Sippycups and Fingerprints

Winter

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 21:45:00 +0000

Winter has really been showing off this past week. It's like Christmas every morning, waking up to look out the window to see the world transformed by snow, then an unexpected additional 4 inches of snow and this morning a fog freeze made everything glittery and glistening. I've taken several walks through the woods, it's been beautiful every single day.

Joe has been off school since last Friday and this time together has been a gift. It's like Christmas break all over again, without the hustle, bustle and the sickness. Unlike other times off, like spring, summer or fall break, there isn't yard work and all the have-to's because we are practically snowed in and everything is canceled.

This winter reprieve has given us time to play in the snow with family, to play Ticket To Ride over and over. We finished reading The Trapp Family Singers aloud together and started reading The Hiding Place. The kids have stayed up late watching Andy Griffith. They have played outside for hours and hours. The boys worked to built a snow fort and Jenna made a snow man with Joe. The same hill, I broke my collar bone when I hit a tree sledding down it when I was 10, has proven to be the same fun, faithful hill for day and night sledding. The dryer is continually restarted. I really thought the kids would be tired of the snow before now, but it's given them lots of fun, making memories together.

Our van will not go anywhere in the least bit of snow, so our long, hill of a driveway a no go. Thankfully, Joe was able to purchase a truck a few months ago and we have something that will easily get out if we need to go somewhere, we just can't all fit at once.

The time slowing down together has been so nice in helping us see how much our kids are growing and changing. The older kids are becoming more dependable and helpful. Last night, Bethany and Joseph made supper. Bethany loves baking and is currently baking 2-3 times a week. Joseph is suddenly whipping up lunches of mac and cheese or grill cheese for everyone. I'm so grateful for all their help, it gets old making 9 sandwiches every lunchtime. Having these two older kids is amazing!

Bethany, Joseph, Jenna and Brady all have kitchen and laundry jobs. Bethany and Joseph alternate days of taking care of Boone. He is also becoming a better dog each day. Bethany works with him, teaching him to sit, stay, beg, lay down, roll over and is trying to teach him to play dead. We certainly have times of frustration with people not doing their assigned jobs, but Joe and I both feel a huge shift due to all the help the older kids are able to give.

Hazel was sick a couple weeks ago with a double ear infection and just a bear! Now that she is feeling better, she is back to being a busy body. Busy body means she is climbing on the table, raiding the pantry and into all the things. She is my little shadow, wherever I am, she wants to be there. She is trying to say new words, learning how fun it is to be playmates with Laynee and trying to do all the things Laynee does. Hazel loves making us laugh, she is always doing something silly and watching to see what our response will be. She is a little goofball.

We just received the call that school is out again tomorrow! Snow day number 6! Joe may have done a snow dance. We're not going to talk about school going until June, right now we are enjoying our snow vacation. I know that snow isn't as convenient and cozy for everyone, I'm grateful is can be for us. I'm really grateful for all these blessing big and small.

Fall day

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 04:03:00 +0000

Fall is finally here and I'm so distracted by all the pretty colors out our windows. It is absolutely gorgeous and I know it will end as quickly as it began. The kids and I are spending as much time as possible outside because soon enough winter will be here, there will be plenty of time for astronomy lessons and long rear-alouds then. The Pendwicks can wait, this week, it's all about taking in the beauty in our woods, the smell of the damp leaves and fresh nuts.

Some things never get old and watching Hazel explore the fallen leaves and nuts is one of those things for me. It gives me so much joy seeing the wonder in her eyes as she picks up a leaf or sticks a nut in her mouth. She toddles around and trips over her feet, her pudgy little hands get dirty as she struggles to get back up and going again. Her excited squeals as the damp cool air hits her face and pushes up her hair, makes my heart happy. It makes me very happy.

As much as Hazel is like me, loving the cool air so much it delights her, Laynee is like Joe in that she is freezing. She was a bundle of cuteness today wrapped up in a quilt... and still shivering.

Brady wanted his picture in front of this bright yellow Hickory tree. The camera doesn't come close to capturing the amazing colors in any of the pictures but especially this one.

After Brady and Anne ran through a mud puddle, we found Bethany and Jenna in the woods near this tree that has Pileated Woodpecker holes. They were in the creek, digging up some kind of a sign Jenna found.

Bet ya can't guess which of these two are hot and cold natured, can you? :)

Turned out to their great disappointment that the plastic sign was for a beer. We all had a good laugh.

Boone, our Lab, Border Collie mix, became a member of our family in June, a few months after we took Max to the pound. After a year of having Max it became more and more evident to every one in the family that he was not a good fit for our family. Though we loved him and tried our hardest to make him a part of the family, he wasn't loyal. He had lived the life of a roamer and that is all he wanted to do, run and roam. We had to keep him chained and on a leash at all time, because at the moment he was loose, he was gone! He didn't like cats and the kids had to witness his dislike for them a couple of times when he killed stray cats, plus he killed a neighbors chicken. We hated to take him to the pound and tried to find him a home but finally came to the point where we knew we had to get rid of him for the safety of our kids and his unhappiness. It was a tearful day taking him to the pound, I hated every bit of it and yet, it was such a relief to have him gone. To our surprise and pleasure, he was adopted!! It was so rewarding to see on social media that he was adopted and for the kids to have the peace of mind that he was loved by some one else. We all laugh about it though, because we honestly doubt he stayed home and probably ran away the very minute he could.

We promised to get another dog when we got rid of Max. It took us a few months, there were letters slipped under our door at bedtime many nights. Contracts signed and dated by all the kids, promising to do anything and everything to get and care for a dog. Joe and I gave into the pressure and finally asked on Facebook if anyone knew where we could get a good dog. Someone responded, a vet who said he had a dog that someone had brought in with a broken leg due to getting hit by a car. The owner never came to pick him up and he needed a home. Joe and the four oldest kids went to look at him and came home with a 6 month old puppy. By the time came home, they had already agreed to name Boone. He is Daniel Boone's namesake. :)

Overall, Boone is a really good dog. We all love him and call him Turd almost as often as we call him Boone, because he really is a puppy. At first, he slept alot and didn't chew anything, we thought this was great. I think he was still growing and maybe recovering some. He nipped at the kids and what we thought was tried to herd them. At first, this was really concerning to me because I thought he seemed to have more Border Collie traits and didn't know how he was going to do with the kids, especially the little ones. With time, he has gotten much better about nipping and doesn't try to herd the little kids anymore. Now, he is full on chewing everything up! It's a wonder the house hasn't been eaten. His chewing is out of control, but I'm hopeful that this too shall pass! He can't have a bed because he'll just destroy it.

He is pretty obedient and does well with basic commands most of the time. He LOVES being with us. He sticks close to home and really likes being around us. His greatest offense to date was getting the neighbors free range chicken and retrieving it. He didn't kill it or even injure it. The neighbor wasn't very impressed and threatened to shoot him, so that has caused us to keep him chained more times than not. He does well when we let him loose though and we let him inside some too. I think with time, he will learn his boundaries and become a really good dog for our family. Did I say we all love him?

Joseph was tinkering with a leaf blower while I was in the outside snapping pictures with the rest of the kids. I finally caught up with him when I came inside. He was reading a Roald Dahl book, his current favorite author.

Big South Fork Camping and maybe, I'm back...

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 03:26:00 +0000

It's been awhile, almost forever. I've missed blogging. This year has been a whirlwind. Our baby girl, Hazel, turned ONE, our oldest, Bethany turned 13, we got a dog, Boone. We bought my childhood home from my parents. We'd lived with my Mom for the year prior, most of our belongings were in storage and it took awhile to get settled. To unload the storage unit, to set up house again, to settle into our new home. It finally feels like home, my home, our home. I love it here, it's all kinds of beautiful that I get to live here with my family. so very special. Maybe I'll blog about that...

My Canon stopped working last December, my computer crashed earlier this year, and then my desktop stopped recognizing it is connected to the internet. Between all the technical issues, I just resigned that blogging wasn't going to be something I felt guilty not doing. I've always loved blogging and keeping sections of our life in a hard-copy form this way. I don't have the best memory, so writing things about our life down, is the best way I have found to hold on to these precious days. They are going so quickly! I can't get over how fast these past 18 months have gone by. It feels like forever ago that we sold our house and moved in with Mom when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Hazel. So long ago, sixteen months, since she was born. Homeschooling 5 kids this year, having 7 kids ages 13, 11, 9, 6, 5, 3, and 1, it's alot. Maybe I'll blog about that...

Honestly, the blogging break has been good. It has felt right. I've really missed capturing most of Hazel's first year with pictures on my Canon, but it's been good to let go of pressure I often put on myself to keep up and to keep going. Sometimes you just need to be. Time to re-evaluate, time to process and time to withdrawal. I certainly don't feel like I've arrived, moved past things that have really changed me or found all the words that have failed me. I hope to write more again though.

God has given me so many good things this year. He has provided peace to my chaotic heart, He gives me what I need each day and I am so thankful for His constant presence, even when life doesn't make sense. I sought a mentor relationship earlier this past summer and that has proven to be a huge source of encouragement and continues to help me grow as a person and Christ follower. It has been one of the greatest things I've done to invest in myself after an emotionally draining and stormy season in my life. I'm so thankful God saw fit to provide me with a sister in Christ who is willing to invest in me and share her wisdom. It's been such a humbling gift.

