FairOaks Family

I hope you will join me over at my other blog...

2011-06-07T22:32:00.002-04:00

Is there anything sweeter than a new baby?

2011-06-04T13:18:00.003-04:00

Matthew Henry's Baptism

2011-05-23T15:28:00.004-04:00

An Update

2011-05-18T00:43:00.000-04:00

Matthew's Great Grandma sent him a tree in honor of his birth for us to plant on our land. She sent a cute little blue puppy as well.

Thank you, GG JO!

It will be fun to watch the tree grow along with Matthew

Matt with his big brother

Slideshow of MH!

2011-04-20T19:55:00.001-04:00

Family Resemblance?

2011-04-17T16:38:00.002-04:00

JDE

WJE

RSE

EEE

another EEE

DJE

HJE

MHE

More Baby Love

2011-04-16T13:44:00.000-04:00

Birth Story

2011-04-12T22:55:00.000-04:00

Hop on over to my other blog A Mother's Heritage for Matthew Henry's birth story!

Welcome Matthew Henry!

2011-04-08T13:18:00.000-04:00

Our precious son is here! He was born at 1:05 pm Thursday 4/7/11. 8 lbs 5 oz. He is precious! I hope to post his birth story soon. In the meantime, if you would like to see a video of our children's first sight of their brother click HERE.

Happy Birthday!!

2011-03-24T10:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my 12 year old son, W! We sure love you and are proud of the young man you are becoming!

Finally, a newsy post!

2011-03-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

It has been a long while since I have blogged a nice newsy post over here at FairOaks Family. My blog A Mother's Heritage has been taking up most of my blogging time. Speaking of which, it is going very well, growing in readership and has been such a blessing to me! I love meeting the ladies that are reading and the interaction of the readers comments. As many of you know, I love to write and so this has been an enjoyable endeavor for me. Come see me over there and while you are visiting over there you can subscribe to get my blogs by email, if you would like.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and I am so ready for it! There is alot of hustle and bustle here as spring awakens all the new life on our homestead here. After a cold, snowy winter, we look forward to settling in here further with the warmer weather. W is growing his egg business, and our hens are producing the most beautiful, big brown eggs. A couple of families from our church are buying from him and he is hoping to add to his layers and produce even more. W has also been given a blacksmithing forge and is working on perfecting his skills. There is a craftsman from our church that is going to sell items for him. J is possibly going to work for the horse farm across the road, they said come Spring they would have work for him, so he is going to be contacting them soon. D's birthday is in May and for his birthday we are going to get him started in the rabbit business. Yup! There is a place just down from us that raises California rabbits (which are supposed to be excellent meat) and we are getting a buck and two does. But, shhh..cause he doesn't know yet! It's a surprise and his older brother is going to help him. As you know, bunnies are prolific so we are excited about starting a herd.

The weeping cherries are blooming in our yard and we have a peach tree in our backyard that is in full bloom as well. S hung a tire swing today, much to the children's delight! The children got the trampoline put together (for the first time since the move) Oh, and H is riding a two wheeler, so our big concrete driveway is always hopping with bikes and scooters. The warmer weather is indeed most welcome!

This not our weeping cherry but looks similar.

But, the biggest excitement for spring is Baby "Obie's" arrival. No, that is not his permanent name, but his "womb name". I am as big as a house and move about as graceful as an elephant these days! I am very, very ready to welcome this little one into my arms. He is so active inside and we already love him so very much! The children have been so involved this time. It is so different now that they are older and they are taking such an excited interest in their little brothers arrival! Since it has been so long since we had a baby in the house, I have been having fun thrift shopping and starting over with little gowns, receiving blankets and the cutest little newborn things. When I opened up the package of newborn diapers--they were so tiny! :) 3 weeks from Tuesday is my due date. This Tues. is my home visit with my midwife and then they are officially "on call" from then on. I hope to have another home birth and this time birth in my big jacuzzi tub. I spent time organizing today and every day that gets closer, we get more excited. I have to say though, I will be thankful to be on the other side of labor when it is all said and done. :)

Today I went for the day to our local homeschool conference. That was a fun encouragement and I enjoyed seeing what is out there. S kept the children and did lots of outdoor things today on the property, and my mom and dad went with me. Dad pushed me all around in the wheelchair, since this ole' preggy mama isn't walking long distances too well right now. I found some helpful information for J regarding looking towards combining high school with college, etc. We also got a course where all the children work together on building a 3 ring binder on the history and facts on SC. My plan right now is to do some maintenance things for the next couple of weeks, and then take a break for this baby. Then in the heat of the summer I am thinking we will start back up again. We finished up our Latin for the year, and only have a final test to do with that. But, it seems to me, why waste the beautiful spring days sitting inside doing school and then have them free on the blistering hot, dog days of summer? So our schedule for school might be a bit different this year.

