XoXo GiGi

Back To My Roots...

2015-05-11T21:53:00.001-04:00

They say that life usually comes full circle and on the evening of my 39th Birthday it most certainly did.

My blogging days were done. After a year of forcing myself to blog for the sake of blogging, I left that part of me behind and started a new chapter. My blogging became a focus of the next best thing, numbers, SEO's and hypocrisy made something that I love turn into something that I dreaded. Funny how that works right?

Then today in Bi-lo, after picking up my daughter from work and needing sugar for my morning coffee.... it hit me. I had words that I needed to write.... But it wasn't that easy. My blog was gone. Deleted from cyberspace. My domain was gone, my name was gone, my writing was gone. Gone. POOF... Gigi's Place didn't exist.

I'm not sure the help desk was prepared for me. Whining and crying that I needed it back. I had things I had to write... and how could 7 years of heartfelt words vanish? But they did... And I let it happen. I was at a point where I could not even bear to renew my domain name and through my season of needing to hide, two years of my work went with it....

I couldn't cry. It wasn't a moment that could produce tears, but the sadness was deep. Oh the saddness of The early years when I poured my heart out for no one and wrote about my new house that was being built...The new baby girl that we were going to have... and the kitty we just bought. Back when blogging wasn't a household term and back when my view wasn't jaded....

As I drove home, totally deflated it hit me.... Wait, I still had SOMETHING!! I had THIS. The Gap Girl!! Remember her? I quickly pulled up my own domain and their I was.. smiling and a few pounds thinner. Waiting...Patiently waiting for me to come back. To be done with this silliness of business blogging and to come back home to the safe place she once was...

I find it ironic. I left this blog almost exactly 2 years ago. With big dreams and plans....and now I am back... my past 2 years gone. As if they never existed... I came full circle, back to my roots. Back to my heart. Where I wrote to just write. And I didn't care who read it. I never check my stats and don't worry about comments...because that's not why I started this to begin with.

Today is my 39th Birthday. And here I am, accidentally given the best birthday gift ever. I was taken back. Back where life was good and thoughts were pure. God has a way of doing that. He's a funny guy isn't he? I kinda like Him. Things happen, we panic and in the end, He works things out for OUR GOOD! And oh how good it feels to be back. And Oh how I have missed you....Have you missed me?

XoXo,
GiGi

2013-04-04T23:29:00.000-04:00

HI!! GiGi's Place has MOVED!!

I moved over to another place thats beautiful and perfect and waiting for YOU!

Some COME ON OVER and Say Hi!!!

www.Gigisplace9.com

XoXo

GiGI

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2013-04-04T09:36:00.002-04:00

HELLO DEAR FRIENDS....

Please hang in there for a couple of days... While my blog visits the salon for a complete makeover!!

I am working quickly to get her up and ready for this weekend!!!!

Well. as quick as I can with 7 kids and a travel business... HA!

But, I PROMISE ....

IT WILL BE WORTH IT...

COME BACK SOON AND STAY TUNED...

XOXO

GIGI

Wing night.

2013-04-03T09:20:00.000-04:00

**This is NOT an advertisement or review post. All opinions are my own and I was not reimbursed by Tyson in any way!**

Every Saturday night, after the little kids are tucked in bed, our oven is turned on to precisely 375 degrees. Our screen door is unlocked and the night is ready to begin. By 8 pm, Cuncle Neal walks in and wing night begins!

Wing night is a tradition in our house. It's Facebook famous. Everyone knows, that on Saturday night, our little red house is ALIVE with laughter and the smell of WINGS!

But what people don't know is WHY we have it or how its started... And many would never guess in a million years WHAT type of wings we use.

Over the years, I have received private messages asking about our night... Or when friends realize we made other plans, our Facebook blows UP with friendly reminders of what we were SUPPOSED to be doing....

But for the most part, Saturday night is ALWAYS wing night.

It started almost 3 years ago. Neal was going through some tumultuous time in his life and would swing by our house to just relax and talk. His week was filled with late nights at the office, so after errands on Saturday, he would come by...

I would dig thru our freezer and pop anything we could in the oven and we would just hang out... Sometimes not ending the night till 2 in the morning...

The next week, my phone would ring and it was Neal...

" Hey, you guys doing anything this Saturday night?"

" nothing why..."

"Well, wanna hang out again? Last week was so much fun.."

YES.

Every week my phone would ring and the same conversation would go on. Hubby had recently discovered that Tyson made a great buffalo style wing, so he bought a bag and we made it. We all agreed it was great BUT, THE CONSISTENCY was off. So Neal suggested we just cook it longer...

And we did.

And out came the most perfect wing. Crispy on the outside and soft chicken on the inside. We oohed and ahhed and ate it all. With a generous side of ranch and sour cream.

3 years later and wing night has become our thing. We exchange funny family stories, tell jokes and chat about the week we had. We laugh at the most stupidest things and then in the next breath, serious topics are thrown around.

While always... always eating our wings!

Our theology discussions are the best. We are all so strong in our faith and love to study the bible and analyze Moses and Abraham.... Around Easter we discussed the disciples. Creation, evolution, rapture, pre-mid-post trib, politics, parables, theories... You name it, we have discussed it... And always leave the table in complete awe of who God is.

Over the years we have perfected the exact crispy crunch of the wings outer layer. Spray Pam works the best on a cookie sheet and by the time the smell carries thru the house, its time to flip them.

Different seasons in our life sometimes brings wing night gaps but before long, one of us gears the other back on track...right where we are supposed to be.

When we are mad or sad or having a bad day, we know we need a wing night. A night to blow off steam, get things off our chest and relax. It's great to reconnect after a long week to re-connect over some perfectly cooked Tyson wings.

I'm not sure where life will lead all of us. Will we always live in our Little Red House? Or live around the corner from our cousin? One day Neal will get married and have a family and wing night just might not make the cut.... But for now we will cherish each and every night together. And make memories that I hold dear in my heart. But for now A bag if wings always remains in my freezer.... And at 7:30, as the littles make their way up the stairs, they know to unlock the screen door to let Cuncle Neal in for Wing night!

An OLD Wing Night Post...

XoXo,

GiGi

Our Easter Story...

2013-04-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

HAPPY EASTER

I can't believe its already April. I just got used to writing March on the schoolboard. My calendar is still on March.. but its April...

And that means WARM weather!

And since today is Monday... and its Spring break...

We will celebrate by playing outside in the 70 degree weather. What better way right??

A nice quiet Monday to recover from a crazy hectic Easter weekend.

Good Friday we had off of co-op, so I spent the day grocery shopping and buying items for our big Easter dinner. We invited hubby's parents over, Cuncle Neal and for dessert, Michelle and her crew.

Plus the fact that my cubbards are bare... made for a very very busy day of shopping, unloading, unpacking and cleaning.

Then that evening, I took the oldest 3 girls out to finish all those little things that I forgot to buy, which led to a trip to Walgreens... and for some reason, we tend to LIVE at Walgreens. Seriously.

They really should give us our own parking space...

Right near the red box preferably.

Afterwords, after the kids went to bed, and the teens took over the tv, we snuck to Neals house to hang out at his home recording studio. I tried to refrain myself from wanting to record the next record breaking hit!!

But knew the world wasn't ready for this amount of awesome-ness yet

*wink*

( I really can't sing a lick!)

But soon Saturday approached and the cooking commenced. Meat sauce, lasagna, jello, pudding pie, string bean casserole and a whole lotta mess!

But once I got the kitchen back to looking presentable, we headed outdoors to enjoy the warm day. Our kids were already running amuck up and down the block so it only made sense to join them!

Which led to an impromptu street party with Michelle and John and the in-laws who rode in on a very shiny Harley...

And made all the babies cry...

But that's another story!

We followed them back to their house for a BBQ dinner of burgers and hot dogs...

And the evening was perfect. Crickets in the woods behind their house...

Kids laughing in the sunset...

Yeah, it was good!

But time to go home where Neal awaited us with 2 bags of wings!!

( Have I mentioned that I am desperate for another girl to come to wing night?? As in a wife for Neal?? Hanging with 2 guys and being outnumbered is killin me!!!)

Easter baskets were assembled while the wings cooked and eggs dyed all sorts of pastel colors. My father-in-law joined in on the fun for a while until it was way past his bedtime and he headed home...

Five minutes later we lost power...

completely! The whole neighborhood did. After the sirens went off, we knew it was an accident. My teenagers came downstairs to hang out with me while hubby and Neal went out exploring...

Freaking each other out with weird faces

But 20 minutes later, the excitement ended and the lights went on.

Easter was filled with even more excitement.

Easter baskets were opened, egg hunt accomplished and candy was eaten for breakfast (yuck.)

Then off to church half of us went...