Even in the hardest times, God is good! I am amazed by all of His provisions to see me through 7 pregnancies, to not only give me 7 children but sustain me daily to train and educate them. I look at pictures of them all lined up and it honestly takes my breath away. I've been so inspired in my homeschooling this year through many different resources and podcasts. Maybe I'll blog about that...

I'm so excited that fall is finally arriving! It's my favorite season and I can't wait to experience all the beauty that is getting ready to happen in our woods. 3 nights of our fall break we spent camping, our yearly fall break tradition. This year we camped at Bandy Creek in Big South Fork. Camping is one of the hardest things to do with 7 kids, it's exhausting and this trip was one of the worst we've ever had with a baby in tow. Despite how challenging and exhausting it can be, I still look forward to the time we get to spend camping, it's very memory making.

Hazel was recovering from Hand, Foot and Mouth and she was a basket case the first 24 hours we were there. I ended up passing off my, newly repaired, Canon to Bethany because Hazel kept me busy, so many of the pictures above she took, which is really awesome! I loved seeing her point of view and watching her discover photography. We visited Historic Rugby, Blue Heron Mining Community in Stearns, KY and stopped at Alvin C. York's Home. I shared all the details about our trip on my Instagram, that's where you'll want to go for all those moments.

This is really just my attempt to say, "Hey, I'm back...maybe," And here is a little peek into where I've been and here is to hoping I can get everything moving in the right direction to be back more often.

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 17:09:00 +0000

Psalm 62:1-2 says, "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

Then in verses 5-8 it reads. "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."

Verses 11-12 says, "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong and that you, O Lord, are loving.

In the next chapter, Psalm 63:1 says, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirst for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Verses 3-5 says, "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

Verses 7-8, "Because you are my help, I will sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Maybe you are like me, feeling the weary places in your life taking their toll. Like the weary places are all starting to connect and take over. We live in a broken world, filled with broken people and broken hearts. This world is a dry and weary land where there is no water, no water that satifies. No fixes to the problems. Broken relationships, fears of the unknowns, financial struggles, conflict and constant drainers of joy. Guilt for not being enough, not doing things perfectly.

My heart can feel like one giant mess of hurts and the constant battle of soul care is difficult. To walk in love and forgiveness, being gracious and not easily offended are daily prayers. And I often fail.

It's an impossible task to take care of myself on my own. Venting to a friend, counseling, are self help books are often helpful resources but never true sources of heart healing, never enough to change my sinful heart. Nothing will fix my life, to fix my heart except, pursuing the very Creator of my heart. Peace and satisfaction come when I lift up my hands, open and empty. When I pour out my heart to God and take my eyes off myself and look to him to be my firm foundation and protect me. He is the strong one, the perfectly loving God. He is the one who provides my peace and satisfaction.

A few lines that I loved from these passages are:

My souls finds rest in God alone. /No one and nothing else.

My soul thirst for you.

My soul will be satisfied as with richest of foods.

My soul clings to you. /Dear God, help me to cling only to you and hold everyone and everything else loosely.

I've been reading through Praying Through the Bible by Donald S. Whitney, with a friend. It's been really amazing to take a Psalm and turn it into a prayer by just praying out loud either the words of a verse or what God leads from reading the verse. These two chapters have been very fitting as I've felt soul weary and my heart struggles so often to love when it's wounded. It's not about ourselves, not about our stories, not about our struggles, it's about God and who he wants us to become through the struggles. May His name be lifted high, may I proclaim His praise every single day that He gives me breath.

February

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 20:20:00 +0000

As I write this, the kids are "in bed", which simply means it's Party Central upstairs as they rock out to the Demo setting on my childhood keyboard. This home is such a wild and crazy place, today we had the washer running without any laundry, not for lack of dirty laundry, that will never happen, just for the heck of it! I laid a roast out to dethaw yesterday so that I could put it in the crockpot today for supper. This morning I couldn't find my roast and eventually found it put back in the freezer, frozen solid. :)

One of the funniest things that happened in our crazy house recently was as we were hurrying out the door I asked Bethany to please put some warm water in a bottle for Hazel. She asked me if she could microwave it and against my better judgement, in my rush, I caved and said, "Yes, but only for 30 seconds!"

Several MINUTES later, I walked through the kitchen and heard a hissing sound coming from the microwave that was STILL heating the bottle. I stood in front of the microwave, looked in and saw the bottle spewing water out of the nipple, which was blown up like a balloon! I was exasperated that Bethany didn't listen and I called for her to come at once. As she walked into the kitchen, I stood facing the open door of the microwave, bottle still spewing. "Bethany Rose! What did I say?! Look at -" Like a rocket the bottle shot out of the microwave, hot water splashed all over my face as the bottle whizzed past my head and landed on the counter behind me, the nipple was across the room on the floor!!

I staggered back and Joe, who had watched from the side of the room exclaimed, "Miranda! Are you okay?!"

I stared at him, like a senseless bird who just flew into a window. Was I burned? I couldn't tell.

Again, he asked me, this time louder like maybe I couldn't hear, "Are you okay?!"

"I don't know!", I said, and at the same time burst out laughing.

I was so frustrated that Bethany did not listen and at the same time in disbelief of what just happened and so I told her she almost killed me, as I laughed and wiped my face with a towel. The daily drama in this house, it's no wonder I can't find time to blog.

I can't believe it's been a month since I blogged last. What a fast month that was! Hazel is 8 months now! She hasn't slept through the night in about 4 months. I love her to death but boy am I tired.

She is scooting all around the house and putting anything she can find into her mouth. She isn't crazy about baby food however. It's a chore getting her to eat solids, milk is her favorite and she is such a chunk too. She has almost completely weaned herself from nursing, it makes me a little sad but it's also been freeing to have others able to give her milk. She has always been such a content and happy girl but it would be mice if she decided to sleep through the night again sometime soon!

Following my last blog post, the stomach virus ended up running through the rest of the family. It was a fiasco of intense craziness. The grand finale was Anne, Brady, Jenna and Bethany all going down together at the same time and I just went from one to the next over and over, non stop for hours, holding bowls and dumping puke. It was memorable, almost funny, but I couldn't even laugh it was such a sight. Instead I pretty much lost it and I think it took me a week to recover from the insanity. To date, it is at the top of my list as one of the most unbelievable motherhood moments dealing with sick kids.

We have had our fill of sickness, flu then stomach virus. It took a month and my mental health to get over it. Even our computer had a virus! That was scariest of all because I thought I may have lost 3 or 4 years worth of pictures. Thankfully $160 will buy you alot!

February has been showing off with its many gorgeous sunsets and warm spring like days. There have been daffodils picked, a campfire made, I painted a new-to-me old porch swing, we've gone to Bernheim twice, read Mary Poppins, Elsie Piddocks Skips in Her Sleep, Amos Fortune Free Man and now The Lamplighter and Mary Poppins Comes Back. Joseph won first place in an archery tournament! We bought a new couch for our new house!

This month was one year since we closed on our house we sold and moved in with my mom. It's gone really quickly. Don't they all? It just so happened that this same month is the one we signed a contract on our new home. We are very excited! Our new house has almost everything we wanted and more, privacy and lots of room for the kids to play outside. I'm excited to make a home again, most of our household items have been in storage for a year, the kids think it will be like Christmas unpacking and I'm sure it will be fun.

In the midst of making plans for our new house, making grocery runs, dropping kids off at archery practice, ballet and piano lessons, getting up in the mornings to stumble to the coffee pot, I've spent many hours of this past month listening to Sally Clarkson's podcasts. It has been such a source of encouragement and affirmation. She inspires and challenges in my motherhood and in my relationships. She has a gift for teaching and I've gleaned so much from simply listening to her share her honest struggles and abundant wisdom.

I always hope to be back soon to blog something with more substance, I wonder if I'll ever get to the place of filling like I wrote a cohesive or coherent blog post. It hard to let go of my desire to write more but it's not in the writing but in the living that the greatest joy is found. It is better to live in the moments and truly experience the wonders of life, than to write about things never lived.

In all honesty...

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 22:55:00 +0000

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

-- Robert Brault

Hazel is 7 months old today.

Unreal just how fast the first year goes by. I am so loving her chubby self at this age though. She is sitting up and scooting across the floor and grabbing for toys. She is very sweet and calm, she melts my heart daily.

We've been sick all month.

First, it was the flu.

Hazel finished it up with a double ear infection and Laynee with one ear infection.

We hadn't even finished the flu run and Laynee came down with a stomach virus. It made a slow start but so far, it's made its way from her to Joseph and I, and now Hazel.

Thankfully, I was able to have a day to recover and then last night I was up with poor Hazel. I don't remember having a baby this young catch a stomach virus so I worry about her getting dehydrated. Despite her obvious bellyaches, these smiles are from today.

I'd be lying if so said I wasn't ready for January to hurry up and end. Hopefully, it'll take all these yucky sicknesses with it. We've had to many canceled plans because of it. The weather has been warm and rainy, it feels like we live in London there has been so many damp, foggy days.

The healthy kids have spent hours and hours outside. Hopefully, they will be spared from this second sickness but I'm not getting my hopes up too high. Today they gathered outside and made a little home under beach umbrellas in the rain.

