Reading through the Bible

While doing the studies with my friend and going to the Michael Card Concert last week, I decided to take the challenge to read through the Bible in a Year. I signed up like my mom for a daily email because the first thing I do every morning is check my email. The website is http://www.bibleinayear.org/ I have really been feeling a pull back to God over the past few months.

It's Sabbath and dreary out

Today church is being held about 45 minutes away as it's campmeeting. We are going to stay home though. It's about to rain cats and dogs and I don't want to be outside in it with the kids. So today we will stay home and watch Christian/Sabbath programs. I will also work on the next Bible study that I am doing with a friend. God is so gracious, we need the rain. Yesterday though, it started raining while I was grocery shopping. By the time we got home it was POURING, THUNDER & LIGHTENING. I was very glad to be in my big ol' van and high off the ground out of the flooded streets. There was even a downed tree limb in the middle of the road by the house. My phone is up and working again. Thank goodness for phone insurance.
Only 2 weeks til Leo turns 9. Where has that time gone? I think back and am so thankful that God has blessed me with 5 children.

Silly Desiree

Yesterday when I got home from the library, I must have dropped my cell phone as I got out. I didn't think too much about it til later in the evening. In the meantime we had a TORENTIAL downpour. You guessed it, I found my cell phone in the grass next to the car. It somewhat works but not really, so I had to call today to get me a new cell phone. DUH. Good thing we have insurance on my phone now. The past six months has been hard on my cell. I lost two cell phones within 6 weeks and now have to replace another one due to water damage. I have to be extra super careful now, can't afford to keep replacing phones.

Concert

Last night we went to see Michael Card in concert. It was such an uplifting night. He sang songs that took us from Creation to the Cross to the Second Coming. All of my favorites by him. "El Shaddai, Jubilee, Joy for the Journey, Come to the Table and Why" just to name a few. If you ever get the chance to hear him please take the time to go. He challenged us to read the Bible through from Genesis to the end. I believe that I will take the challenge in addition to the Bible studies that I am doing with a friend.
A couple of funnies happened. The first was one that will bring laughter to my dad and mom. Just as the concert started, a dog started barking. It took me back to a church retreat many years ago as a teenager where when the singing started our family dog started howling. The second funny, is my girls decided to strip during the concert. Bekah took her shirt off twice, the second time hiding it in the stroller pocket. Anneliese only took her shirt off once. The couple behind us saw it happening and didn't even tap Brian on the shoulder to let him know. The girls are too funny.

Link to a amazing story

Another website had this story and it brought me to tears of joy and amazement. http://strengthenedbygrace.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/aborted-baby-lives/ God is so amazing. This little boy is a fighter.

Cleaning Update

Living room, kitchen, bathroom and 2 loads of laundry got done. I even swept and mopped the floors:) Brian was like is this the right house? HAHAHA Tomorrow I will be working on more laundry.

Spending the day cleaning

Today, I am in a cleaning mode. The laundry, kitchen, bathroom, living room and dining room. Things will be swept and mopped. So far I have already done the bathroom and started a load of laundry. Leo is unloading the dishwasher so that I can reload and clean the kitchen. There are boxes out in the garage that I want to get brought in the house but have refused to do so since I am not organized enough. The boys will be working on schoolwork and playing with the girls while I am cleaning. I will post my updates later on all my accomplishments.

Schooling

Leo is finally having "math" click. Caleb is still struggling with reading. I am beginning to worry that he is slightly dylesic or at the very least has some learning difficulties. He really struggles with letter recognition when looking at the paper. He knows the sounds if you ask him but putting those sounds to paper is a different matter. He understands math and can give you the answers when asked. We are working through the summer on school and hopefully will work through the difficulties and I am just being overly concerned. Reuben has great letter recognition and math ability already. I think he is going to breeze through kindergarten.

I found out this week that active duty military and dependents are free at the Boston Children's museum so the kids and I will take a field trip there soon.

Laundry

How can 5 kids make so much laundry? It seems just when the laundry pile is finally empty and caught up the very next second it is piled to the roof again. Ok so today, I am working on slowly clearing the pile and getting it put away.

Some other pics of the kids

While we were in Boston a photographer took some amazing shots of the kids. Here is a link to his page. He says the page is a little rough around the edges and a work in progress. Matty S Photography

Boston

Spent the day with old friends visiting Boston walking the steps where our coutries forefathers probably walked. We walked through Paul Revere's House. He is the most famous resident but it was lived in continously for over 200 years. Now it is a museum. We walked through the Old North Church where the signal lanterns were lit April 18, 1775. Old North Church was built in 1723 making it one of the oldest churches in America. It is still used for services on Sunday mornings. Amazing to walk among history and not just read about it in a book. Leo got a book about the Freedom Trail and will tell you all about it.

Our day started out with the kids eating a picnic lunch at Northend Park and then playing in the water fountains. Which was so much fun. Northend Park is one of several parks that has been added to Boston since the freeway has gone under ground. I really am enjoying Boston and the stuff to do down there. I also enjoy being up in our neck of the woods.

Run Down

This week, I don't know if it's the weather or a combination but I am really run down. Last weekend I had a migraine and slept all weekend, now I can't get my sleep patterns adjusted right. I feel like sleeping all day, I just feel really tired this week. I pretty much have been a homebody all week. One night I couldn't take it and I went to the bookstore without the kids. My van has moved exactly one tmie since last Monday to go to the commissary on Thursday. Thursday I tweeked my knee while shopping at the commissary. Not sure exactly what I did but OUCH, I couldn't even bend or fully straighten it that night or Friday during the day. It is feeling better, Praise God.
My goal this week is to drink more water and get some walking around the neighborhood.

Weather

Ok yesterday through Saturday is what I call June Gloom. It was rainy yesterday, today it's rainy, more of a sprinkle, gray day, right now it's 59 degrees out. When it's gloomy like this I have no motivation to get my act together, I really need to get the house organized and some stuff decluttered out of here. So I am not really complaining about the tempatures. Saturday our expected high is going to be 74 and then Sunday our high is going to be 90. Come on talk about one extreme to the next. I really do love the weather here, I know it could have been 90-100 for months already.

Family worship

Tonight Brian & I were sitting outside relaxing while the boys were bathing. The girls were already down for the night. When the boys were done we had them come out and have worship with us. We talked about Noah and the ark. The really special part was when it was time for prayers. Leo went first and his prayer was for the doctors to find a cure for eczema to help Reuben and to watch over his sisters. Caleb followed those same lines and Reuben as well prayed for a cure for eczema. How amazing that even at such a young age they can pray for such big things and not even for themselves but for their brothers (well Reuben prayed for himself but you know what I mean). There are days where Reuben is happy go lucky and not a care in this world the itching and scratching doesn't seem to faze him and other days it breaks my heart because he is in so much pain and aggravation. God is good all the time I know He watches over my kids as they play and deal with their allergies and ailments. Tonight was just a wonderful evening and a reminder of just how blessed I am.

Tattling

Tonight after making Mash Potatoes, I am sittling down and Anneliese comes and says "I good, Look" she points to Bekah who has the Mix and Chop (plastic) licking off the potatoes. Anneliese looks at me all innocently. Oh boy it has already begun at 2 years old. LOL