(Noah and the babies stayed home with hubby due to a sour tummy.)

I loved the feeling in the air at church. The anticipation of celebrating the most important event in Christian history...

Our Easter play was fabulous. Even my older girls commented that this was the best.one.yet!

Then our Little Red House started filling up with family. Kids ran in and out and we ate ourselves sick...

Then cleared the table and added dessert...

and ate some more.

I don't think we ever left our big wooden table for very long. We all just sat around and laughed and laughed and enjoyed the day.

It was perfect. Celebrating Jesus's ultimate sacrifice of LOVE

By loving others and serving them in our home.

Exactly what life is about....

And after a few rounds of Zumba on the Wii...

I collapsed into bed...

Utterly and purely exhausted.

But it was GOOD!

How was yours?

XoXo

GiGi

Infertility..

2013-03-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

*** Welcome to INFERTILITY FRIDAY: Supporting a friend thru secondary infertility and beyond. If your new, catch up HERE! ***

Last Thursday was the day!! The day those tiny 2 little embryos would be re-united with their Mama.

It was going to happen at exactly 11 A.M on Thursday March 21st!

I refrained myself from jumping in the back seat like an excited little puppy and trusted them to fill me in one every.single.detail.

It would be a quick procedure... and be followed by a weekend of lots of rest!


The proud parents

After the procedure, they were handed their very first picture of their two babies...

Proud Mama M and her chick-lets

Later that evening, I ran across the street and up her stairs to say Hi! There she was, resting in bed surrounded by magazines and books... with a big 'ol smile.

She had her babies and was as happy. Like any proud mom, she showed me their first pictures and we oohhed and ahhed over how cute they were...

And decided that the baby on the left was a girl because she blasted first... and we all know girls are quick like that ;)

And her twin was a boy!

We talked about where their crib would go and if they would have blonde hair like one of their sisters...

And we joked on how the family would finally cross over into the "large family" world.

Exactly where they were put in...

As I was sitting up in her bedroom chatting with her, I got a text from Jason's step-mom asking how Michelle was doing. She too has been following her journey and praying for the best. I sent her this picture...

When I saw my Mother in Law the next day, she clapped her hands excitedly and said...

"I never knew twins from birth. It will be nice to see them grow up.."

They will get to know my Aunt Diana and soon realize that a trip to her house means lollipops and banana bread...

And that their close friends live right across the street in the Little Red House. They don't even have to knock to come in because they visit so often...

Good 'ol crazy Cuncle Neal lives on the next block... The ever present good sport whenever the kids play ding dong ditch or leave food to rot on his front porch just for fun...

Their other friends in Alabama... the way older ones that come for the summer...

They are fun to hang out with too...

And we can't forget Cindy... Aunt Cindy who comes to visit at The Little Red House. She brings their friend Ashlyn to play and the moms all stay up late laughing and yelling at the kids to go outside. She is an expert in make-up and all things shiny. She is FUN!...

And last but not least Grandpa Dennis...

Yeah, He is great to have around when the ice cream man comes cause he will buy ice cream for the WHOLE BLOCK!!!

He is the Grandpa of my friends over in The Little Red House

Yup, We love these little babies already and know they are going to have a great life... We will be the family they don't have living here, with enough arms for hugs and kisses...

No matter when they come or how long we get to know them...

They ARE loved!

Theres a whole big world waiting for them here!!

So today... we wait to find out if she is pregnant.

And we CELEBRATE! We celebrate their LIFE Now and in the future...

** To be continued...**

Xoxo,

GiGI

Schooling With Little Ones... A Daily Lesson In Patience...

2013-03-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

I often am asked... " how the heck do you homeschool with so many kids?" And I hear... " I could never homeschool, I just don't have the patience for it..."

Thanks exactly what came across my mind when I first heard the call to homeschool. In early 2008 as my kids were happily attending public school, I felt God leading me towards schooling them at home. I fought and fought and in the end, I'll give you two guesses who won?!

I don't fit the Homeschooling mold. I hate denim skirts, have acrylic nails and love me some make-up.

I also didn't have a stitch of patience.

I mean... when was I going to get my time?

For the love of sweet corn, I needed

M-Y T-I-M-E.

But like water on a rock, God gently kept at me. Slow and steady won this race and when He kept on asking me if I could fulfill Deut 6: 6-9...

My honest answer had to be No.

For me, if they continued to attend public school absolutely not. Fifth grade brought tons of homework and with an early rise, it was early to bed. Not to mention splitting myself 5 ways ( I only had 5 kids at the time) for the 3 hours they were home and awake was impossible..

Every Day as I gave God VERY GOOD reasons why homeschooling my own children would be an epic fail...

He kept nicely showing me this verse. I tripped over this verse, ate this verse, dreamt about this verse...

I couldn't get away from this darn verse!!!

And I didn't have one stitch of peace in my life till I waved my white flag and told God YES! I WILL homeschool... and prove how WRONG he was for asking me in the first place...

5 years have passed and I never ever have regretted my decision. I mean, I have plenty of days where I just KNOW God must be up in heaven laughing at me... But in the end, when I am beaten down without tears left to cry, he pours Grace right into me and I'm ready to go.

He never promised it would be easy but the rewards would be endless. Since my decision, I had 2 pregnancies, 2 miscarriages and added 2 babies to our family... Challenging any type of schedule I ever tried to have.

But most of the days, we accomplish what needs to be done and call it a day.

Over the years, through some tough trial and error... I have become a little... and I stress little more seasoned... I have a 10th grader, 8th grader, 3rd grader, 1st grader, Kindergartener and a toddler... and for kicks... the baby! A very cute and noisy 7 month old....So for anyone out there that thinks they might be interested, wonders how I do it, wonder how YOU can ever do it or have done it...

This is for you!

1) School when is best for YOU... for us, that is mornings. I know that if the work is not done by lunchtime ( with the exception of reading) it just will not get done.

2) Plan plan plan. I will never ever win any type of organization award nor can I ever preach on the subject, but I DO know, when I take time to review the next days lessons the night before... The next day goes MUCH sooner. The key is, actually doing it... ( gulp)

3) Keep toddlers busy. My 2 year old KNOWS when I am craving silence to school and THAT'S when she screams the loudest. It must be some built in survival thing, but it gets me nuts QUICK... but thankfully, I have an ipad and usually with one swish of the finger, she can be tracing letters, singing and learning without even knowing it ( and being quiet too!!!)

4) Have the older kids help!! I am blessed enough to have teenage girls to help me out when the baby won't stop crying and i just HAVE to explain multiplication for the THIRD time to my daughter... since both teenage girls work independently at an online school, they take turns... whichever one is free at the time goes on baby duty and they switch with each other when necessary... its never really long. Just enough to get thru a lesson or two or finish explaining a new concept.

**But before you get too jealous of my current situation... remember, it took me a LONG time to get to this point and there was a time that I had 5 kids 9 and under.... so being able to breathe a bit is very well earned..**

5) If tears appear (and they will) just stop! Close the book, walk away and revisit at a later time. Someone or both of you are losing their patience and getting frustrated and a break is needed. Learning a new concept while damaging a relationship is just.not.worth.it. The world won't end. Take a recess, go out and play and continue on with the school day. Revisit THAT area tomorrow.

6) Last but never ever least... Never compare your behind the scenes to someones highlight reel...

We all have bad days, unfinished days, frustrated days and days they just KNOW they are not cut out for this... its NORMAL! Anyone who says its not either never honeschooled or is flat out lying.. I can't begin to tell you the times I have just cried to my husband about what a failure I was, only to have him gently remind me of MY mission statement for my kids... and then after falling asleep ~~DURING~~ in prayer, God pours his grace into me and I awaken with a fresh start.

If I wasn't homeschooling my children, I would be working... I would be challenged at something I don't normally do... so whats the difference?? Why would I pour myself into something... a career, promotion, raise, transfer... when I can do the same with my kids??? With a MUCH better eternal outcome. I see no better use of my time then to dedicate my life to future members of society.

So for all you moms out there that are feeling the call to homeschool but don't think you qualify??

You don't qualify...

None of us do. But God never calls the qualified... He qualifies the called.... and its through His grace and love do we ultimately see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Oh and P.s. I get plenty of my time... but since the relationship with my kids have grown so close, I often drag a few of them with me when its time to get my time.

Ironic huh??

XoXo,

GiGi

Christmas in March......

2013-03-26T11:50:00.002-04:00

I love books. I love the smell of books. The feel of books. Turning the stiff new pages of the books. I can't get enough of BOOKS! Especially new ones. Bookstores make me giddy. Its no surprise that I have several bookshelves filled with books and some in the garage too....

And may even be adding a small bookshelf to the kitchen to catch all the overflow of the books from my other rooms...