These pictures were an attempt on my part to enjoy the little things, despite being puked on and comforting a sick baby today. I have tried to stay positive and push through and keep my head up, this is all just a part of life and motherhood right? Well, I succumbed to a bad attitude anyway, threw a pity party for myself over the mounds of laundry, mud tracked in the house multiple times, pizza in the carpet, chores half done and all the extra work I had to catch up on since I've been in bed sick or taking care of Hazel.

Tomorrow's a new day, new mercies. I need them and I pray no one wakes me up puking tonight.

New Year's snow and Christmas memories

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 02:16:00 +0000

We had snow last week. It was a fun way to start the new year. Joe had 2 snow days, after only one day back to work after Christmas break. I failed to get Hazel out for a picture in her first snow, hopefully there will be another snow soon for that. I did however succeed at grabbing a picture of myself with each of the other kids. Snow is always an exciting bookmark in life, especially winter!

It was a surreal moment watching my oldest 6 lined up to sled down the hill. Not just any hill, the hill I grew up sledding down. In fact, I broke my collar bone, at 10 years old, when I hit a tree sledding down that hill. It just blows me away when I get little glimpses outside of my normal viewpoint and realize this is my life and these kids are mine. CRAZY!!

Life is full of craziness and I thought for sure I was gonna forever lose my mind on Monday, in the worst way, when it was back to home school realities. A little bit of that was myself and Hazel started with the flu most everyone else in the family had the week before. There were tears over multiplication, arguments over reading and an attitude over exponents. There was a fussy baby and two loud, mess making toddlers. I heard myself saying, "I don't care what you did, you came up with the wrong answer, so do we really want to go down that path again?!" And, "I've been to Kindergarten, 30 years ago!! And this is my 4th time teaching it, so who are you going to listen to, me or you!?"

I am so thankful we can homeschool, there are many things I enjoy about it, but it also makes me appreciate the simplicity of snowdays or family time. It helps me enjoy the slower days of just being mom, not mom and teacher. My days are so much easier when we are out of school but I'm grateful for them both.

Homeschool is challenging for sure and I guess that's why it amazes me that I'm actually doing it. Sometimes its hard to recognize what I accomplish when I'm in the midst of so much chaos yet, I can easily identify things I don't or can't accomplish. This new year has started off with a needed reminder to say no to guilt. So much guilt I take on for things I can't manage to fit into my days, things I don't have the energy or passion for doing and instead of recognizing, I just can't, I translate that to guilt. Guilt is a heavy things to carry on my back, it does not make me a better person, it is not my friend and one of my goals in 2017 is to break up with guilt.

It's game on, I'm going to be more intentional about identifying the voices of guilt and kicking them out. I think that gets easier when I keep my focus on what is important in my daily living. When I know what my goals are and if things don't fit with callings and passions God has given me or our family, than they just aren't meant to fit into my days and there is no guilt for that. We all have 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We all get the same and it can be so difficult to manage them well. I'm currently in the process of clearly identifying what God has called me to do, given our family passions for, and putting that into a family purpose statement. It is really important to individually identify these things because every family is different and has different gifts and passions. We need to embrace who God has designed and created our family to be, rather than feel competitive or guilt because we aren't like others.

2017 is about me finding freedom. Saying good bye to guilt is really just a small part of my prayer for this year.

Christmas is such a special time of year, especially with all these kids. I know that these years of exciting Christmases are numbered and I'm so grateful we had another year with all our 7. We went to see the lights in Nashville and that was a very fun day but mostly we stayed home the rest of our break. Like I said, we are on the tail end of a flu but I really haven't cared too much because I'm so happy we were well all of the Christmas season! No sickness at Christmas is a HUGE blessing.

My favorite part of December was getting away for 24 hours with Joe. It sounds like such a short time away but it was life giving! Nothing makes me happier than getting time away with Joe.

Last fall, we camped at Clifty Falls in Indiana. I fell in love with historic downtown Madison and mentioned to Joe that I would love to go there at Christmastime. When we found out it was going to work for us to have a little getaway Joe said he wanted to go to Madison, which meant more to me than he will ever know. We stayed at the Clifty Falls Inn. We arrived late evening and planned to shop a little but all the shops were closed so we ended up grabbing coffee, Chinese take out and watching a UK basketball game in our bed, perfect! The next morning we had coffee again from the same shop, soo good, and took a fast walk across the Ohio River bridge. It was super windy and bitter cold but we made a memory. :)

We spent the rest of the day going to little stores and antiquing, a perfect thing to do in Madison. There was a certain set of Pyrex I had mentioned wanting to Joe as I was a doing some research about Pyrex age and history, after I added some of my grandma's Pyrex to my kitchen. It was a set of 4 nesting mixing bowls in 4 primary colors. The first antique store we went to, had all 4 bowls for sale. I am not one to spend for unnecessary things, especially for myself. Joe knows this and immediately picked them up and said he was buying them. When I tried to argue he told me to hush. :)

So, I did.
And I now have 4 beautiful, sentimental Pyrex bowls.
It makes me happy.
...I don't feel guilty,
because I'm saying no to guilt. :)

First day of winter 12.21.2016

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 23:42:00 +0000

It's the first day of winter. A perfect way to start off the season, we had a fog freeze that left hard rime all over the woods this morning. What a sweet way to make an entrance without going all out! I had to take a walk through the frosty beauty, it's probably going to be the closest thing we get to snow this year.

Today was also Joe's first day home for Christmas break. We are so excited to have him home in addition to a break from school. I baked all day and the kids and I decorated paper Christmas trees. It's been a good start.

We've had some mild sickness, nothing to keep us down. I'm just praying we can stay healthy through Christmas. Being sick a Christmas is the biggest bummer ever, so not fun!

I've been trying to take this month slow, to ease into Christmas without all the craziness. So far, so good. All the gift buying was done online with the exception of a few gift cards and one in-store stop. I completed a sewing project I wanted to do for 3 of the girls and it is finished! I'm so relieved that I made it happen and I like the outcome.
It's been an interesting year for me and currently I can't even put my thoughts into words, so I'm just going to share this post below from Joye's Instagram. I used to read Joye's blog years ago and now I get so much encouragement from following her on Instagram.

Maybe you've been walking through some hard in these holy days. And it's not that there hasn't been beautiful songs of hope and joy alive in your heart, it's just that the journey you're on has been a rocky one. You're not alone, friend. It's ok to sing through tears and need the Hope of the World more than you ever have before. Our little (big) family has had to press in and pray through some hard lately, with my husband having injured his back and struggling through debilitating pain; with the birth of this womb baby a week and a half away and swaddling blankets needing to be hemmed and final preparations made for her. And I imagine this is how the holy happens. How it always has happened. Mary must have had grand plans for the birth of her firstborn, her mother and midwives preparing to be present for the occasion. And then in that last week, when her swollen body craves rest, she receives a notice that her and Joseph have to travel 90 miles by foot over rocky terrain to a little town called Bethlehem. That's a week of hiking. In the last trimester. And you know the rest of the story...no soft bed for Mary to soothe her aching body in, no cradle for her babe, no comforting presence of a midwife. She gives birth in a barn. Not exactly what she envisioned. Not exactly what she had hoped and dreamed for. But the world would never, ever be the same. Because the Hope of the World never looks like we imagine Him to look like. He comes through the pain and the hurt and all the broken and the lonely places and He chooses to be with us right there in the muck of it all. It's like He says, "see, you don't need your situation to change to have hope, to find happiness, you just need ME." Just Jesus. He is our Hope Eternal. And all the weary in our world rejoices. 📷: @laurencarrollphotography #advent

A photo posted by Rubie (Joye) Dicharry (@joyefuljourney) on Dec 19, 2016 at 9:44pm PST

Some days seem to fall apart before they ever begin. Some days life is ugly and unpleasant and scary. Some days I don't have a single right answer. I try to quiet my heart by covering my ears, by closing the door between the noisy kids, by praying for calm, praying for peace. How can a heart so heavy race? How can so much chaos possibly become more distractions? How can life be so painfully intense and stress filled and yet, so beautiful and joy filled at the same time? This is the season of living with both. Learning to hold tightly to all the amazingly good things the Lord has given me in one hand and carry intensely broken and painful baggage in the other. It feels like an arm load, it causes my shoulders to physically ache, it slows me down. I want to run free of all these hard things but they push me to keep seeking Jesus. I'm trying to wrap my heart around this one truth this Christmas. The Light of the world became a baby, born in a manger. He changes everything! He conquered the darkness this world holds, He conquers the darkest corners of my life. He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12 He has overcome all darkness! He has overcome! ⭐️

May the Light of the world make your Christmas bright.

Grandma's Pyrex

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:26:00 +0000

Last Saturday was my grandparents estate sale. Grandma passed away last December and Papaw passed away in April of 2007. Joe had a major commitment to host an archery tournament at his school, so he was unable to go and I took all the kids except Joseph with me to the sale. I had really wrestled with whether I could go to the auction but I'm so glad that I was able to be there. The kids were very good, they endured the cold and sitting for hours. It was a bittersweet day, but seeing all their household items brought back lots of good memories.

