Waving Hi!

tap..tap..is this thing on?

Hello!  I have no idea if anyone will even see this post.  I started this blog in 2006 and posted all of a hundred and nine times.  I completely neglected this space for the past three years.  I originally started this blog because I liked documenting a few steps along our journey.  It was also a way to participate in the "4real learning forum" in a more personal way, as this blog was linked in my signature.  

Since the forum changed quite a bit, Facebook has seemed to replaced the blogs and I began to use hand held devices to access the Internet, I sort of checked out here.  

Well, I thought I would check back in. So here is the latest:

Our family has grown!

Our daughter's fervent prayer for a sister was answered.  She was born on the 29th of August.  Her blog pseudonym is: Clarisse Violet.  

We are over the moon with joy.  She is such a delight.

That's all for now.  Really what else is there to say that can top that.  Birth stories and such will wait.  We are still a homeschooling family who needs to get the day going.

Thank you for visiting.  God Bless!

7 quick takes

This is my first time participating in 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary.

1. I read blogs in my google reader everyday. It never occurs to me to actually blog myself. I blogged yesterday and I think the day before. This could become a habit..

2. Half of my family was gone this afternoon/evening. My husband went to work and my mom brought my eldest three to the movies before she dropped of the birthday boy and his buddybrother (they say they are bored if they go alone) for his grandparent birthday sleepover at my inlaws (they live in the same town). I served dinner to my 7 and 5 year old. I forgot what it was like to have to cook for just two kids. (Littlest nursed and had a few bites of baby cereal)

3. I let the 7 and 5 year olds play wii and it was a treat that they did not have to wait so long for their turns to come around again.

4. The baby has cut his two bottom teeth .. and he knows how to use them {{!!}}. This is early for one of our babies. Teeth arrive around eight months usually. This little guy is already letting us know that he has his own way of doing things.

5. The youngest is the joy and delight of our entire family. He is also the most high maintenance little person. After a few minutes in his play saucer or tummy time (almost crawling-prefers to try to walk), he fusses. Then he is content when one of us scoops him up. Here's the thing, if he came when all of siblings were toddlers, I don't know how much attention he would have gotten. However, since all of his siblings are big enough to hold him, we will never know.

6. My mii gets way more exercise than I do. I see "mommii" running the island on wii fit, hitting them out of the park on wii sports baseball, tossing hula hoops, coaching soccer and doing aerobics. I'm tired just watching her!

7. People of another faith came to my door today to witness. I actually conversed with them for a few minutes, instead of poking my head out the door and briefly inviting them to mass before excusing myself as I usually do. Progress.

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I am thankful for:

Family. There have been so many devastating losses in the past month for families I only know of through the internet. Even though I don't know of any of them personally, my heart grieves for them. I pray for them often. In times like these, I hold my own so much tighter. Pray and love.. it seems like it's all I can do.

Hope. I am clinging to Philippians 4:6

My husband. He is a fantastic husband and father. I always say marriage isn't 50/50, it's 110/110. He really does give 110%. Graces from the Sacrament of Matrimony are abundant here.

Helpful children. With a full house, there is much maintenance. On most days.. most things get done. (occasional screen time incentives don't hurt either!)

Grandparents. My mom's weekly visit has been so joy-filled for the children.. and me. She is so loving. She also spoils us with little treats and surprises. Also, I couldn't ask for better in-laws. They make birthdays so special for the children. We are looking forward to spending some time with them this weekend.

The library. Our little library in town is so good to us. For a tiny library they have such a nice selection of books. We keep them hopping with our interlibrary loans and they are so cheerful and accommodating.

The slow pace of summer. Other than the scramble on the two weeks of camp, I don't think I have had such a relaxed summer in years. Even with a baby to care for, this has been such a time of refreshment. I don't indulge in reading for pleasure as often as I would like. I did this past month and it was such a treat!

Positive Attitudes. We have had a nice long break from our usual lessons this summer. The children are suddenly ready to get back to lessons.

Affirmation. The younger ones have improved leaps and bounds with their reading and math. Taking a break was such a good idea. Learning happens year round, but the style tends to rotate with the seasons. This season of relaxed education has really benefited everyone here.

Little things. A new keyboard for my laptop. Thank you eBay Seller for your reasonable price. Thank you clever husband who is not afraid to take apart the laptop to install it. First I lost the letter T, then E, then K, N a number. Somehow I managed to keep typing. Little things like a complete keyboard can make me appreciate, well, the little things!

Finally, thank you for stopping by. May you have much to be thankful for this day!

randomly.. retrospectively.. currently..