As far back as I can remember, books have always been my thing. I was never super smart or nerdy... but I loved getting lost in the world of my books.

Im also a hater of change, which is why I have been unable to handle or accept switching over to online reading devices....

although, they are lovely little pieces of modern machinery... I just can't even think of not turning the literal PAGE of a book...

I know, I have to get with the times... but did I mention how long it took me to drop the 35 mm film??

Yeah, That's a whole OTHER blog post.

So, its no surprise that I passed my love of books onto my children. My oldest is very overprotective of her books. NO creasing the binding. NO bent corners and dont EVER...E-V-E-R borrow a book and return it in less shape....

Oh my word...

Last week, I placed a very large homeschooling book order AND Scholastic book order online and havent slept a wink since...

Ok, maybe a few winks but i can assure you that my new books consumed my thoughts.

Is that wrong? Don't judge k?

I tracked and tracked until the shipment day arrived....

And when they showed up on my lil front porch...

* OH GLORY *

New math books and writing books. Sight word Bingo and rhyming books...

ALL FOR ~~ME!!!!~~ MY KIDS!!

It was like Christmas in March!

My kids were super excited as well.... (until i open the books to begin school.)

I Also wanted to share with you some of my FAVORITE homeschooling treasures.

For Math we use HORIZONS Math. I have a K5 a 1st grader and a 3rd grader I'm using them for. I just adore the bright colors, the easy learning style and repetitive practice. New concepts don't overwhelm them and they quickly move onto something else to give them a break... but each concept is re-visited in other lessons to re-enforce learning. These books ALWAYS grace my school table

Another book I love is The " Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons." I have taught Molly how to read with this book, as well as Noah and I'm going through it with my Kindergartener right now. I pair this book up with the EXPLODE THE CODE series... ( once they get past lesson 20.) and they really take off with spelling and reading sight words. The funny sentences and pictures in the Explode the Code books really keeps them laughing....

We just started the Draw Right Now series. We will incorporate a bit of art with copywriting. Practicing penmanship is important, even in a computer dominated world. I don't focus on the Art aspect as they take creative art classes in their co-op and have for the last 2 years. But its fun to see them creat and learn at the same time. But the Draw Right Now series teaches them how to draw the picture correctly step by step. We are starting with Book 1 and might even continue with this thru the summer....

The kids take science in their co-op but we also do a bit at home as well. I use Alpha-Omega Life-packs Third Grade... enough to stimulate my 3rd grader but the 1st and k can still follow and learn as well. We just finished a series on the Body and yesterday we started Plants!! Its perfect since we are growing our own vegetable garden and they will be tending to it all spring and summer long. Yesterday we pulled up roots from the ground and placed them under the microscope to study them. We drew what we saw and We learned the uses for them and why they are important to the life of a plant. The experiments are easy to follow and we have most of the materials needed...

But those are my favorite books that we use. We have others that we use for Language arts and various books we read from for History, but they are not on my favorite list YET!! Im still nailing Down the PERFECT books for them...

What are your favorites? I love to discuss what other homeschoolers use and why.... helps me see things differently and explore ALL options...

XoXo,

GiGi

S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D

2013-03-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

Whoever created the saying

"I'm too blessed to be stressed"

obviously has never ever tried to have an active blog with 7 kids! Especially being barely able to do the most basic computer functions!

And especially has never tried to re-do the blog to make it look semi-presentable with pictures that ACTUALLY fit... IF you know what Im sayin...

So please excuse my blessed mess while I adjust and tweak a few things around.

My awesome cousin and incredible hubby spent wing night helping me...

Well, actually, I cleaned up the kitchen and kept the wings coming and they worked behind their screens. Don't mind the mess on the counters. I won't lie... that's how it always looks. (Sometimes worse.) Keepin it real folks... Just keepin it REAL!.....

And tonight I will relax in my recliner and play around with my new domain while watching The Bible on DVR!

Our weekend was pretty low key which fit the weather perfectly. With constant rain, who wants to go out anyway???

Today Grandpa came to the rescue and took the kids (sand Penny and Caleb) to his house for the afternoon and then invited us over for dinner. SCORE!

Napping babies + quiet house = Time for Momma to catch up on her 25 page to-do list. One of them being my poor, neglected blog.

But Im excited for the finished product!... well, the FIRST finished product. The SECOND and final finished product will come later in the year... but Im still excited.

Maybe then will I be able to finally tackle Mt. Laundry and the Valley of the dirty dishes...

Just maybe...

How was your weekend??

XoXo,

GiGi

- XoXo GiGi

Morning Coffee On Main...

2013-03-23T18:02:00.000-04:00

I love my city.

Its precious in every single way.

I adore supporting the businesses Downtown...

And I Love showing friends and family WHY this City is so loved.

So I was super excited when my hubby told me that he was taking me out on Saturday morning for a breakfast date. It was last Monday night and we were up way past our bedtime. Hubby and I were reclined on the couch when he turned to me and asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast this Saturday at a little hotspot downtown.

Of course, I said YES!

And Saturday came and I didn't want to get out of bed. To make matters worse, it was COLD and rainy. Exactly the opposite of what I imagined. No cute sundress... or cute new rhinestone sandals I just bought...

Instead I reluctantly parted with my warm down duvet and picked out a warm winter cardigan.

Our reservation was for 9:30 a.m. so I decided to skip my morning coffee and try theirs... a BIG step for me since I'm a coffee SNOB! I only like ONE brand of coffee, from my coffee pot...

But, everybody deserves a fair chance....

I lined my eyes, dabbed some lipstick and bathed in perfume.

I was ready.

Main street was so quiet. We actually got FRONT street parking. Even the trees looked sleepy. Still recovering from a late night before.

The hostess had our table ready. Right up front, by the window. The music was soft and the coffee, freshly brewed.

The rain began to slow down and hubby and I began to chatter..

It was nice to get away. Leave our precious 7 kids safe in their home and venture out to re-connect.

We chatted about The 2 to 1 Conference coming up in three weeks.

We talked about the kids, work and our big DISNEY vacation we have planned for September...

And just enjoyed sitting across from one another...

Him and I...

Me and Him...

The way things started over 17 years ago.

I'm a HUGE advocate of date nights. Date days, date afternoons... Date anything.

When our kids were little, escaping out of the house was hard and seldom done. Babysitters were rare, family wasn't always available and money was tight...

But I believe the older they get, the more date nights need to occur.

Life gets busier, kids get their own life and before long you have come full circle. Back to it being just

Him and I.

Me and Him.

I don't want to stare across the table and see a stranger.

I want to see my friend. My best friend. The one I did life with...

And cried with...

and loved with...

Hubby and I sneak away as often as possible. Little lunch rendezvous, dinner dates and sometimes just a snack meet-up around town. And its those times that are the most special to me. When I'm meeting him across the parking lot and he greets me with a smile...

And takes my hand.

And as our fingers touch, I am instantly reminded why I married this man...

In a world that's starving for every bit of your time...

You need to make time.

And I'm so glad we did.

I will remember this morning as extra special. The quietness of Main Street.

Our booth by the window and the rain gently beating against the pane...

And my handsome groom sitting across from me, sharing his grits!

Does it get better??

XoXo,

GiGi

An Early Morning Egg Hunt and a Vlog!!!

2013-03-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

*** Welcome to INFERTILITY FRIDAY!! Supporting a friend thru secondary infertility and beyond. If your new, catch up HERE***

* A quick vlog the morning of!!!!*

"Your beautiful. Even without any make-up on, your the most beautiful woman to me."

waiting to go into the clinic

I stopped applying my lipstick and just listened. A part of me felt as if I shouldn't be here, like I was the 3rd wheel of a very intimate moment between husband and wife.

Here I was, sitting in the back of Michelle's mini-van at 6 in the morning, listening to her husband whisper sweet everythings into her ear.

The sun was still sleeping and even the nurses hadn't shown up to the fertility clinic yet...

But here we sat. Early. and I was privileged to tag along as Michelle and John took one step further to hold their baby!

Today was Egg retrieval day! It was finally here and Michelle was NERVOUS! The night before, we all gathered on her couch as we chatted her nerves away.

And today was the day!

I hardly slept the night before, I was SO anxious I would not hear my alarm and oversleep, that I woke up too early and I was half asleep...

But I applied double the make-up and wore a new cute outfit to counter-act the delirium.

Michelle wasn't allowed ANY products and as I was spraying perfume in the van, she mentioned she felt so B-L-A-H...

Thats when her husband chimed in and reminded her what his version of beauty was.

( Um please don't ask me WHY I was spraying perfume at 6 am... I hardly slept REMEMBER?!!)

In the elevator on the way up

Anyway, After cracking jokes in the waiting room and discussing how she can be the next octo-mom, she was quickly whisked away to the procedure room to start the process.