My grandparents had the biggest mailbox ever. I was always impressed by how much mail Grandma received and loved getting the mail for her. She was an Avon lady for years and then sold Home Interior. She couponed before it was cool and always saved recipes from her cooking magazines. I loved looking through her many magazine subscriptions. She was the best cook ever. Hands down! Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, pinto beans, fried cornbread, homegrown tomatoes, corn and green beans. Strawberry Rhubarb pie was her specialty. Her tea was sweet but I always chose milk to drink, a treat to drink milk at supper. She loved to feed her family and watch us eat her food. Her table was always filled with dish after dish and there was always room for one more person at the table.

As I walked through the empty house I could hear Grandma and Papaw's voices clear as day and see their smiling faces.❤️They were married 65 years, raised 11 kids, worked hard on their dairy farm, lived full lives with big gardens, "tobacca" patches and hay fields. They endured tragedy, great losses and heartbreaking sadness. I don't know how they did it all. I always felt like they were proud of me and that is something when I'm 1 of 22 grandkids. They were proud of each of us. Grandma rarely forgot my birthday and gave me a card and birthday gift of assorted items, like tin trays, tiny jewelry boxes, flavored Avon chapstick and deodorant. Christmas was much the same. My favorite gifts from her was a Miss Piggy and Kermit Necklace, that I still have and a brass doll bed that she made me promise to keep forever and I have that too.

I'm grateful for the memories of Papaw asking me to play his favorite song "Silent Night" on piano, no matter what time of year he visited. His favorite candy was orange slices. He was passionate about International tractors, steam engines, Cadillacs and buying Made in the USA. One of the scariest things I ever saw were his false teeth in a jar when I opened the bathroom cabinet.

They used to love to eat at a restaurant called Banquet Table, Papaw pronounced it "Ban-a-cket Table". A pillow was a "piller" and a window was a "win-der". And tomatoes and potatoes were "Maters and Taters". Grandma used to say, "Well, I'll be." Or "I swawny." When asked how she was doing, Grandma almost always said, "Very well." You could often tell how well she was by the weariness in her voice, but "very well." just the same.

I'll never forget being taller than her, she was one of the first adults I outgrew. I remember her telling me the number to call on their rotary phone in the kitchen, listening for a ring and hanging up so that the phone would ring in the barn and Papaw would know supper was ready and to hurry to finish the milking. Grandma worked crosswords and was awesome at Wheel of Fortune but truly amazing at Jeopardy.

The first bid I won was a box of old bottles. Old glass bottles have been a favorite of mine for many years, Joe proposed to me with a glass bottle. I bought 2 piggy banks that used to sit on the dresser in a bedroom my cousins and I would play in at holiday get-togethers. I bought her rolling pin and mat, I scored some drinking glasses I remember pouring Papaw buttermilk in when I helped set the table.

My favorite thing I get to keep forever are some of Grandma's Pyrex. She used her Pyrex daily, set them on the table to serve her food and stored her lunch leftovers in the oven in them until reheating them at supper. I have always had a thing for collecting Pyrex pieces so adding some of her own, that I remember, to my collection makes me extra happy.

I hope when I die people remember and treasure the ways and things I used to make daily life beautiful. Grandma had pretty trinkets and valuable heirlooms but these pieces that she used almost daily make me the most happy in helping keep her and Papaw's memories alive in my home. Reminders of how legacy is built by living life one day at a time working, serving, saving and giving. Legacy begins with how we live daily in the ordinary.

Following are pictures from this past summer.

Last Day of November

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:11:00 +0000

Our Christmas tree is up and I've been submitting as many online orders for Christmas shopping as possible. I cannot believe December starts tomorrow! I don't feel like it's Christmastime but I'm trying to get there. I wanted to get one last blog post in before November is gone as quickly as it came.
The kids picked up all the walnuts in the yard from our one lone walnut tree. They brainstormed about what they could do with the money once they sold them, that they could all enjoy together. We knew the profit would be pretty slim, $14 per 100lbs of hulled walnuts. Yikes!
Joe and I took the kids to collect walnuts at a friend's and my brother's. We had the back of our van loaded with many garbage bags full of walnuts. After selling them, the kids made $17! They had already decided they would use the money to buy items for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes a ministry from Samaritan's purse that delivers shoe boxes filled with items to children all over the world effected by poverty, disaster or war. Joe and I helped them with extra money they needed to fill 2 shoe boxes but it was a great memory they made working together to bless other kids. We pray theses boxes will be an avenue for sharing the love of Jesus!

November brought us lots of opportunities for nature walks and identifying nature in the backyard. I loved this past fall so much and I'm grateful it lingered as long as it did.

Hazel turned 5 months! I can't stop these days from flying past no matter how hard I try to hold them back. She is a very happy and content girl. She loves the swing and playing in the floor. She is a good sleeper but over the past month decided she needs to nurse twice a night. I know I shouldn't complain but I'm trying to make a plan where she will sleep all night. I've started giving her baby food and she loves that, she is growing so fast and becoming a chunk. She sticks out her tongue all the time, to the point of doing it when we ask her where her tongue is. She also likes blowing raspberries. Most of the time, she just goes with the flow and barely makes a complaint. She loves watching all her siblings and lights up when any of them are near.
In case you missed it, Joseph and I finally got his first deer of the season! You can scroll to the bottom of my last post and watch the final video. It will definitely be one my greatest moments with Joseph as an 11 year old and maybe ever! Hunting with him was the most fun I've had in a long time.

How Saying Yes to Hunting with Joseph Changed My Week

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 19:53:00 +0000

Last Sunday, I said, "Yes."

I had no idea how saying yes to Joseph was going to change my heart, how much joy it was going to result in and how much is was going to change my regular-everyday-life this past week. Monday morning, for the first time ever, I got up at 5AM to go hunting. I honestly didn't know if I wanted him to get a deer while I was with him. I didn't know if I'd watch him shoot a deer or close my eyes. We didn't see anything, he didn't get a deer, so I said yes on Tuesday.

On Tuesday we saw the deer and suddenly things became much more fun and exciting. As result, I've continued to say yes to taking Joseph hunting every time I've been able. Yes, 8 days straight. Yes to hunting 6 5AM mornings and 4 evenings. Yes, to climbing in a tree stand, heights are one of my most real fears. I do not like climbing up, I do not like being up high, 5ft off the ground is too high. My heart races, my hands sweat, my stomach hurts and I just don't do it.

I recently read Breathing Room and after letting some of the things I read sink in, I'm making changes. Changes in the choices I make, being more intentional in making choices that will make me happy. Making choices that help me do the things I enjoy and bring me joy. Investing my time where I want when possible, rather than where I feel I ought. Often times as adults and mothers we put all kinds of responsibilities and "have-to's" on ourselves that really are "don't-have-to's".
Secondly, I related to a chapter or two where Leeanna talked about self talk, how we talk to ourselves when we are going through a hard time, or even the things we say to ourselves when we look in the mirror. She made some great points about loving ourselves for who God made us to be, rather than wishing we were more like so many other women. Because of this seed that was planted, I hit publish on a silly little video I took with Joseph while hunting on Tuesday. I denied myself the mental battering of not loving how I looked or how I talked. I decided to be brave and embrace me for who I am and HAVE FUN!

That goofy video resulted in more videos, plus many texts and comments from friends telling me how hard they laughed and how my videos brightened their day. It blew me away, something so silly brought me joy and others as well.

It's been a week and Joseph hasn't gotten a deer yet. I have loved every minute of sleep I gave up to be outside with him. I have enjoyed spending a crazy amount of hours sitting in silence, freezing our tails off, watching for deer. I've laughed so hard I've cried. I cherish the memories we're making and I really, really hope he gets a deer while I'm in the tree stand or blind with him.

Joseph turned 11 earlier this month. I know sometimes we worry as moms about what life is going to look like when our precious babies, cute toddlers or fun little kids grow up. At least, I do. This past week hunting with Joseph has been a reminder that time with our kids is a continual gift. It's a continual learning who they are today and most of all a continual blessing. This saying, "Yes." has reminded me how powerful saying yes can be.

If you'd like to watch mine and Joseph's hunting adventures up til this point, you can watch the videos below. We are heading out in a few minutes and these videos are first published in my Stories on my Instagram.

UPDATED! Joseph got a deer the evening after I published this. The final video has been added at the bottom. What a memory we made together. This is Jospeh's third deer. He killed his first when he was 6! You can read about those memories here and here.

Hunting With Mom Success!! 6 from Miranda Rose on Vimeo.

Joy in the valley

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Sat, 12 Nov 2016 22:00:00 +0000

The best way out is always through. -Robert Frost

I've been taking time for myself. Time to think and evaluate. I've been taking walks in the woods, enjoying every color fall creates, looking closely at gorgeous moss and lichen, feeling the chill on my cheeks and the sun on my hair. It is like a tangible way to feel God near, up next to me, on my skin. I hold deeply veined leaves of the sycamore, rub dock and smell its scent on my fingers, feel the prickly woolly worm crawl in the palm of my hand and it's like touching God's hand.

I've ordered half-a-dozen books on nature identification because I find that learning about God's creation makes my heart happy. Seeing the beauty He creates and sustains, the beauty even out of dying things, reminds me of His powerful way of making all things new. There is nothing that escapes Him and neither do I.