Other than one sweet little picture posted of our sweet little man, the last time I posted here, it was Narnia out the back door...


and the Polar Express in our driveway!



No excuses from this slackah-bloggah.. see the blogging without obligation button on the sidebar. (no I don't really drop my r's when I speak, but many folks in these parts do.)



Baby Joel is coming up on seven months already!















He is already cutting his first tooth.










He is just everybody's baby.











He was baptized on Easter Sunday.



Recently Joel was just hangin' out.. minding his own business.. when suddenly it began to rain brown sugar! One of his silly (not to mention high maintenance - hmmm.. where does he get that from???) big brothers needed brown sugar for his sweet potato. On the way back to the table, he lost his footing and little Joel got covered! Yikes!

Elaina turned 5 shortly after Joel arrived.










Among all these boys, it is a delight to have such a girly girl.

She is all about her dollies. Bitty is her 'favorite and her best.'

Joel likes Bitty, too.
A little too much!


Timothy was ten in March. He is a phenomenal big brother to Joel.

He is currently going through a Star Wars obsession. This too shall pass. One can only hope.

Pier-Jérôme turned seven in June. (That's Timothy's lightsaber on the wall behind P~J. How nuts is that?)

Pier-Jérôme is our toothless wonder right now.

He enjoyed hanging out with Elaina and Joel while the Big Three went to boys day camp earlier this summer.

Julian's twelfth birthday was this month.

He is the resident bookworm... His favorite books this summer have been Simon Bloom, Mysterious Benedict Society and currently Artemis Fowl.

Oh, to have the time to devour books as he does. I suppose I claimed a few stolen moments to read the latest from Sophie Kinsella (twaddle for mom) and Shannon Hale (that was influenced by Lissa's Blog). While driving to camp, I listened to the audio version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while the kids watched Eyewitness DVD's from the library in the back. I really enjoyed hearing the
Guernsey letters read aloud by different readers.


Maximilian's ninth birthday is coming up very soon! He shares Timothy's enthusiasm for Star Wars.















Maximilian is sooooo good to Joel.


Joel and his 5 siblings on Pentecost Sunday.


Maximilian shredded the Fels Naptha bar when we made the homemade laundry soap. (Frugality went bust here, though. Our well water is hard water and even with water softening powder added, it does not work so well.)

Earlier this week, Nana took Julian to the movies for his birthday. We all tagged along.
After the movie we headed to McDonald's. The 'moose' McDonalds.

We played tourist and I snapped a picture of Julian in front of the big moose.



Then... Nana treated us to ice cream cones. Thanks Nana!
Doesn't she look fantastic, by the way?!! She turned 78 in June.

That's all for now. Until I abandon my housework find another pocket of time to update, thank you for stopping by and catching up with us!

Interrupting this unscheduled five month long blogging hiatus

to post a picture of the little person who has been keeping us busy.

Blessed Are We!

....the story goes like this:

On Wednesday, the fourth of February, it was determined by the doctor that I would be induced to deliver our baby the following morning. I was instructed to call the hospital at 6am to inquire as to whether the hospital was ready for me to arrive. We woke EARLY. I called. They weren't ready. Could I please call again at 9am? Yes, I could. I have waited nearly 41 weeks for this baby, what is three more hours?

I called back at 9am. I was instructed to arrive at 11am. We arrived a bit late. The hospital has had additions since I last delivered a baby there in 2004. We parked in the main entrance area. Then took two elevators and several corridors to find the maternity floor. Jeff teased me that since we were late, I wouldn't get the "good room." Ah, well.

We were instructed to wait in the family waiting room while my room was prepared. A nurse arrived and the first words out of her mouth were: "Follow me, you've got the "good room." I did not know there was such a thing at this hospital! Wasn't that just on tv? All of three of the rooms I have stayed in at this hospital in the past were "good rooms." We arrived and indeed, it was a "good room." Here is the view from my window.

My lovely midwife who caught my daughter nearly five years ago got me set up. Pitocin was started. Labor began slowly. Contractions increased as the pitocin levels were gradually elevated. When the clock struck five, my midwife was off. The doctor - the new-to-this-practice doctor - the one I saw the day before, arrived. In the early evening, she broke my water and left me in the care of some very nice nurses. The contractions intensified to the point where I was asking for the doctor and an epidural. I have not used an epidural since my first two doctor deliveries.

Finally the doctor returned and she said "You're going to have a baby."
{REallY.. ya think?}
She said "You can have your baby right here on the bed."
No, thanks. That nice nurse did not place this birthing chair next to my bed in vain.
Gravity can be a very good thing, you know.
I hopped onto the chair and my doctor asked for some gloves - size six to be precise.
No one gave her any until she asked again.