Nurse Lindsay said from start to finish it would take about 1.5 hours. Easy peasy. 20 minute prep, 20 minute procedure and about 20 minute recovery...

General anesthesia would be administered.

So we waited. And waited and waited...

What seemed like forever and a day went by before the nurse came back for John..

" WAIT!! Can I come??"

Because no other procedures were going on that day, so I was allowed back there as well.

The nurse chatted as John and I walked into the back..

"Michelle did great, she was a bit nervous and didn't want the medicine we gave her... she tried to get out of it but she did good..."

I laughed... knowing Michelle, that translated to:

"Get the H&** away from me with your friggin meds and needles. I don't want your dang drugs!!!"

Yup, that sounds about right.

As she opened the door, there she lay, drugged out of her head, sleeping soundly. John went over to her and kissed her face. I, of course, started taking pictures.

Lindsay assured us everything looked perfect. It went beautifully and the Dr. was able to retrieve 12 eggs!!!

12!! So far, she beats octo-mom...SCORE!

The baby team. Nurse Lindsay and Dr.

John and I kept cracking jokes back and forth over Michelle as she lay, still out cold from the meds.

But pretty soon she woke up. And by up, I mean feisty.

"Why is your phone going off?"

"Wheres my hat! I need my hat on."

"How are my bangs?"

- " SHHH Michelle..."

Please comment on that hat she insisted on wearing please...

But she just kept on rambling...

" Put my HAT ON!"

"Did I shave?"

"GiGi, Did you shave??"

" SHUSH MICHELLE..."

" Who's next to me?"

"What is she here for? What is she having done?"

"MICHELLE...SHUT UP!"

" I feel like laughing.."

Oh God... Please don't let her start laughing.

How many drugs did they give her??

" I have to pee..."

Just lay there and smile Michelle...

Luckily, with each weird request, she began to regain consciousness and the Dr. was able to come over and congratulate her on the most perfect egg retrieval possible.

I bid them farewell and let them have their privacy as I headed home.

Sometimes 3 is a crowd.
It was time for them to have their moment.

I was honored to have been there on the day her babies would be conceived. The day those mass of cells would take their first journey towards LIFE...

The next day the phone rang... Out of the 12, 8 little babies were fertilized and were growing. Their journey would begin. Its going to be a tough road for them. Statistically, not all 8 will survive. They will continue to grow for a few days and they will be checked to see how they are doing.

In the meantime, Michelle continues shots. This time in her behind!

Getting ready to carry those babies.

We text back and forth and think and pray for those little babies fighting hard for life. As a mom, I just want to squeeze them and cuddle them.

Im sure Michelle feels the same. A huge mommy-grin comes across her face whenever she talks to me about her babies...

The safest place for them to be is with their momma...

and in just a few days, that will happen...

And prayerfully,

in 9 months, they will meet.

And she will hold them...

And I will remember this day. The day their soul was formed!

If you can remember, please pray that those babies grow and enough remain to be implanted in Michelle and grow!

Thanks my friends...

XoXo,

GiGi

Children of The Corn.

2013-03-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

Remember when I mentioned that we were planting our lil old garden from seed?? Well, somewhere between me stuffing my face with corned beef and the 70 degree day we had this past weekend, the seeds turned into sprouts and are outgrowing their little home.

They are currently on the landing of the stairway.

Behind Faith they reside...

Surrounded by family and prayer!

*wink*

With bright sun and away from lil miss Penelope's prying hands.

For the record, I caught her plucking the thyme out leaf by leaf... This was AFTER she dumped her Rice Krispies.

Yup, that's my P.!

The corn looks the cutest. All tall and strong. Ready to be rubbed with butter and roasted on my grill...

I know, I know... All in due time.

But Molly is excited and so am I. Especially since I bought one of every type of hot pepper to make our own HOT SAUCE!!!

YEOW!

Tonight, we will be re-potting the pumpkins and corn into bigger pots so they have room to EXPAND!

I also just placed a HUGE online homeschooling order. I have been stalking the mail since. It should be arriving tomorrow... While I'm at co-op all day, and then having the in-laws over to dinner. You know, when I have NO time to sort thru them and roll around with them and smell their new smell. It wouldn't come TODAY, when I am HOME ALL DAY, doing nothing but schooling and cleaning...

But I am excited either way.

I'm also excited for tomorrow's infertility Friday post. Have you been following Michelle's journey?? Well you SHOULD!! If you need to catch up then start here!

Then co-op is tomorrow, after a long break.... And then DATE DAY with my man! He surprised me late Monday night and told me we are headed out THIS Saturday.... Gosh, I love that man!

My hubby... with much less facial hair!!

I'm also still bouncing off the walls with excitement over my last minute decision to attend 2 to 1!! An amazing weekend, with amazing mommy bloggers and NEW friends...

I'm excited.

Im hoping I don't scare too many people away. I never did fit into the "normal" homeschooling circle.

I'm loud, bouncy and a bit nuts...

with acrylic french tip nails and short (er) skirts.

And don't forget the perfume..

My God... The perfume!!

But my heart lines up with Titus 2 like no other.

If they judge this book by its cover, their socks will be blown off.

Ha!

But I still have SO many things to prep for before I'm gone...

Busy busy busy we are... How 'bout you?

XoXo,

GiGi

Im Going... Are You???

2013-03-20T00:02:00.002-04:00

Its late. Hubby just bought us tickets to the 2 to 1 Conference and my head is still spinning!!

Im so excited to meet some really sweet Bloggy friends that I have been conversing online with for MONTHS!!!

And some for years...

This April.

Titus 2:1...

How Ironic?

Titus 2... The chapter that has always struck me with such awe...

THIS is where my heart is...

This is where I belong.

And now I am going.

So, will I see you there?

Will I get to meet you? Let me know??

The hubby and #7 will be joining me.

In our big white van.

I'll be the one with the HUGE flower in my hair.

XOXO

GiGI

In Pictures...

2013-03-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was one of those GOOD weekends. The kind where you collapse into bed utterly exhausted from the day but with great memories. The kids are sleeping soundly from all the excitement and your bed never felt so good.

That described this past weekend in a nutshell. Besides the weather being beyond gorgeous, I had lots of notes on my calendar...

So It would just be easier to share my weekend in pictures:

It started bright and early Saturday morning... and by early, I mean 5:30 A.M! I was so nervous I was going to miss my alarm and be late for Michelle's egg retrieval, that I woke up too early...

Singing the tune to "Puff The Magic Dragon..." Don't ask me why, but I was...


In the elevator at the crack of crack Saturday morning to go hunting for EGGS!

By the time I pulled back into the driveway, it seemed like HOURS had gone by, when actually it was barely 9 A.M!

Little did I know, my little cousin Tom had drove up from Atlanta and surprised me as I walked thru the door...

I had not seen him in over 5 years, so his face was nice to see. He graduates from Vet school this May and will practice in exotic animals...

Not cats and dogs... although he DID comment on Link the Cat...

Link is now on a STRICT regimen of diet and exercise

Sowing the Cuz the best of the city

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my City. For 9 years out of the almost 17 years of my marriage, I have called South Carolina my home and thats how it TRULY feels. I may have been born a full blooded NY'er, but my heart is fully for the south. I was SO happy to show him why I LOVE the area I live in...

We walked over the bridges and saw the Falls.

We let the kids run on the rocks by the rivers edge and play with the ducks...

It was quite a windy day, but just perfect out. Many city-dwellers also had the same idea...

My P. and I

Then we went to Red Robin for a late lunch.

After we came home and put the babies down for a nap, we all reclined on the couches and relaxed a bit before round 3 started.

WING NIGHT!

For those of you that DON'T know, Wing night happens at my house every Saturday night. It was born about 2 years ago, when my cousin Neal was coming out of some very difficult times in his life. He worked a lot and just needed to blow off some steam.

We would gather around the table, discuss our week and hang out.

It immediately became a tradition and even has a small following on FB. Everyone knows WING NIGHT...

We crack jokes, tell stories about when we grew up and always... ALWAYS somehow ends up being a HUGE theology discussion. Its awesome. This past Saturday, the faith of Moses was studied, whether or not Lots wife really turned into a pillar of salt and the "violence" in the Old Testament,

In case anyone is wondering, My cousin is a Pastor and we never debate. We all would die for our faith and firmly believe... we just love to have our own study sessions.

Anywho... We ended WAY too late which resulted in oversleeping for church the next day...

**head hangs in shame**

But in my defense, I needed the sleep after being up for over 19 hours straight...

Upon waking to the sunshine, I brewed my coffee and sat outside in my screen porch to have some one on one...

I am in Deuteronomy. Moses is just about to see Joshua and Caleb off into the promised Land. I LOVE re-reading the Old Testament and seeing Gods hand in all that was done...