I will end with a picture of J and I. We had a very special outing night together this past week. We went and saw the movie "The Grace Card" (which was very good, by the way!)

Then out for a fancy meal at Bonefish Grill...so delicious!

This was my meal...

And this was J's.

It was a very special mother/son time!

So there you have some of the latest from the E family! Happy Spring to all our family and friends!

Crazy questions about me!

2011-03-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

Want to know some answers to crazy questions about me? Check out the Thoughts of Spring Blogger Party I am participating in over at A Mother's Heritage.

Come join me!

2011-03-02T16:41:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder about my new blog A Mother's Heritage. Come on over for a visit! Today's post? Olympic Hero, Missionary...or Mommy?

"What if?"

2011-02-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

I took this clip at our Sweetheart Banquet with Steve and Annie Chapman...I love this song!

Movie of Keepers At Home

2011-02-19T14:03:00.002-05:00

Keepers at Home 2011 from Jim Moline on Vimeo.

Stef's blog re: Happy birthday H!

2011-02-18T15:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday!

H is 5 years old today (which btw is hard to believe, it seems like she was just 3!). When I'm here on the children's birthdays I make them a special pancake for breakfast:-)

I used Hershey kisses to make a face - it's not often that H gets chocolate for breakfast!

H and I.

Happy Birthday!

2011-02-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to our little H who is 5 today! Where has the time gone since this precious little one was born in the warm water? Now? She keeps up with the rest of her siblings and thinks she is 22. How we love you our Buggy!

Movie of our date night

2011-02-17T23:46:00.002-05:00

Our evening out...

2011-02-17T18:54:00.000-05:00

We got to go on a double date with our friends the B couple. The men surprised us with corsages. We went to a sweetheart banquet with live concert by Steve and Annie Chapman. What a treat!

S and I with the Chapmans


Afterwards we went back to B house for sweet red wine and chocolate fondue!

It was night full of smiles, laughs, tears and memories!

Valentines

2011-02-17T18:45:00.000-05:00

These are just a few pics of our family valentines evening.

Newsy update

2011-02-17T18:37:00.000-05:00

I realize that I have poorly neglected this blog lately. And I realize that I will be posting much more frequently on my other blog A Mother's Heritage. But, once in awhile I will pop over here for the more newsy, personal stuff.

We have been in a difficult season over here at FairOaks. We were all hit pretty hard with the flu...it put me to bed for a few days, and turned into bronchitis. Then with all the severe coughing that I had, I have had some kind of rib damage (intercostal separation?) It has been very painful and I am on bedrest to try and heal as soon as possible. With ribs it can take a long time. Since I could be having the baby in 7 weeks or so...rest, rest, rest is needed.

Other than that, what other news do we have? We have been busy, busy with continuing to settle into our new home. S has planted 50 trees that grow very quickly and act like privacy hedges. He planted them along the road. He also got an electric fence for Bonnie, so she can now roam free! Our chickens are settled in and are starting to lay again. We thought about doing a spring garden, but with the baby coming, I think that might have to wait till next year. The boys are excited to have found out that there was a fish pond here and so they are going to set out to redig it and restore it.

W is continuing his creativity and is soon to be given a forge FREE from a friend that is an amazing craftsman. J is excited because the neighbors across our road have a horse farm and are going to hire him come spring.

So life continues on. We are at the countdown with the baby..so excitement is in the air.
I will be posting some of our valentines day fun with the children and S and my night out soon.

Introducing...

2011-02-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have noticed how quiet it has been on this blog. Part of the reason is that I have been putting my computer time into building my new website A Mother's Heritage. For awhile S and I have prayed and thought about this venture, and the time seems to be now. I plan to still continue this blog for the more family/personal things that I would not share as much on a sight like A Mother's Heritage. But, I am seeking to reach out to encourage other women in a much broader way than before. I would love to have you join me there as well. To quote from my new site:

This is not a supermom blog. This is a not a blog of a perfect mother with a perfect family. I rarely bake my own bread, do not have a beautiful flower garden, my children do not all play the violin, and I do not have it “all together”. In fact, (shhh) I absolutely refuse to follow Flylady’s “wear your shoes” rule. Rather, I am a struggling sinner, who looks to the Lord whose mercies are new every morning. I have suffered from depression, am not a morning person, and have a huge bag of unmatched socks in my closet. I am in the journey right along with other moms of many. I am an ordinary mom, but have an extraordinary God! I am a blessed wife to an amazing husband. The Lord gave us an amazing courtship and we soon will celebrate 16 years. Our family has grown to 6 children (ages 13 down to almost 5) and in April we are expecting our 7th. We also have four little ones waiting for us in heaven, whom the Lord chose to take to be with him, from my womb.
I am a second generation homeschooler and we are daily seeking to instill in our children the truths that the Lord has shown us. Our days are filled with lots of busy moments and yes, I do have my hands full…but my heart is full as well.
I used to think years ago that I knew all there was to know about being a wife and mom, about being a godly woman…that was before I had a husband and children. In fact, I could have written books on the subject and counseled others, when I had yet to walk in it. Then the Lord took me down his school of humiliation. And after many years, I see more and more how little I do know. I used the think the Lord would be glorified through my “perfect world”. Now, I see his strength is made perfect in my weakness. He is pleased to use the foolish ones. It is in leaning and trusting..in the struggle of life with eyes of faith upon him, that he uses his people.
I am quickly entering the time where I realize that I am more and more the “older woman”. It is my prayer through this blog that many other sisters will receive a blessing through the things I share and even through my mistakes and struggles. On this blog we will discuss many things. From homebirth to potty training, miscarriage to depression, homeschooling and schedules to being a Prov. 31 woman. I would like to share scripture passages that bless me and quotes from godly ones of old that have encouraged my heart. I would love for you to share in the little moments of joy, laughter and even tears in our family. And I want to hear from you, my readers. Let’s be a blessing to each other as we are on this journey called life. May we be as in Pilgrim’s Progress, and help each other along, with edifying conversation… as we walk and sometimes limp along the path that leads to life.
So come join me…

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Beautiful...

2011-01-19T10:44:00.002-05:00

Update

2011-01-13T10:11:00.001-05:00

We are still snowbound here. It has been a winter wonderland these past few days. I do not know what the official snowfall was, but we are guessing we got around 6 inches here. For those of you up north, that may sound laughable to shut a town down for 6 inches. But, here in the south, we do not have snow plows, salt trucks or any equipment to deal with the snow. So we just wait for the sun to do the job. The major highways are running fine, but the outer roads can be quite treacherous. S has been able to make it into work the last couple of days...he said the black ice has made for very slow, tense commutes...even just the four miles he has to drive. This morning, though, he said it was much better, so I think we are thawing! My family and Stef are still here. They live on such a long driveway with lots of little side roads...so we are trying to assess when they can get back in. Last night, the landlord had a hard time getting in and told Dad to stay put for now. I am thankful the Lord has given us such a nice big house to accommodate alot of people. Everyone can have rooms to sleep in, and we are able to spread out. This home was made for times like this. We have been watching alot of movies, playing Nazi Uno, stoking the wood stove, playing in the snow, eating chocolate and drinking wine. ;)

The girls are heading this way today with Nona and Papa. They are driving as far as Birmingham if the roads allow today. We hope to see them on Saturday. It will be good to have our little ladies back...we have missed them!

I am now 27 weeks pregnant. I had a very realistic dream that the baby was coming early. Why does pregnancy induce such weird dreams? I was relieved this morning to have everything going fine with my little one. Last night I was playing with some little body part that we were trying to figure it out what it was...a little leg or something I was batting around. It's so much fun when my pregnancies reach this point. I love this little guy.

This week has been one of those times where the verse comes to life, "Many are the plans of man, but the Lord directs his steps." This is certainly not how I thought this week would go. Life has kinda shut down for awhile. But, the Lord has a way of quieting the earth, by the white fluffy snow, that says "Be still and know that I am God."

Let it Snow!

2011-01-10T18:02:00.001-05:00

We are so excited! We have had a true, old fashioned "Snow Day" here in South Carolina. Being in Tx so many years, this is a real treat. They were predicting this for a couple of days. Because we now have a wood stove for heat, and this area is known to lose power (and therefore no heat) when it ices, my sister and children, mom and dad, as well as Stefanie all came for a big sleepover. Sure enough, we got socked in today! We have had a blast. S was able to work from home, and my dad was also. We have played scrabble, watched movies and just relaxed. We have played out in the snow, had hot chocolate and enjoyed our new wood stove. The snow is so beautiful. And we are so cozy in here. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

S made a romantic heart with his and my initials in it...I love that man!

Is this SC??

I think I kind of look like Humpty Dumpty.

Armed and ready

What would a snow day be without hot chocolate?

Today is R's birthday, so P is making a birthday cake.

MamaMo enjoying K.