I'm in this season of lingering and searching for I don't even know what. Searching for healing, searching for the way to forgive, for the path to be free of baggage. My shoulders physically ache from the weariness I carry. There are days when all I want to do is just be rid of my weariness but it's not simply all in the choosing.

I'm learning to be okay with not being okay which I think is freeing and helps to actually just be here. This season is what it is and try as I might to change it or rush it, I cannot. So I'm learning to find the beauty in this valley, learning that gratitude can be found in rich abundance here, learning that I can have everything I need each day because my Father is a generous giver when it comes to meeting needs, to soothing this soul weariness.

I find myself evaluating the things that require my energy. What can I eliminate from draining my limited resources of emotional, physical and mental energy. How can I carve out space and time to deal with my jam packed thoughts and emotions? I get the same amount of hours in a day, days in a week as everyone else and these past weeks I've been evaluating how I can take control of my life in a way to promote healing and joy. Sometimes instead of fretting over life not being in my control, I need to remember this is my life and I do get to build it in ways that I choose.

In my quest to be intentional with my time I've taken the plunge to close my Facebook. Months ago, I deleted the app and that helped silence some of the distraction it created. I heard Sarah, at Sarah Ann online say, (paraphrased) "If a social media platform doesn't make you happy then don't do it, you have control over where you invest your time." I confess, these words have been on repeat for months before I finally mustered up the courage to cut ties with Facebook. It was such a hard call, because there are many great advantages about FB and I didn't want to give them all up but in recent days it has made more and more sense that I need the time and energy Facebook stole from me on a daily basis.

I didn't love Facebook, it didn't bring me joy, it felt like a "have-to". I have so many have to's and Facebook need not be one of them. This is just where I'm at in life right now, I understand all the positives of Facebook and I'm still trying to figure out how I can maintain those connections without FB. The bottom line is, I am in a place in life now where I need to invest in the things I love, that bring me joy and healing. It is exciting to think of new ways to invest that time.

"The difference between shallow happiness and a deep, sustaining joy is sorrow. Happiness lives where sorrow is not. When sorrow arrives, happiness dies. It can't stand pain. Joy, on the other hand, rises from sorrow and therefore can withstand all grief. Joy, by the grace of God, is the transfiguration of suffering into endurance, and of endurance into character, and of character into hope--and the hope that has become our joy does not (as happiness must for those who depend up on it) disappoint us." -Walter Wangerin Jr.

I'm asking myself what brings me joy, what makes me love this life I'm living? And then I'm asking how can I allow myself the grace to invest the time in myself by investing in the things and people that bring me joy.

Some of the answers have surprised me. This self exploration is very life giving to my weariness.

Our annual pumpkin patch trip with all my punkins, brings me joy. Laynee clapping and squealing watching her siblings and Mamma fly down the slide. Her hair matching the pumpkins. 7 kids lined in a row, gathering pumpkins they can hardly carry. Joy!

Hazel Joy, wided-eyed, rosy-cheeked, sleeping-lashes, in-Daddy's-arms, legs-kicking, brings me joy. Big grins at Laynee as she sings Hazel her sing-song version of "Happy Birthday". "Happy to you, Happy to you, Happy to Hazel."

My children outside, gathering, washing, cracking hickory nuts. Outside building pretend helicopters and toy guns from PVC pipes. Outside pushing Laynee in the wheelbarrow, coming in with runny noses, nippy cheeks and dirty hands.

Anne's latest people drawings.
The way she describes crying as, "I have something making sad in my eye."
Realizing Anne wore 15 brand new colorful hair ties on her wrist to church and later telling me she gave them away to her friends in her Sunday School class.
Brady asking,"What does an ostrich eat? They must eat healthy stuff cuz their eggs are HUuge!!"
Overhearing Brady and Anne playing Mom and Dad, "Mom!! It's time for me to go to college! I'm 91! It's time for me to go to college!!" Brady said.

Most surprising of all joy in homeschooling, thank you Jesus! Joy in teatime with the kids. Joy in reading aloud, gathering nature and drawing nature.

And least surprising of all, joy in this man who loves me in my valley. Who tells me I am enough, who listens to me ramble about the hard things in life and feeling lost as to how to get out of this weary place, ramble on about Walter Wangerin Jr. quotes and my quest to make space for the things I love. He hurts with me, cheers me on everyday and most of all hugs so tight it takes my breath away.

Even when it feels like I'm camped out in the valley indefinitely, when this heart of mine has deep wounds and I don't know how to fix them, there is joy. I hear God whisper and remind me, "Miranda, I am the binder of wounds." I believe those words.

Why we camp

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Sat, 12 Nov 2016 16:23:00 +0000

We spent 2 nights at Indiana State Park, Clifty Falls, during fall break. Camping is so much work, no way around it, it's exhausting physically. There is nothing easy about preparing to camp, setting up camp, and camping with 5 kids, a toddler and a baby. We run threw packages of baby wipes, cleaning dirty fingers, sticky faces and brown feet with dirt between toes. We deal with stinky outside potties and campfire smoke infused clothes, blankets, hair and van. Dirt and leaves are tracked into the van, into our tents and our sheets.

Camping is a kind of soul therapy. It invigorates me when I hear the kids excitement while picking the perfect secluded camp site, in exploring the woods nearby, in finding joy in a basic playground, in collecting flowers, rocks and sticks, in taking a hike, building a fire, lighting the lantern and cracking glow sticks.

They are happy.

These smiles came from dashing to the tent during an unexpected downpour midmorning, when they zipped up their own tent for the night, when Joe bought them each their own $1 flashlight to shine in the trees and their own eyes. The kids created a timed obstetrical course on the playground. They showed a neighboring camper a leaf bug and how touch me nots work. Jenna toasted and buttered bagels for all of us both mornings. Breakfast was the favorite meal each day with hot chocolate, eggs and bacon.

Camping is worth the dirt, delayed showers, crying babies at bedtime and pure tiring work because it creates time with our kids that nothing else does. It creates time to slow down and listen to their laughter, do the things they enjoy doing with them and we make memories. This is why we camp. This is way we love camping.

Clifty Falls is right next to Madison, IN, the cutest historical town I have ever been through. There are rows and rows of beautiful old homes, each unique and colorful. It sits on the Ohio River. We went to their History Museum but Anne wasn't feeling good so we cut our trip short and headed home. It's a neat place to visit, I'll remember it as the place I was complimented on my accent. :)

Searching for rainbows

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:50:00 +0000

In George Matheson's famous hymn O Love That Will Not Let Me Go, there is a line that says, "I trace the rainbow through the rain".

I've been searching for rainbows, friends.

Sometimes rainbows stand out and demand our attention, bright and vibrant, they arch giant distances across the skies. Most of the time though, we have to look for them, squint our eyes and search through gray clouds. We may only see a tiny square, a thin line.

A few weeks ago, Brady and Anne were spraying the hose, washing Brady's wheelbarrow. Anne exclaimed, "LOOK Brady, a rainbow!" He very matter-of-factly said, "Yeah, sunshine and water make a rainbow, Anne." Sometimes you even have to make rainbows.

Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Psalm 86:4

I've been searching for rainbows lately.
Big rainbows, little rainbows, I don't care.
I don't need more rainbows,
I need to find them.
It's not for lack of rainbows,
it's simply the burden's,
this soul weariness I fight, hiding my reasons to be thankful like deep, dense clouds.

I can't control many things in my life.
I can't control others around me.
Not the world near me, the world outside me, the world around me. Sometimes the things that shouldn't effect my life because they are far away from me physically, do because they hit close to home emotionally. Brokenness and sin, fracture, rip apart and destroy not just the world, but my world.
I don't get to pick the storms that come.
I don't get to ration the rain.

I do get to search for the sunshine,
to go with the rain,
to make rainbows.
If you are like me and are also in a hard place of sorting and sifting though innumerable thoughts and emotions, I just need to remind us both to take ourselves to Jesus. Even when words escape us,
when we can't even explain our hearts,
when we don't know what we need,
take our burdened, hurt, soul-weary-selves to Jesus.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:26-28

The responsibilities and demands of mothering and educating 7 kids, make my days very full of harried must do's and frazzled thoughts. It's challenging to make the time to linger, to search for rainbows, to take my broken heart to Jesus. I have found over and over and over again the faithfulness of the Lord to meet me wherever, whenever I make the time to ask for His healing. Whether 100 times a day or {sadly}once a week His love and mercy are abundant and I could not live this life without Him.

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glories me...
Psalm 50:23

Being grateful to the Lord has always been a favorite thing I love to do. Gratitude has become a kind friend of mine all throughout motherhood. This blog exist as an avenue of thanksgiving. During this season I'm in the midst of, it's felt harder. Not for lack of rainbows, but the clouds have been really heavy. I read the scripture above and it made me realize that sometimes thanksgiving is a sacrifice. It made me all the more eager to be that kind of woman, mom and wife. I want to glorify the Lord in my sacrifices of thanksgiving.