I underlined some key verses and was reminded on how God never leaves me... EVER!

Then we took the kids to Lowes to pick up more seed packets. Ours are growing so beautifully. I will show you this week how much they sprouted since we planted them. But we needed some more squash and peppers to add to the group.

Then we ate some hot dogs real quick before heading to Grandpas house for a ST. PATRICKS DAY FEAST!

I have never had Corned beef and cabbage before (crazy I KNOW!!) so I was really excited to try.

It was DELICIOUS and I ate ALL my T-W-O plate fulls like a good girl.

The kids ran all around the yard and Caleb cried a LOT! He is teething so bad... poor thing.

Babys never get a break.

But now everyone is sleeping and I am watching the Bible series. I just LOVE this show. What a great testimony for so many people.

I know some are not happy about it, but I just wish they would be happy. Everyone complains that this world is so evil...

So FINALLY Hollywood puts out this Bible mini-series. Its not perfect but God can STILL use it for HIS good.

Isn't this what your constantly crying about???

So just be happy and WATCH IT!

Its amazing...

And thats exactly what Im going to do..

What did YOU do this weekend??

XoXo,

GiGI

When Rivers Flow Thru The Desert...

2013-03-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

*** Welcome to INFERTILITY FRIDAY- Supporting a friend thru secondary infertility and beyond. If your new, catch up HERE***

Nurse Cindy injecting the timed HCG-3/14/13

" I will make rivers flow on Barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs..."

Isaiah 41:18

Dawn, my cousin-in-love, first introduced me to this verse back in the winter of 2010. A few months earlier, their ENTIRE extended family began the migration process out of Pennsylvania. All for different reasons, and with those reasons came many struggles. Adversity struck on every corner, but their faith never wavered. They held on to Jesus for dear life and weathered the storm. Now, Three years later, they are able to see how GOD created Streams of life in their Desert.... even though during the storm they often wondered:

"WHY GOD?"

I think she tweeted the verse, and after I saw it, I highlighted and starred it in my bible to forever remember. I was born and raised in the church, and thru all my years studying the bible, this verse never stood out as it did THAT particular day.

Today, that verse remains on the forefront of my life. When new challenges are put before me and all I want to do is run away, I remind GOD that he PROMISED to make rivers flow....

Three years ago (almost to the day.) Two acquaintances met on the playground of my local Zoo. I was pregnant with my little miracle Penelope and she was just coming out of a devastating loss. Looking back on that sunny southern day, we never were to guess that she was stepping into her Desert.

A place where her hopes would shrivel up and her dream would die. A place only "others" are supposed to go to....

3/2010 meeting after MANY years...

This Saturday marks the halfway point of Michelle's IVF journey.

IVF

The "thing" she always thought she would NEVER ever be able to do. Financially it was laughable. Emotionally it was too draining and spiritually.... well, it requires the faith of someone MUCH more faithful than her.... or so she thought.

Nurse Cindy mixing her 49th injection since 3/1/13

But God made a way. Each and every time.

" Is anything too hard for The Lord?" Genesis 18:14

This Saturday, early in the morning, I will accompany her to her retrieval. I have joked around and called her the great egg layer... but for 20 minutes THIS Saturday, the Dr will perform another miracle of science. They will retrieve eggs from Michelle's ovaries and immediately they will begin the process of the Invetro Fertilization...

A few days later, she will have them transferred back into her, into their home where they will grow....

Such a miraculous process getting some help by modern science.

I'm aware of the huge controversy surrounding IVF and I'm not here debating what is right or wrong...

Nor do I care too.

In Michelle's case, God has made himself clear and evident with each and every step... Just like science has helped SUSTAIN life and HEAL life that would have otherwise prematurely died due to illness... It is helping to CREATE life.

Lord knows we NEED medicine. If not for science, I would have died months ago, leaving 7 kids motherless...

I'm so excited to have seen FIRSTHAND how God has made a way, when there seemed like no other way. How He has sent angels along her path to remind her that He was STILL with her...

And I know one day, she will share this journey with her child and he will wrap her arms around his mother and say...

"Thank You mom... Thank You for never giving up on me."

XoXo,

GiGi

As I Wake Up....

2013-03-14T09:10:00.003-04:00

My brain is constantly going. Thought after thought after thought...

Most of the time, the thoughts are all coming at once. Fighting to get to the head of my brain... away from the back where about 25,000 OTHER thoughts get lost.

The second my eyes open, they begin. To-do list, who needs to focus on what today in schooling, whats for dinner, Who do I need to call, Who I need to write back in e-mail, don't forget to check vacation quotes for this person, that person for this time.

Thank God my iphone holds half my notes. At night, when I finally crawl into bed, ( somewhere past 11 pm) I lay down and fill in my calendar on my phone... update to-do's.

I try always to end my day and begin my day with prayer. Unplug for the night and put the ipad and iphone to bed. Pray as I turn over to go to sleep and before I even dare remove those nice warm down covers... pray again.

This morning was especially Crazy. My brain was working overtime. With such a busy weekend ahead, Today was my LAST down day before the craziness started...which makes my mind go NUTS!

Its the LAST day to organize. My LAST day to plan and my LAST day to make sure I have EVERYTHING I need to JUMP into the craziness that awaits.

Its like a hen house up in there... thoughts fighting and talking over each other just to get themselves heard.

I can just see them pecking each other and hair pulling....

My ADD kicked in and as I feebly tried to place soild thoughts together for my morning prayer, I must have slowly started to doze off and my prayer somehow turned into a blog post... in PRAYER form. Or vice versa...

Y'all.... I was PRAYING a blog post to God??

Does anyone see a problem with this??

Anybody know what Im talking about???

* Its about this time in my post I will shamefully admit that the above action was NOT the first time this happened...oh no no no no***

Its happened more than once to me, and I have said numerous times before... Thank GOD for HIS grace because LORD KNOWS I need LOTS of it...

So I got up, made my coffee and let the warmth quiet my thoughts for a moment...

The kids already began trampling down the stairs. Half comatose and wrapped in blankets. I let them sleep in on Thursdays. Wednesday nights are spent at church and by the time we come home, unwind and we wrestle them to bed, its late.

***I'd like to now take this time to publicly thank all those wonderful teachers who hype up our children with sugar at 8 pm at night ***

Just kidding, its all good.

But anyway, here I sit, in the not so stillness and not so quiet of the morning...

Caffeinated.

And ready to start the day...

My thoughts have calmed down a bit and some have already left after being accomplished. New thoughts will take their place. I will conquer my to-do lists that I wrote at midnight LAST night and make new ones for tomorrow.

Noah will continue his reading lessons, Molly will practice her math and a grocery list will be formed before noon.

Disney Vacations will be booked for a couple of my clients and I will be SO happy for them.

And through the day I will tame my thoughts with prayer... snippets of prayer for friends, family, my business and guidance to help me stay on track..

But Golly-G-Wiz...

I wish my thoughts would give me a break for just a second in the morning....

What about you??

What goes on when YOU wake up?

XoXo,

GiGi

Well, Don't Leave Me Hanging....

2013-03-12T22:08:00.004-04:00

Yesterday's post is still hanging around today. I was overwhelmed with the response of other women's "soundtracks." And I was happy that we can all just be stinkin honest!!!

Thank YOU for taking the time to be true!

I fell asleep praying over my home last night ( as I shamefully, always do) and woke up with an excitement in my heart. It was ignited even further when God answered a prayer about something I have been praying about for a while. It was in the form of an email... the first one of the morning. WHat JOY!!!!! ( I can't reveal THAT just yet, but stay tuned...). And although the day was filled with distractions, frustrations and fights, I managed to keep our soundtrack up above and beyond what it was last week.

The weather helped IMMENSELY, and I managed to soak in lots of vitamin D as well as walk some energy off.

God is good and faithful. He gives us what we need WHEN we need it... Not a bit sooner. Working on changing the temperature of your home is HARD but I'm committed. Consciously, changing it day by day. Not looking any further than today...

So, how was your day today? Was it better? Was it worse? How has God been helping you with this challenge? I would love to chat about it. Leave a comment... And if you recently left one, check back.... I'm getting MUCH better at answering them.

XoXo,

GiGi

Can YOU Answer This Question???

2013-03-11T20:22:00.000-04:00

For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you saw that I posted a question asking...

" What would the soundtrack of your home sound like?"

Purring and praise or nails on a chalkboard?

Its a question I have been praying about since I came home from church Sunday afternoon. After my stint with distraction, our Pastor spoke straight at my heart. It was quite uncomfortable if I do say so myself.

He asked the moms how our home would sound if caught on tape? Constant yelling, griping and complaining... or would it bring forth praise?

would it Give life to those that are in it? Or suck the life out of you?

