Our daughter Leah is 5 and she is in Kindergarten.

This week she lost her first tooth!

She was a little scared last week when she realized her tooth was loose.

It was her bottom left tooth and eating was getting a little more difficult the other night. She kept crying that it hurt to eat with her loose tooth.

Then she went upstairs to brush her teeth. While brushing, she kept whining that her tooth hurt. Her whine suddenly turned to crying and a slight scream.

I ran upstairs to find Leah in the bathroom with Tom and a couple of siblings looking at Leah's tooth on the bathroom counter and a sink with a little bit of blood in it. Leah looked shocked and she was scared because of the blood. We told her it was fine and then we got a big smile from her as we reminded her that the Tooth Fairy would be visiting her for the first time!

The Tooth Fairy did come that night and left Leah some money and glitter for her tooth.

Which leads me to a little bit of "funny" from Leah...

Leah enjoys going to school.

Right now she is learning to read and is very excited about it.

The other day we were playing a game as part of her homework.

It was a board game. I showed her different letters and she had to find the object on the board that started with that letter.

I held up a "T" and asked Leah what the letter was.

She looked at it and knew it was a "T" but wasn't sure which picture on the board started with that letter.

The picture on the board for the letter "T" was a "Tooth."

I gave Leah a hint.

I said, "Leah. What did you just lose?"

Leah paused for just a quick moment then replied, "My mind?"

Ha! Ha! I got a huge kick out of that answer!

I don't know why she would even think of that as an answer :o) Hmmm.....