When we search for rainbows to give thanks, we will surely find them. I have seen them in the faces of my kids, in the cute way Laynee talks, in the bruised flowers picked by chubby hands, in a thank you note from my 10 year old, in baby giggles and sunlight, in gathered acorns and bright red berries, in my kids reciting poetry, in unloading an overflowing cart of groceries, in a breeze blowing through the window, in my kids gathered up at the end of the day reading aloud, in Joe's constant love for me, in fall leaves, in a pile of 30 books for 10 cents each, in Laynee learning how to fit the right shapes into their proper holes, in tire swings and dusty feet, in a daughter who complains about school yet chooses to read and write in her free time, in friends who text me to talk about the hard things in life and send me their sermon notes, who make me laugh, who lighten my weariness by saying, "Me too."

I make rainbows when I take the time to create memories and linger with my kids. When I spread a blanket and quiet my heart to hear my kids talk. When I delete my social media apps to turn down the voices drowning out His. By giving my burdens continually back to the One who knows what to do with them so that I can rest in His care for me, in His healing for my hurts and His plan for my life. Tomorrow I won't wake up to a world rid of hard realities, my heart clear of all it's dealing with but I will wake up in the loving care of a Savior, the Creator of rainbows. I lift up my soul daily.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8

Beautiful Bethany

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 02:10:00 +0000

I remember the day she was born, how I bawled and stared at her Polaroid picture, the nurse gave me, because she had to stay in the nursery. I remember how she loved to be swaddled tight. I remember holding close in complete amazement that she was the prettiest baby ever and she was ours. I remember the first time she smiled at me from her crib. I remember how she loved splashing with a rubber duck in the tub. I remember her bluest eyes and her rosy cheeks. I remember how crazy smart she was from the beginning.
I remember when she had the worst attitude about taking pictures, when she battled me daily about everything, when her leggings were sure to have holes in the knees, when she begged me to fix her hair and then immediately demanded I take it out because she didn't like it. I remember her packing her doll Mary Lou around under her arm and dressing in all kinds of crazy mismatched clothes. I remember her calling Joseph "Ophiff" and then "Ophie" and then "Jophie". I remember her locking me out of the house, standing on the other side of the storm door laughing hysterically, in her bathing suit, and then running off to watch TV with Joseph. I remember her climbing her dresser, one drawer at a time, and ripping up books at the top.
So many things I remembered while taking her pictures. I kept looking at the screen on the back of my camera, wondering what happened to not just my baby girl, but the challenging toddler and the little girl that came after. My eyes water even now. I'm so very proud of our Bethany Rose. She is beautiful, strong, level-headed, helpful, take charge, she has the best vocabulary and she loves to learn. She reads thick books, like Sherlock Holmes, and keeps me Googling word definitions. Someone who just met her recently described her as a "no nonsense kinda girl", they couldn't have been more right. She is 12 and I'm still just as amazed at who God created her to be and that she is ours.
I love watching her grow. She has overcome things that didn't come easily for her, she has faced challenges head on and learned to rely on the Lord for answers to hard questions. She has a strength I never knew a child could have and when her strength and desire for control were not enough, she has fought to find her strength in the Lord and peace in the truth that He is in control.
Her and Joseph still share a special bond that only 14 months apart can create. She started tutoring Jenna today, that makes me laugh a little, we will see how that goes. Not because Bethany isn't capable of tutoring Jenna, they just have very different personalities. Brady and her are quite alike so often they butt heads. Anne relies on Sissy alot, she is a challenge in herself but Bethany handles her bossiness well. In return Anne is very attached to Bethany. Laynee asks for Sissy first thing daily, she likes to snuggle with Bethany in the mornings. All the littles can be really strong and demanding and sometimes that makes for lots of fighting but other times Bethany brings order and helps me out constantly. Bethany is dependable and we all appreciate her capable attitude.
I refrain.
I just love her!

Lingering

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 01:29:00 +0000

I just lost a long post I'd typed up... I don't have the heart to even try to redo it...

I talked about the sunlight being golden. I shared how I feel weary, soul weary. Not motherhood weary, not just normal must do's weary, the bone tired weary dealing with the hard things in life and struggling to find the time to sort through my emotions and thoughts coherently. I don't even know what to say about it enough to post it here, especially a second time. Ugh!

This week is fall break, I'm excited to linger and not have to rush to start the days and push my kids all day. I'm looking forward to camping and enjoying beautiful fall weather and making memories with our family.

Tonight the 5 youngest and I went outside and lingered in the quiet woods. We picked flowers and watched the sunset. I watched Laynee drag her blanket, demand her paci and clutch Bunny Boo. I saw Anne's curls shine in the sunlight. I watched Jenna and Brady run to the top of a hill of clover.

I'm making time to embrace the beautiful in my life this week. This week I'm lingering. This week I'm taking time to love the simple but priceless moments that surround me daily. I'm going to breathe in deep breaths of fall air and exhale slowly. I'm going to give thanks for all the good gifts I don't deserve and give God all the hard things I've been shouldering, burdens that make me weary.

It's fall break, I'll be lingering.

Matthew 11:28-39

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Wildflowers and wheelbarrows

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 17:57:00 +0000

As I type, I have two girls on couches watching I Love Lucy. Anne is cackling at Lucy bouncing across the floor, in a bed, as a train pass by. Bethany came down with the stomach bug today that lingered from last week. Anne has to sleep downstairs to be with Bethany because she is used to sharing a room with her. This stomach bug is a crazy mystery for sure. I have cleaned and sanitized, we thought it was done, yet is lives on.

The kids have spent many hours outside over the past week, away from stomach bug germs and in the sunshine. The humidity has dropped and the shade has been cooler. There is a hint that fall is coming. I've been rushing it with soup for recovering bellies and chili for an easy Sunday supper. We have been picking the last of the wildflowers and the Touch Me Nots gave Brady, Laynee and I some peaceful time out of the house this evening. Popping the seed pods is very relaxing.

We are still living with my mom as we continue looking for a house. While we have been here Brady took over her wheelbarrow. He has become very attached to it and pushes it all over the yard, transporting his treasures of limbs or dirt toys from one place to the next. I found the same wheelbarrow at a yard sale, for $10, last Saturday. I brought it home and he was so excited, it was like he got his first car. He told me the next day, "Mommy, my dream was to have my very own wheelbarrow. So this is my dream come true!"
The wheelbarrow now has it's own "parking space", outlined with rocks, next to his dirt pit. It gets lots of washing and shining and the wheels even get oiled. He asked if we could take it to Bernheim!! I love his little boy heart so much. Dirt under his fingernails and between his toes makes us both happy.

Last week was a long one, and this Monday started off alot like last Monday. I had terrible ear pain again but thankfully had my long awaited appointment with an ENT. The doctor said all the bacteria is killed off in my ear, good and bad, so now it is growing yeast and fungus. Lovely. He said this can be hard to get rid of and after cleaning it out, gave me an ear drop, used for athlete's foot, to use 3 times a day for 3 weeks. I also have a follow up appointment to clean it out again next week. Honestly, I am glad it's just yeast. After finally googling it because it has been a long time dealing with it, I was worried it was something more serious. Thankful it's just a nuisance and hopeful to finally get it better, even if it does take a couple more weeks. Ear pain like most pain, is no joke and sets my nerves on edge. It has made mothering harder than usual. I've had a hard time hearing and though you'd think that would be a good thing with 7 kids, it hasn't stopping the constant calls of, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Have a nursing baby to care for has been an added demand when I haven't felt well. I will be glad when this crazy fiasco is behind me for sure.

Hazel is growing so fast it takes me by surprise every morning when I pick her up out of bed. I found out today that is rolling from back to belly. The kids told me. I'm so used to things being moved by someone, I'd disregarded her rolls as one of the kids had moved her. She has started grabbing my shirt by the fistful when I hold her, it makes it that much harder to lay her down.

Jenna found a Hercules Beetle. She loves bugs, even when they pinch her. This big guy was the beginning to her big collection. He is now pinned and on display. The past week Jenna's top teeth have popped through, so cute to watch her new smile take shape after a year of being without her two front teeth.

September hasn't really gone the way I expected, stomach virus and a second month of chronic ear issues wasn't on my agenda. Life is busy enough without sickness. Some one is always running in or out of the house, some one is always hungry and most having a meltdown. There are constant messes and constant demands. There are dirty feet and lots of mosquito bites. We have fighting and name calling, but we also have lots of cute toddler moments and big siblings helping younger ones. Sometimes math is tortuous and other times I can't keep enough books on the shelves for all my bookworms. One thing the stomach bug is good for is making you thankful to be well, it's also good for clearing the calendar and enjoying things like the wildflowers and wheelbarrows.

Bethany's birthday and more

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 02:12:00 +0000

Bethany's birthday last week was a reminder of how fast time goes and quickly my babies grow up and change. It was bittersweet. I think I've probably used that word often to describe a birthday but I know none of them came close to being so entirely summed up in that one word. Bittersweet.
It was a good day. I decided that morning that birthdays don't come often enough when you are a child and must be celebrated to the fullest. We did one of Bethany's favorite things, packed a lunch, loaded up Max, supplies to paint and drove to Bernheim. It was a happy time, we came home and she baked her traditional birthday cake. She requested a doll for her birthday and Joe had insisted on taking her shopping on Labor Day to let her pick one out. On her birthday we gave her the movie, Narnia and a monogrammed bag for her ballet clothes and piano books.
Nothing prepares me for the changing seasons of motherhood and that day we both felt the winds of change smacking us in the face. I pray these days of struggle are the ones that cement a deep friendship in our mother daughter relationship. The ones that prove I'm a listening ear and a compassionate confidant, a shoulder to cry on and a voice she longs to hear say, "We will get through this together, it's going to be okay." I pray I'm the one she knows will remind her of God's promises, that He is faithful, that He is loving, that He will never leave her, that He hears all her prayers and knows all her feelings, that He is good and in control and can be trusted. And I hope she knows when I see her hurting I pray fiercely for her.