I wanted to just shrivel down in my seat, I was SO convicted it HURT! I was just thinking how I needed to bring forth total change in our Little Red House and NOW THIS???

HELLO?!?! Isn't God supposed to read our thoughts? Didn't he KNOW I already had this covered? Why did he have to bring the pastor into it and get me all weird?

I glanced over at hubby and wondered what he was thinking of it. Actually, I KNEW what he was thinking and I was just waiting....

One little smirk or poke in the side to me and I was ready to throw him right over the balcony edge...Bible and all.

I mean, I would ALREADY be in church. One throw-over and I could walk right down the stairs and wipe the slate clean right??

I know, I know...

But his words did ring true... I have been going through a *small* season of discontent. A Storm of overwhelmingness and a bit of chaos. The temperature in our home has been running a bit off kilter... I think it was because the gauge (ME) was a bit broken.

God doesn't give us more than we can handle. I get that, but sometimes.... just sometimes I think he forgets and may have added a bit too much to my plate...

Its those days that the soundtrack needs to be smashed into itty-bitty pieces.

Anybody know what I'm talking about here??

Anybody?

And I know that days covered and bathed in prayer turns out better but for some reason, I haven't been doing that as much as I should... and I let the negative eat the positive and the soundtrack just gets all messed up...

But as I sat in that pew and prayed... I made a decision to change it forever... I had already come to the conclusion that something needed to be done and this message was God himself asking ME... Little ol mom of 7.... to PLEASE.... PLEASE... change.

How can I say NO to God??

So thats what I am doing. Im changing my soundtrack.... and even though today is day 1... its much better than last week. I might have had to re-record over a few minutes.... But Gods grace did that for me.

For a Monday, I can't complain. And Tomorrow is Tuesday. A fresh day. A new cd gets put in the player and I pray its better than today.

So, Can you answer that question???

If God were to come down from Heaven and play a soundtrack of your home, what would it be like??

Please comment and let me know...

***For those moms that are perfect with soundtracks that sound like angels singing..... feel free to pass the comments by.***

HA!

XoXo,

GiGi

A Little Of This....

2013-03-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

The weekend is coming to a close and once again it flew by. Hubby goes back to work tomorrow, schooling begins promptly at 9 a.m and chaos will bring in the day... But I won't think about that now. No I won't. Right now I'm sitting on the floor in the living room while 5 little mouths chop on popcorn and watch "Robots." our Sunday night movie routine. I made a pot of coffee. I need to stay up and prep for tomorrow but not until I take a few minutes, sip my brew and visit with you.

Every Friday is our co-op day. And every Friday we pack up our big 15 passenger with kids and supplies and head 25 minutes south. It's a parent led co-op. No drop off for us!! As parents, we teach, create and love on all the kids. We have worship together and celebrate all kinds of events. Halfway thru we break for lunch and then continue on. I teach a teen bible study class and just adore it. I adore the girls, their ideas and minds, their individuality amazes me and I love forming relationships with them.

Co-op also gives me a chance to dust off some of my cute clothes in my closet and put them to good use....

The best quick shot I could take without kids photo bombing

Do you like my professional fashion shots??? Sorry, this is the best I can do. Complete with counter mess and half of my heart meds all over the place....

Keepin it real my friends....

Co-op Outfit of the day

By the end of the day, when we packed up everyone to go back home, they were super hyper. Extra kids tried sneaking in the back of the van to go home with us, sun was shining, windows down and music was up. I was utterly exhausted... Like every Friday afternoon, I crashed on the couch and relaxed.

Saturday was more of the same. Hubby went to his dads house to do man things. You know, hang ceiling fans, fix things and such. I stayed back with my mother in law and chatted while the kids ran around and played. Chinese food was brought home by the men-folk and we feasted on all things wonton! By the end of the day, my teens went back with the grandparents for a sleep over and the littles went to bed... Peace reigned in my house. I caught up on correspondence, read some blogs, cleaned up and went to bed way.too.late. I mean WAY late....

Which Made waking up a new form of torture...but we woke up, and we made sure we went to church even though we may have been 20 minutes late walking in... Which means we lost our seat in the fifth row from the front... Which means we were stuck up in the balcony.... By ourselves.

Church Outfit of the day

Hubby loves the balcony. I don't. I feel alone! I don't get to wave to all my friends. Or chat real quick during greeting time. AND I don't pay attention as well. I get distracted by the smallest things. Today wasn't any different, but then something our guest speaker said caught my attention and I was glued to every word. It was like he had a glimpse into our life the past few weeks and God was gently guiding me back to where I/our house needed to be.

During my distraction moment

It made me so thankful that we did push ourselves and make it to church today, even if we were bone tired and delirious from lack of sleep. God blessed us with a timely word that still remains in my heart and a challenge that can ONLY be met with HIS help.

After dinner, we took the 5 little ones on a walk to our park. The air was perfect. We could smell summer on the horizon and knew we were past the cold days of winter.... FINALLY! Time for walks, bike-rides and windows open.

Add caption

My Sunday nap was extra long today and harder than usual to wake up from... And right now, at 9:02 p.m, my bed is calling my name and I just might answer.

Welcome to daylight savings time as a mom of 7. Where every.single.second of time and sleep is beyond precious.

Sorry for the rambling post, but I just wanted to catch y'all up on minor happenings in our little red house. Hubby and I are about to settle in the recliners and watch the BIBLE series on our DVR. We have yet to see them and are so excited to seethe word ALIVE and on television.... So happy it's hitting top ratings. It goes to show you how much power that "old book" still has....

How are y'all enjoying the mini series???

XoXo,

GiGi

Because Of Queen Esther.

2013-03-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

***WELCOME TO INFERTILITY FRIDAYS: SUPPORTING A FRIEND THRU SECONDARY INFERTILITY AND BEYOND. If your new.... catch up HERE ***

Im Linking up over at Casey's... Check it out

I had about 10 really valid reasons as to WHY I should not go to bible study last night. We were studying Beth Moore's " Esther." I enjoyed it but leaving my house a mess at the end of the day makes me twitch. I was tired, 10 tons of laundry STILL needed to be folded and put away, my house was messy... does anyone know what I'm talking about here?

But knowing my kids would hang me from our front tree if I stayed home, I packed everyone in the big white van and headed out...With a tired attitude!

It only took about 10 minutes into the video to realize I had another "God appointment." Beth Moore spoke on topics that shook me to the core... a topic that strikes most women.... FEAR! My hand couldn't write fast enough as I tried to write down every sentence that came out of that womans mouth. My head nodded as if it were a bobble head and I had to bite my tongue from constantly saying "Amen..Amen..Amen.."

Fear is something I battle viciously... and sometimes over the most stupidest things... It also made me SO MAD that Michelle wasn't sitting RIGHT NEXT to me... listening to these words. After the week that she had, she needed to hear How Queen Esther OVERCAME HERSELF and forever left a biblical example of VALOR!

ONE day's worth of medicine

Last Friday ( after I posted week 2) began her VERY first morning injection. Her medicinal schedule starts off slow, then begins to increase over time, hitting a peak and then decreasing based on counts.

7 a.m was the big moment and our texts began....

That early morning text

"FRICK!!!"

I whispered to hubby that I would be right back, slipped on my slipper boots, grabbed my steaming mug of coffee and headed over. I might never forgive her for letting my neighbor drive by my house just as my bed-head self was walking across the lawn, but I'm sure she can make it up to me by naming her child after me.. hee hee...

I walked in to a girl filled with fear... afraid of a tiny 12 gauge needle sitting on the counter, deciding her fate.

She's not afraid of needles. Its whats inside that send shivers up her spine. almost Deadly reactions in her past had left scars that are now affecting her future...

Her husband and I joined forces with encouraging words, pep talks, countdowns... nothing seemed to work. John even offered to do the injection for her ( despite his strong urge to vomit and pass out..)

Before long, she was headed to work, the needle STILL sitting on the counter. Fear had won. No baby.

But at 10:05 am my phone chimed..

"INJECTION DONE!"

I couldn't believe what I was reading. Really?? Could it be? She had John bring it up to work for her and in the customer bathroom of her place of employment, another woman joined her village of support.

Cassie- who gave Michelle her VERY first injection... in the bathroom!

See, It really does take a village to navigate thru this life. It ain't easy and without those people to uplift you and support you when you can't support yourself, defeat comes quick.

36 years of fear was just overcome with one tiny prick. She overcame herself and entered into a new chapter of her life... and I was PROUD!

Friday night rolled around and I found myself at her house for her evening injection. John and the kids were off at a dance and the house was silent. There on her counter lay her night injection... and just like that, right before my eyes she loaded that sucker up and stuck herself... halfway. Then she did that 2 more times before finally hitting the mark on the 4th try...