One push was all that was necessary.

Our baby boy, who will be known as
Joel Anthony
on this little blog, arrived at 9:13 pm.
He let out a loud wail right away.
I smiled.
We visited for a bit. He learned to nurse in the first hour.
He was given a bath and weighed.
He was 20 inches long and weighed 7lbs 1oz.
That is teeny tiny. At least it is to me.
Our first son weighed 7lbs 8oz. Our last four children weighed 8.6, 8.8, 8.5 and 8.7.
One would think that I give birth to eight and a half pound babies.
Not this time.

Here is baby Joel meeting Daddy for the first time.
I wore three medals and a scapular during delivery. The gold rope is from the scapular was over my shoulder. The medals are a Miraculous Medal, The Eucharist in a monstrance and St. Therese of Lisieux. Baby Joel reached up for my medals.
Got 'em.
Here he is meeting Nana the next day. Joel, you are going to loooooove Nana! We call her "Disneyland." She will spoil you to pieces! Just ask your brothers and your sister. Joel met Memere et Pepere. They are Daddy's parents. Daddy turned out pretty good, I think. They're really good folks.
Joel took a lunch break. Maximilian gave him a little snuggle. He's a snuggler, that Maximilian.
Here's Joel's only sister. The only princess. She thinks Joel is so handsome!
Here's Pier-Jerome. He loves babies. Always has. He cannot believe he has one in his family. Lucky, lucky boy! Joel's lucky, too.
Timothy has prayed for Joel as soon as he knew he existed. Prayed and prayed. God heard you, Timothy. God heard, you.
It's been a five years since Julian had a new little sibling. He hasn't forgotten how to snuggle the littlest one. Here's Joel and I having a little chat.
Sweet, sweet baby.

Our swaddled little 'sausage roll' (say it like Lola - it'll sound cute, not wierd).


Back to the story.
After the visits ended on night two, we settled in for the night. or so I thought we had.
Joel wasn't nearly as content.
Sleep skipped my "good room" that evening.

Joel's feedings were good for one, then disinterested the next.
We went home looking forward to settling in. It didn't happen.
We were back at the doctor's office the following day.
Joel had blood tests. I had tears.
Turns out he had a tight frenulum which can fatigue baby's tongue, hence the success and failure of alternate feedings. This caused him to get dehydrated. Poor little pumpkin. He was readmitted and given hydration. Here is his little arm with the i.v.
It all worked out. The hydration was just what he needed.
He didn't even fuss about his i.v. going in or out.
I had fussed about my i.v. Going in. and Going out.
But then again, I tend to be a fusser.

His tight frenulum was treated. No tears then, either.

We were finally able to go home. I know I was ready!
Here's Daddy ready to take his baby home for good.
Baby Joel has been doing very well since we've been home.
He eats well.
He sleeps well.
He lets us know when things aren't quite right.
He is a rather content little person.
We are all completely smitten with our new sweet treasure!

This yesterthought was composed twelve days ago. It has sat idle as a draft for no other reason that I'm not really spending a whole lot of time online and I kind of.. ummm.. forgot that I never sent it off.
More yesterthoughts to come.

Thank you for visiting!

overdue walk

Earlier today, when I saw the temperature outside was jumping back and forth between 41 and 51 degrees (that's a heatwave in these parts!), I decided to follow the advice of the last obstetrician who saw me and get walking.
We went on a family trek before my husband headed off to work. He was hoping to have an excuse for a vacation week. Sorry, honey, baby isn't ready yet! C'mon Baby!

Some scenes from our day

The cat joined us on our walk.
He stopped to lay on the ground. Probably because he appreciates feeling the pavement because lately all he feels on his paws lately is this:

Incidentally, his name is Paws (like cat feet that are white when the rest of him is sort of pepper-y). We didn't name him. His previous owners did. Apparently, Pier-Jérôme has different ideas about his name, though. He was recently asked if the kitty's name is Paws, like feet? His reply: "No, like Pause on the remote." Alrighty, then.

The children all took turns with the camera.

They caught some silly shots:
And some fun shots:
And some cute kid shots:

Even a 40 week Belly Shot:

And there were also some shots that were deleted upon viewing. (Recommendation, don't walk forward in front of a child with a camera when you are 40 weeks pregnant or you will find some very unflattering backside shots - aaaaaggghhhh!)

Closing this (unusually current) yesterthought with a snap of "My Heart."

Thank you for stopping by. I am thankful for all of the prayers that have been offered for the delivery of our newest Sweet Treasure!