There is so much I want to say about this girl of mine, but somehow the years make me quieter when it comes to telling her story and all the details. It seems not my place to share her thoughts and struggles, her hopes and dreams. I just have to say that she is beautiful and amazes me daily. I'm so grateful to be her mother, to walk these new seasons with her. Despite me and all my motherhood mess ups, she is something special.

Birthday pictures will happen soon! September has been packed full with Labor Day, Bethany started back piano lessons, Bethany and Jenna started ballet, Joe and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, school is in full swing and we've had a touch of a stomach virus. I've had an ear infection since July 30th. It's improved and worsened since then. It's caused enough trouble making me take 5 trips to the doctor, 2 antibiotics, 2 ear drops, a nasal spray and a steroid. I hadn't been able to hear well since last week and yesterday the pain was crippling. A trip to the doctor last night resulted in getting my ear cleaned out of all kinds of yuckiness! It was immediate relief and now hopefully the ear drops can do their thing to clear up the lingering outer ear infection.

Hazel is growing and continues to be a perfect baby. She is sleeping through the night most nights, is very content and has a really peaceful disposition. I was sick with a stomach virus and my ear was hurting and Joe took care of her the past two nights. He slept on the couch next to her bassinet and fed her bottles. Last night I woke up to her crying and walked into the living room to see Joe sitting on the couching feeding her in the dark. As I turned to go back to bed, I heard him repeatedly kissing her. She is one loved little girl.

We have had some really amazing weather, the intense heat and humidity have gone away several days and the evenings are getting more and more golden. Jenna is getting her two front teeth and reading so much better. Anne is still a little chatterbox that will not stop talking and is highly allergic to mosquitoes. Laynee is talking more everyday and needs to have her paci taken away but I still have no plan to do so. Brady is rocking Kindergarten, he is so much fun to teach. Today he couldn't remember the name of the number 15 but said, "It's 4 down from 19 right?" Joseph is counting down to archery starting back and deer season, it's almost here too.

I'm so happy September is here, it's my favorite month. I hope to get more blogging in soon. I never make it here often enough and then when I do, it's a struggle to fit it all in at once.

Working for the Lord

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 23:15:00 +0000

It is embed in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary. ~Oswald Chambers

I love my life and I'm so grateful for every single one of these tiring, overloaded days. Beginning to end they are packed full. Days full of to-do's and lessons plans, quick meals and dirty dishes, stained clothes and a messy house, children underfoot, in my arms and by my side.

A few Sunday's back, our pastor preached about working for the Lord. He reminded us of Colossians 3:16 “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” The most challenging thing he said for me was Philippians 2:14-15 "Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

This is a scripture I have quoted to my kids countless times over the years but it has been on repeat in my heart these past weeks as I've been doing my own work. I realize how much I complain about all the work mothering 7 provides me. The spills, the repeat messes, the ever revolving laundry, the cooking and cleaning, the grocery trips, the working through fractions and decimal problems, the early mornings, the sleepless nights, so much work comes with this calling.

A few days after hearing the sermon and being convicted myself, I reminded Bethany of Pastor Bill's saying, "If Christ is not Lord of your work, he is not Lord of your life." and Philippians 2:14-15. She said something about having to clean up the same messes over and over and I agreed. I told her I have the same struggle but I'm working on doing this work as a witness for Christ and that should change everything about my attitude. I gave her permission to remind me when she hears me complain. If God's Word is to be used for training our children, then it is to be used to train and discipline ourselves.

I have noticed that making the effort to not complain about my work leads me to be thankful for my work, it changes everything about my attitude. I am less irritated by my children and their messes, I yell less, I feel like a happier mom. It takes my focus off of myself and puts it on the Lord and glorifying Him in the tasks He has given me. More than that though, it has left me feeling satisfied in my work. At night, I crawl into bed much more content with all the things I accomplished rather than all the things I didn't get done that I wanted to do. I manage my time better, I am motivated to get things accomplished rather than put them off. I am pretty sure I'm more productive now than I was, because working for the Lord looks very different than working for myself, my glory, my sometimes demanding and ungrateful children who don't understand all my sacrifices, who often grumble at me, roll their eyes at me and take all I do for them, for granted. I don't have it down perfectly, I'm not claiming to have it all together, just grateful for the empact that sermon had had on my daily life.

Brady's enthusiasm in school amazes me. He works so hard and often effortlessly. When he makes a mistake it's truly a mistake and not out of a bad attitude or being in a hurry. When I tell him to fix it he says, "Oh, yeah sure!" Or "Coming right up!", with his big BradyBoy smile. ️ This just blesses my heart so much it can't hold all my happiness. I'm trying to hold my breath in case it could change tomorrow but counting my blessings today. God knew I needed this reprieve and that makes me so, so grateful! Homeschooling is hard work, I'm a very imperfect teacher and mother but the payback makes it worth it. I may not get paid in money but I get paid in memories and happy moments. I reap the reward when I go to bed at night mentally drained but satisfied that these days and this work may be some of my best yet.

The sermon I mentioned above is available to watch or listen to online, just click here.

Baby bonnets

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:57:00 +0000

Grandma's sewing machine. ❤️ #motherhoodinspiration #domesticsewingmachine

A video posted by Miranda (@sippycupsandfingerprints) on Aug 10, 2016 at 8:18pm PDT

We have almost finished our first full week of school. It has gone well and I'll have more to say about that later. I can't tell you how many times I've told Joe, "It's alot.", regarding how full my days are managing 3 littles with 4 in school. There really aren't even words for the chaos and the constant multitasking. I needed to clear my mind and heart, so I stayed up late last night sewing a couple of bonnets, one for Laynee and one for Hazel. This was something I wanted to do for me, that I enjoy doing. The only way to find time was to make time. Being that I'm not a morning person, I can't even put two words together for 30 minutes after waking, I opted to stay up late.
I haven't gotten the chance to take pictures with my Canon of Laynee in her bonnet yet, but it'll happen. Tonight, I was just glad to get these of Hazel while she slept. It's crazy that she is 7 weeks already. She must have hit a growth spurt because today was the first day I've noticed her sleeping through day feedings. Tomorrow she goes for her 1 month well visit and Laynee goes for her 2 year.

My Grandma Hamilton bought this sewing machine after her first child was born. She sewed many quilts and countless clothes for her 10 children with it. I really don't have words for what it meant to sew a bonnet for Laynee Kathleen, her great granddaughter and namesake, with it tonight. The seams may not be as straight as they could be on a newer machine but they are the most special seams I have ever sewn. Mothering 7 kids is demanding and leaves so little time for myself. Tonight I left dirty dishes in the sink so that I could do something simply because I wanted to do it. I wonder if Grandma ever sat down to sew when she had a house full of littles because it made her happy or if it was always another thing that must be done. I find great inspiration in knowing that she too did the things that must be done, that she survived. Not only survived but lived a beautiful life made from day after day of doing the things no one sees until it's years later. Last week was Grandma's 92nd birthday, her 3rd one in heaven. Our big ole family of aunts, uncles and cousins, used to always get together and make sure it was special and she felt loved. I miss those gatherings, I miss her content and joyful self. I miss her asking about my life and her always being eager to hold my newest baby. I miss her. I'm sure she would've loved to know she was thought about and continues to be cherished, even in simple things like crooked seams. #legacy #domesticsewingmachine #layneekathleen #motherhoodinspiration

A photo posted by Miranda (@sippycupsandfingerprints) on Aug 10, 2016 at 8:15pm PDT

I don't know why but I think these bonnets are the sweetest things. #layneekathleen #bonnetbaby

A photo posted by Miranda (@sippycupsandfingerprints) on Aug 11, 2016 at 8:47am PDT

LayneeBoo Two!

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 22:25:00 +0000

LayneeBoo turned 2! Was it really 2 years ago since her marathon arrival into this world? Oh my heart, this girl is such a sweetheart I love her! She may not be the baby in the family anymore but my heart still feels like she is my baby, I just have 2 babies now.
Her birthday was really simple. I wanted to get her something I thought she would truly like, not just play with and discard like most things. The only staples Laynee loves are her paci and blankets. She likes stuffed animals, so I bought her a super soft bunny hoping maybe it'll become a favorite and eventually ease the loss of her paci when I muster up the courage to take it away from her. She is extremely attached to her paci..