I think I peed myself laughing so hard as she stood there wondering why she was bleeding so bad... and started counting her prick marks..

"1, 2 oh wait, heres another one... FOUR. HOW DID I STICK MYSELF FOUR TIMES..."

But the medicine was in and she was on a roll. Sunday night, 2 more injections were added to the list which made it a grand total of 2 injections in the morning and 2 at night.

Nurse Cindy learning how to properly mix the meds... and John trying to learn....

Nurse Cindy, a friend and former neighbor of Michelle came over to help mix one of the injections for her and has since shown up every night since then to mix and release. She is a great nurse... we met over 4 years ago on a very grim day. She made me smile as I was wheeled into surgery to say goodbye to my 14 week old baby... 2 years later, we met again as Michelle's neighbor... such a small little town this place is... and what an even better friend. Every night, five minutes to eight, she pulls up in front of the house, just in time to give Michelle her proper dose.... well, PROPER isn't exactly the word... It was just discovered TONIGHT that she was given Michelle only HALF the dose she needed... but more on that NEXT week.

Nurse not-so-gentle who went digging for gold in Michelles arm

Nurse Cindy is definitely a part of this very unique and eclectic village.... which leaves me to the most colorful person who shows support in the most loving way.

My Aunt Diana. My Aunt Diana and Uncle Joe live 5 houses down from me. They provide wisdom and prayer at a moments notice... not to mention good good home cooking. They also watch Michelles kids while she works....

And Yesterday, Aunt Diana accompanied Michelle to her Drs visit. More blood work and more ultrasounds took up her morning and Aunt Diana was there to see her through.

Time for a SONO... Its-A- FOLLICLE or 2 or 8....

Medicines need adjusting, eggs need to grow faster and prayers need to continue to rise. Her egg retrieval date is quickly closing in. The halfway point. The place she never thought she would be able to get through... But what happens after the retrieval is truly in Gods hands.

Michelle and my Aunt Diana

So, what does this all have to do with a Jewish Queen??

Oh, A lot my friend. You see, The Queen was facing quite a dilemma ( Esther 4: 9-11) One that made her look death in the face. Like Michelle, her small body was rocked with fear.... Her "what if's" took over and the statistics of the outcome were quite clear...

But who did Esther turn to for her crisis?

First, of course, she cried out to The Lord... But then she immediately knew what had to be done...

Her and Mordecai gathered "her people..."

HER VILLAGE...

And together, with prayer, support and faith they journeyed together...

She OVERCAME the most frequent command in the bible....

She OVERCAME FEAR...(Esther 4:12-17)

And this past week... these simple 7 days that just past, Michelle did the same...

And because of it, she changed her storyline and changed her world.

God never ceases to amaze me.... He has such an awesome and supernatural way of interweaving every area of my life together to teach me a lesson... THRU someone else...and in that process, someone else's faith grew... and within that, someone else had an answered prayer. NO ONE would be able to orchestrate such a story but our almighty God!!

A God that holds every star in the sky, cares about me SO much to forever send me small reminders that HE is ALWAYS there...

God never promises us that a life devoted to him means that we will escape life's troubles.... Many times the faithful are put through the fires.... but HE, in His grace and mercy, lets us grab the hand of a friend who is willing to walk thru that fiery furnace with us...

XoXo,

GiGi

Little Red Homeschooling...

2013-03-07T11:02:00.001-05:00

Our Little Red house has been bustling!!! In between snippets of sunshine and 60 degree days, our fingers are starting to itch to work in our garden. March came in chilly this year, with grey skies and rain. Not exactly spring-type weather... but things change quick around here and before we know it, our windows will be open and it will be time to watch our garden grow.

My 8 year old Molly takes a gardening class at co-op and 3 weeks ago she came home with a bag of bean seeds waiting to sprout. She watched it carefully as the little green seedling broke thru that hard layer of seed. She was so excited to watch it grow....

At the same time, I decided to double our garden space this year. Hubby and I are avid gardeners and had a quite large one when we lived in NY, but for some reason, we have not perfected southern soil. Our garden here is small and not as fruitful as we like. But every year in the spring, the itch comes back and we try again. This year is no different BUT I decided some pot plantings will work best. Doubling the garden in POTS instead of in the ground, where we can control the soil just might do the trick... and
Molly is my worker bee. She thrives best with jobs to do, hard work, instruction and tasks. Free time often finds her in trouble with her siblings, arguing or just chaos... but when given a "special" job that requires management and hard work and she just THRIVES! She is a HARD worker and a GOOD one! Sine she just adores being outside, what better way to put her skills and my idea to good use.

So, I did what any good homeschooling mom would do... I incorporated it right into our schooling day. With a handful of seed packets and plastic bags, she first sprouted them, then transferred the seedlings into cells with potting soil, added labels and covered....

After a very thorough online kids video of the seed cycle, the kids were MORE than thrilled to wait for the outcome...

In the meantime, we watch them grow and map out where we want to place them. I still need some pots and soil to transfer them once the threat of frost is over... and of course more herbs for my herb garden.

My Oregano is OUT.OF.CONTROL. and took over our strawberry patch... and every other spot on our lawn. Come summer, when hubby cuts the lawn, the sweet fragrance of sauce waifs thru our yard. Its quite funny... sometimes...

Im going to dig half of it up and give it to my aunt who wants wild oregano in her yard... but im not sure she realizes just how wild it is.

I can just see Molly now, waking up in the early light of the day to head outside and check on her plants. Pruning and weeding... checking the berries as they ripen. What a memory she will have as she grows up... and hopefully a tradition that she will pass on to HER kids...

Now if only hubby would agree to plant some fruit trees... Now THAT would really be awesome....

Just think Hun... home-made apple pie... whenever.you. want. Mmmmm

XoXo,

GiGi

When Tweets Mean A Good Morning....

2013-03-06T14:52:00.001-05:00

Social media has such a bad rap. We hear of the horrors of Facebook and sexual predators, marriages that have broken up from tweeting gone wrong... And most people will never admit to the fact that behind closed doors, they are social media ADDICTS! You know THOSE people... They claim they are never ever on, but somehow know things about your life that prove otherwise? Yeah, I guess they think everyone is as dumb as them right?

I make it no secret that I love social media.... Facebook, twitter, Instagram and blogging... I do it ALL and love it. I'm not sure why? I don't have an exact answer to that, just that I do. I have reconnected with childhood friends, been able to pray in a moments notice for someone in need. Not to mention all the family members who live far that can keep up with our children and daily activities. It's been such a positive experience for me.

There's a bible verse that says:

Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

And that's exactly what I thought of today when opening and catching up on my twitter feed.... Tweet after tweet of moms tweeting scripture, prayers, well wishes for the morning. Some posting prayer requests for sick children, others praise reports. I took about 5 minutes to quickly scroll through and say hello to a few other moms. I Wished them a good morning or an encouraging word...

Some of them homeschool, so it's nice to see what their day is like. Laughing at some of the same frustrations and realizing that even 15 states away, moms will be moms and children will be just that.

One mom tweeted a scripture which I just loved and it made me immediately grab my bible and prayer journal and began writing it down, digging deeper into the Psalm and memorizing it for the day....

When we surround ourselves with things that are GOOD and PURE, we get just that in return. Within the evils of modern day media, lies a beautiful world in which I am very thankful for.... Today especially... After coming out of a season of vomit and laundry, I was gently guided to where I needed to be to start my day...

Scripture. The good book.... By big pink and brown bible. Who's pages feel just right between my fingers and my handwriting surrounds every page....

What?? Did you honestly think I used my bible app on my ipad?

Get real! You all KNOW how much I hate change!!!!

XoXo

GiGi

Please Stand By

2013-03-04T21:10:00.004-05:00

Please stand by for our regularly scheduled program. Our 3 bathrooms are filled with children vomiting.

I desperately want to tell you all about our fun weekend we had. Dressing up in our Jammie's to get free ice cream and embarrassing all of our kids. How Saturday night turned into an impromptu party at my house... Even when all of our furniture was thrown out and we were scattered all over the floor.

How K- from Quandaries and Quibbles - and her husband joined us and the laughs continued...

She met Michelle, the now infamous " infertile" who half of our small town now knows about...

And then the next day, more friends came over... In the midst of a crisis which may or may not have involved the new furniture and a semi truck that broke down in front of our home. The men-folk of the block gathered around the engine, trying to fix it as best as they could.

I did what I do best... I cooked....

Notice a sleeping Penelope in the rocking chair amidst the chaos

And then one by one the troops succumbed .... And every couple of hours a new child would come down the stairs and join the ranks of the stomach flu.

Alls quiet right now. Kids are recovered and fast asleep. Hubby and I are exhausted and I have TONS of clean clothes to fold.

But I will sit here and watch the horrible Bachelor (the women tell all) and defend crazy Tierra....

Did I mention it has 4 recliners????

And pray that the sandwich I just ate, stays in my stomach!!!!

Another story told.

2013-03-01T22:45:00.000-05:00

Hi! My name is GiGi and I'm guest posting for Jana on Giggleglitzandglam. Im a homeschooling mom of 7 who lives in an awesome Little Red House. I hope you will make GiGi's place your place too!

Its D DAY!!!!

I always say that God writes an awesome story. After 6 births, I still get humbled that God would take the time to perfectly orchestrate the welcoming of each of my children into the world. Not one mistake, and everything working out just as it should .

It also doesn't surprise me that BEFORE each and every baby I STILL try and control each and every moment of my impending labor and delivery.

The same went with #7. With each baby, I become more and more nervous as the big "D" day approached. Im not sure why that is? Maybe because I know a little TOO much about what goes on behind those locked doors. Either way, waiting for little Mr. to make his grand appearance seemed to drive me crazier than having to go thru the whole 9 months. So, like my last 2 babies... and because I deliver very quickly and easily, I scheduled an induction date. August 18th 2012 it would be...

During the summers, and my various bouts with pre term labor, I found it quite shocking to actually make it to that date. I convinced my Dr to induce on a Saturday. He would be on call and knew my easy history... break my water and baby comes. Lots of drugs... no issues... well, except for one. My first baby Emma had the cord wrapped around her neck pretty tight. After hours of pushing... and even more hours of laboring, she barely took her first breath. She was almost strangled to death in the very womb that was supposed to keep her safe from the harms of the world. After a week in the NICU, we were finally reunited.

A few of my other babies had cord issues. Nothing serious. I assume they just liked to hold on for dear life and not want to emerge...

Anyway, I was a wreck. It was six in the morning as hubby and I pulled into the parking space. I had a pit in my stomach the size of a grapefruit. I had a "feeling"... and I hate when I have those. I almost didn't walk in. Perhaps I should have let this one come naturally and not force it. I wasn't as dilated as I was with all my other ones. For some reason, Baby Caleb wanted to stay put! But my mother in law flew in to watch my other kids, Hubby was all excited... I just had to.

before the trouble started

So off we went. I was greeted by smiles. After a CRAZY Friday in the L and D ward, today was a ghost-town. I didn't mind. The nurses chatted and got me set up and tried to calm my nerves. I still couldn't shake that feeling.

As the Dr casually strolled in to say hello and see if I was ready to go, I assured him to go ahead. As with my past babies, once the first contraction hit, I would dilate and meet my baby in minutes. My exact words were..

"Hey Doc, my labors are a breeze, except sometimes my kids like to get all tangled in the cord, but it will all be good..."

Little did I know that later on, I would be eating those words... ( or better yet, throwing them up.)

An epidural was admitted before the pain made an entrance. How easy would this be?? A NO pain labor.

My anesthesiologist was amazing, but no matter what dose he gave me, they couldn't get it working quite well. i felt it in my left side, sometimes in my right and after a while, as the contractions started picking up... deep deep within. I was numb all over except for within the depths of my uterus. Weird I know...

and my anesthesiologist kept watch.

I remained the only patient on the floor and despite my sunny personality, I finally realized they weren't popping in just to see the happy mom of 7. Their eyes remained on the monitor and I often heard my Dr. telling Baby Caleb to behave.

His heart was acting a bit weird with every contraction but once my water was broken, he should arrive as quickly as someone shooting down a water slide... at least thats what the Dr. hoped.

In true GiGi style, I dilated from a 3 to 8 in 10 seconds flat. Nurses jumped around and delivery carts came rushing in. The time was HERE!!! I was going to meet my very last baby boy!

In abut 10 minutes I should be dilated to 10 and then the fun can begin... but 10 minutes passed and i was still at 8....

Then 20, 30, and 40 minutes passed.... and nothing.

His heart continued to decline and my Dr continued to keep watch over that monitor as if the biggest sporting event were on.

My epidural refused to work correctly and I winced with every contraction... and finally, without even realizing it, i keyed in.

I heard his heart. And as I started to realize what I was listening to, it became deafening.... barely beating...

The nurses did anything they could to get it up. I was flipped around, upside down, legs in the air... until this little soul was stabilized.

I sent out a text for prayer... I was too exhausted to even form the words myself.

With each contraction my heart joined him and I heard it hardly beat. The nurses circled around me, waiting for the word to rush into surgery... not wanting me to catch on to any of this...

2 hours later I reached to 9.... 1 little cm to go. I offered to push even though it would tear my cervix. Who needed one anyway? I wasn't planning on having any more kids... I didn't NEED a cervix, but I was forbidden.

I cried with each contraction begging God to let him live... holding my breath until his heart beat began rising again. At one moment, his scalp monitor fell off without me knowing and I started screaming that he was dying...

About this time I noticed the nurses started gathering my things. The nice ol anesthesiologist started giving me more drugs, hair clips were being removed and my rings were being taped.

"Please don't let me get a c-section.." I cried and cried. I begged for general. How would I be able to withstand a c section when my epidural wouldn't work. I passed the numb test, but deep within my uterine walls, I felt it all...

"Its time to have a baby..."

Were my Drs last words. Before I knew what was happening, I was being rolled into surgery. My husband was pulled aside and privately told that during the section he would be asked to leave. Once they cut to the uterus, I would probably feel it and they would put me under...

And thats exactly what happened. I glanced to my left as my husband was being rushed out and I started screaming as to why he was leaving... and then I started yelling as they tugged and pulled at parts that shouldn't be felt by human hands... I thought my baby was dying... the baby who I felt for nine months and the baby who's heart I was just praying for....

And then I went to sleep....

I woke up a short time later and there was my hubby. Smiling over me.

" OH MY GOD IS THE BABY OK?"

" He's right here hun..."

just a few minutes old in the operating room

And there he was. As perfect as could be and nestled in his daddy's arms. He was healthy and alive.

It turns out my last baby wanted to be just like my first baby and wrap the cord around him so tight that he couldn't descend. He was stuck but because of the great hands of my OB, He was perfectly fine. He was taken out just in time. With a full set of hair and stunning blue eyes... Just like my baby Emma.

Some of the kids saying HI for the first time

Our first night together consisted of me throwing up from the anesthesia... and when I did wake up, I was thrown awake by vicious nightmares of my labor... of my baby's heart stopping but in my dreams, it never started again. I woke up in sweats but thankful he was next to me... breathing softly and smelling sweet.

Our first night together

That sweet anesthesiologist came to visit and apologize for not being able to "do his job..." I assured him it was ok, things happen and in the end, we all lived to tell the tale.

The funny thing is, My first and last look the most alike... like two book ends. One Girl and one boy... with 4 babies in between. Both entered the world traumatically and both changed my life forever. My first and my last.....

day 2

FIVE short days later, I was rushed back to the hospital with pregnancy induced heart failure. Read about that journey HERE.

- XoXo GiGi

Knocked Up

2013-03-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

***Welcome to INFERTILITY FRIDAY... Supporting a friend through secondary infertility and beyond. If your new, catch up here***

"Whatever happened to the good ol days when we would just get knocked up?"

I couldn't help but laugh. This was a conversation I was having with a friend from high school when we were both having problems conceiving a child we both desperately wanted. She too, suffered from secondary infertility and turned to medicine to make the miracle happen.

Like many women, the days of getting pregnant from hanging your underwear too close to your husbands was long gone....replaced by timed injections and oh-so-romantic trans-vaginal ultrasounds.

On Wednesday, Michelle's medicine had arrived. By coincidence, I happen to be by the door as our Pearl Jam rockin UPS man came cruising down our court. Penelope's last day of therapy had come and we greeted Courtney as she pulled in. I waved across the street at Michelle, who was also at her door .

Low and behold, the magic of baby making arrived.... In cardboard. Wrapped in dried ice.

When I had a free second, I ran across the street to see the goods.

There we were, upstairs, closed in her master bathroom with enough syringes and alcohol to open our own minute clinic.

"I can't believe this is what it's taking to get pregnant..."

She just kept shaking her head as she pulled more bags out to show me.

I was excited... Again... Ready to do a happy dance. I remembered everything sweet Lindsey had said and was ready to start mixing right there and then. Michelle, on the other band, wasn't feeling my enthusiasm.

I mean, I have no clue why she shouldn't be as excited as I am to pump her body up with loads of synthetic hormones?

Ok, maybe I do have a clue... A small one. But regardless of who is holding the pink and blue Pom poms, this, right here, is happening! Real life starting at 7 a.m. Tomorrow. After a week of being on birth control, and the administering of that first shot, she lays her reproductive future over to modern science.