We all grinned ear to ear as she opened Bunny. She took him out and looked at him, then just wrapped her arms around him and snuggled him under her chin. She has been carrying him around and sleeping with him. I know it's not really important to most people, but this momma wanted to get her something she would truly enjoy and I wouldn't regret spending money on. So far, he is worth the money. :)
This next year has many big changes coming her way, how many changes she has made since a year ago. I know how much she is going to grow up, saying new words, getting rid of paci, becoming more independent and hopefully getting potty trained. I guess that's why I love this in between age so much, not a baby but not far from one either. She still loves to snuggle, loves to nap, boo-boos are easy fixes and aside from a few additional messes, she is so easy to love.
I can't get enough of her crinkly nosed grins, of her big toothy smiles, of her little red curls, of her saying "Happy Birthday" in her little high voice, of her puffy, soft cheeks or of her blanket addiction where one is never enough.

A photo posted by Miranda (@sippycupsandfingerprints) on Aug 8, 2014 at 4:45pm PDT

The morning of Laynee's birthday, I saw this picture on my Instagram and was trying to think if Brady and Laynee have the kind of relationship we expected. He was so loving to her when she was in my belly and anxious to meet her. Later that morning, he gave Laynee a card he had made for her and little brush he'd found around the house. She loves brushing her hair. He was the only one of all the kids to make her a card or give her a gift. All of the kids have special and different relationships with each other. Everyone pretty much dotes on Laynee, Joseph is her go to for most things, they have a really special bond. I can see that Anne and Laynee are becoming bigger buddies everyday, Laynee watches what she does and plays right along.

This was Laynee's first year helping make her birthday cake. She was a bit confused about the big bowl of cake mix on her high chair tray but liked tasting it and pouring in the liquids. Since Laynee loves jelly beans, {calls them "beans"}it seemed completely reasonable to put them on her cake. And, lets be honest, super easy, my style in cake decorating.

Happy birthday Laynee Boo, I couldn't love you anymore! We are so proud of our sweet girl. Watching you grow is one my greatest joys in life. I'm grateful for 6th babies and everyday single day you are in it. XoXo

Hazel One month old

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 19:16:00 +0000

I'm grateful for these first weeks of Hazel's life beginning during summer break. No school and Joe home for days! God is so gracious to give me the time to focus on her and myself while all of us adjust to life with a new baby, without the added responsibility and weight of homeschooling just yet. Things are feeling more adjusted and continually easing into our new normal. The newborn stage is becoming less demanding and I'm feeling more rested. The first couple weeks of postpartum felt as always precious and daunting, it's amazing how much strength and energy I have regained.
I'm also incredibly grateful for such a sweet-spirited and contented baby. Hazel rarely cries. Crying is always for good reason and as soon as she is picked up she stops crying instantly. She sleeps anywhere are 5-9 hr stretches at night more often than not. I still wake up tired many mornings but tired from newborn life is completely different and better than pregnancy tiredness. I do. not. miss. pregnancy aches and pains, sleepless nights, blood sugar checks and weekly doctor appointments. I don't miss not being able to bend over, not able to sleep on my belly, not being able to take Motrin and many other pregnancy ailments. It feels good to hold my baby girl and know that we made it! SO thankful to be through it and enjoy this beautiful gift.
Hazel hasn't been to the doctor for her one month appointment yet, but she sure has grown. I know how fast babies change and still it just floors me how quickly she is growing. I'm daily having to suppress any feelings of sadness and appreciate the gift of her growing.
School starts next week and I'm soaking in every last second of having Joe home to help, sleeping in later, not having to think about teaching reading, correcting spelling, explaining grammar, checking sloppy work and dealing with the attitudes and messes school adds to our lives. I was excited about the new school year until I pulled out all the books and suddenly the mountain of mess on my table overwhelmed all excitement. It's taken me 2 days to sort through and organize 4 grades, ~~mostly~~ completely from my lack of motivation, but it's finally stacked neatly and the pencils are sharpened. I'm feeling a little of the excitement coming back. More than anything, I'm praying for patience for this huge task before me and that the Lord will bless our effort.

This summer

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 22:17:00 +0000

We took our first family outings as a family of 9 to see fireworks.

We've eaten too many donuts and yet, I think we need one more donut morning before school starts back.

I made time for sewing sweet bonnets, I'm a little obsessed.

We visited Spring Mill State Park. It was our kids first time in the park and the pioneer village, but it was the first place Joe and I went together.

We checked visiting the Mary Todd Lincoln House off our places to see in Kentucky. It's an hour tour, the guy took one look at us when we walked in the door and said, "I'm sure it'll be more than ya'll will want to do with the little ones." :) We loved the tour and I'm happy to say no one complained or broke anything. Our family really loves learning history, especially Kentucky history.

We saw Kung Fu Panda at a $2 movie.
Bethany, Joseph and Jenna have been doing Couch to 5K with Joe and my mom. Brady runs the beginning part with them.

We spent a very rainy day at Shaker Village.
I've struggled with having kids old enough to care about what I type into a blog post, {standing over my shoulder now.} Kids who want to know everything about the plans, the goings on and want to voice an opinion in most conversations. Kids growing up includes growing pains for every one.

We enjoyed having my brother in from Guatemala. He is a missionary so it's always a treat to have him stateside. He was able to meet Hazel along with 2 other nieces he'd never met.

We visited Ale8one and took the short tour for the second time. It's Joe's favorite soft drink.
I passed many hours, the last weeks of pregnancy, listening to podcasts from sarahannonline.
I am making my way through the easy to read but good Let Me Be A Woman by Elisabeth Elliot.

We hiked to Natural Bridge and it was HOT! I was 3 weeks postpartum, I can't say I'd recommend it or ever repeat that but we made it and made a memory. It's a pretty trail and I'm sure we will go back.

After Natural Bridge we mostly did a drive thru of Red River Gorge. That alone was beautiful, plus the Gladies Visitor's Center is hands on and fun for the kids.
I prepared most of our school year before Hazel was born and now I just need to clean out last years books and organize the new books. I'm most excited about Writers in Residence for our grammar this year.
I filled in my Ultimate Homeschool Planner for the year and ordered Brady's Kindergarten books.

Joseph was an honorary groundskeeper at a Louisville Bats game. We enjoyed a very hot and muggy night at the ballgame with the 4 oldest. Anne was supposed to go, but opted to stay home because she didn't want to sweat. :)
We participated in our church's VBS, boy does that seem like forever ago now.
I've had chaos going on inside my head and heart. So much to say, but no time to write. It's all stuck, so many thoughts and feelings about my life, the lives around me, the world around me. Heavy, hard issues and hurts. Complicated confusion. I've clung to my daily life, the quiet hours, the simple tasks. I've labored to birth a baby and labored to figure out words to say and words to keep silent.
What a full summer it's been! So much has happened and changed but it feels really good, like it has lasted longer than expected. I've enjoyed the slows days resting but have equally enjoyed family time. It's been such a great summer and I'm grateful

The sibling photo shoot fail

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 00:55:00 +0000

It's been on my must do list these past two weeks, to get pictures of all 7 of the kids. I didn't have any major plans. I gave up high photography goals years ago, but getting pictures of all of them in their sibling shirts before they outgrow them was weighing on me. The way these crazies are growing, and the way life just flies right past, I was determined to get some quick pictures.

Lo and Behold, the night I decide to drag us all out in the back yard, a million, gazillion mosquitoes show up to eat us alive and try to carry us off. We all had bug spray on and they just attacked us by the dozens. I'm pretty sure we heard them laughing as we smacked each other.

I was very determined to get pictures but I couldn't handle it. I called it quits after we couldn't keep them off of us and no one could sit still for a picture and I lovingly got smacked in the eye when someone was trying to save my life from the Zika virus. So we made a memory instead of making some great pictures. I don't know that I'll get everyone back in their cute shirts all at the same time again, so here, check. done. 2ish pictures.

Laynee is at such a cute age. Some one asked me the other day if I'm sad about how big she is getting. She is so doggone cute, I just can't be sad. We all adore her and love hearing her learn new words and talk more and more everyday.
Her hair is coming in thicker and curlier, slowly but surely. I couldn't be happier! It is so sweet that God gave the red hair to my girl named after my grandma. The one in five girls with red hair is the one named after her red headed great-grandma. Then, just these past weeks, we realized that she is most definitely a lefty, our only lefty this far, also like her great grandma, Kathleen. I need a giant red heart emoji!! This just makes me smile!

Hazel is growing and still just a perfect baby girl. She is peaceful and quiet. She rarely cries and sleeps 5 and 6 hour stretches at night. We have been taking several day trips and she has been great at riding in the van. She loves babywearing as much as I do, which makes me so happy. She is awake and alert often, she will just stare and look around so contentedly.

I took Jenna grocery shopping and she convinced me we needed a $3, 6 pack of bubble wands. I figured they would make a decent bribe for my sibling photo shoot. Already promised, despite our short shoot and evil mosquitoes, they insisted on the bubbles. So after I had packed Hazel into the house I turned them loose in the front yard. It was worth all of $3 and more to hear Laynee squeal and repeatedly, sweetly talking to the bubbles as she reached for them, saying, "HI, Bubble, hi!!"

The summer of Hazel

noreply@blogger.com (miranda) — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 00:15:00 +0000

We are all in love with Hazel, she is a perfect gift. This is the summer of Hazel, we can't stop staring into her eyes and grinning from ear to ear. I'm snuggling her up and finding myself counting to 7 over and over. Crazy amazing the things God has for me in this life. I am still pinching myself that I have 7 kids and that this is really my life. I wouldn't change a thing, so humbled to be their mom.