ITS MY LIFE WITH SEVEN.....

Brotherly Love for his little sister..

2010-02-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

This morning I was brought back to my childhood and my heart was full of love:)
Before I was the mother of girls,
I was first the mother of 4 boys:) Those years are so fond in my memory:) I loved having all boys! It was really a beautiful time in my life, one that I am thankful to have had. There was just something special about having all boys. Maybe it was that I had all adoring eyes on me, no other girls to share there affections with..

But I do remember that having a daughter was also something I really wanted to experience..and having my boys have a sister, was just as desired.
I enjoyed being the princess of the house, the only feminine essense around. There was something about putting your lipstick on while looking in the mirror with ‘little men’ in the reflection ,taking in your every move. The way they would give me there fly by hugs as they were busy at play, just to let me know how much they loved me. They still come give me fly by hugs several times a day. I'm truly blessed to be the mother of such loving boys.
As much as I enjoyed it, I still really wanted my boys to have a sister in the most intense way. At the time I didn’t know what it was that drove me to that feeling that something was missing.. I just assumed it was part of being a girl and wanting to enjoy my more feminine side with another in the family. This morning though, as I watched my oldest I was reminded why for me it was.. SO important. There are many mothers that have all one gender and don’t feel that need to have a gender balance, and I so admire those content mama’s. They truly are complete. What drove me was the fact that though I had sisters, I did not grow up with them.. instead I grew up with a brother. I LOVED having a brother. We were very close Kent and I.. We were only a year apart but in the same grade..and shared everything..toys,friends, homework answers;)... He was the best brother a girl could ask for.Relentless teasing, in adoring big brother fashion..and a fierce protective father bear when anyone tried to hurt me.

Being that it was just the two of us, my brother and I learned how to interact with the opposite gender,quite naturally.. Learning each others differences and how to speak too those differences. On the other hand my Hubby grew up with one brother and the dynamics of his house did not lean towards learning a whole lot about that more sensitive, nurturing feminine side. Honestly I must say I feared this fate for my boys..girls can be 'complicated' and I needed them to learn young this lesson;) Some Dads have it covered in this 'department' because they had a sister. So they naturally teach there sons by the way they interact with there wife. Troy was still learning 'girl 101' by trial and error..poor guy it been painful for him at times!:D
I must say our daughters have taught Troy even more than he could learn from me;) Often times I hear Troy say after watching the girls doing something particularly ’girly’.. something along the line of... ‘wow, girls are So different.. and I thought you were just SO ‘off’ all these years.. Guess its normal!!’;) I FEEL VALIDATED in his mind, FINALLY.
Even years ago, I noticed Titus was always so loving and nurturing with girls. He seemed to adopt little sisters wherever he went. He reminded me of my brother and I.. When I'd watch him play with another girl. He wanted a sister in the worst way too.. He’d tell us matter of factly, 'the next one NEEDS to be a sister'.. God knew, and his wait made it all the sweeter. Watching the two of them is something else!Unlike my brother and I, they are 8 years apart..so not only do I get the joys of seeing there sibling bond, but I get to see this older mentoring, protective way he tends to 'father' her. What a blessed girl to have brothers like the 4 she has. I don't know what its like to have a sister as a little girl..only through my daughters eyes.(which is a whole other post;)I met my sisters as an adult..but I do know how great it is to have a brother and it brings me great joy to watch them interact much the way I remember from my years growing up with Kent.
Anyway back to this morning.. Titus and Talia were playing for a couple hours out in the snow..chasing,
throwing snowballs,

tackling and building forts..Watching them brought me back.. he was so tender and sweet, When she fell down in the shrubs and lost her shoe..he stopped the game to see if she was okay..then he..

swooped her up

so careful with her...but then he couldn't help but get her to smile again and laugh..so he did what any good big brother would and he threw her under his arm like a sack of potatoes,and carried her back into the house where the little princess could warm her feet:)
I watched with a greatful heart to God, because he knew exactely what our family needed, and I can't imagine it any other way.

Behind every 'bad' thing, Good is found..behind every good thing 'bad' is found...

2010-01-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

I LOVE, Love Blogging..Its my outlet, hobby, chronological journal of my families life..all our memories..the good stuff and yes, even the bad things.
I HATE, Hate Blogging..My sharing is 'TOO' much for some.. or is it?
..Honest..'too' honest? Raw? sometimes but Real..well yes its my life. Its how my blog started.
My blog used to be these things....
real, honest, sad, happy, thankful, disappointed, confused, clear,
funny, serious, struggles, changes, growth, falls, excitements, stagnant..
You know, just life!
When I started, I shared 'most' all of it ..and for the most part, unsensored..
Then the more people that I invited on here,the more I found myself 'filtering'..Filtering can be good and it can be bad..but in filtering, I lost both good and bad.. This blog has become so dry, I even find myself avoiding it..something I loved to do!
I use to have a different blog and I changed it around the time that I went'dry'..
I think how I got dry was I got stuck figuring out how to share the 'bad'-'good'... and the 'good'-'real'!
We have had alot of struggles in the past 2 years and I didn't know how to be real without sharing 'too much'.. I didn't know how to be 'shallow-good' Either..
it needed to be real in my mind..so I just found myself completely lost as to what to write. Today I realized I lost my journal..its like a scrapbook with no words!
So I hope to get back into it and find my balance;) Not very many or maybe no one follows it anymore, but that doesn't matter to me.
It matters to me though, that I have a place to share it. For the future, for others to relate to, disagree with,learn from,smile at, be encouraged by, and to remember how far God has brought us, where we are, and where we are headed. To keep it to myself and take it to my grave would be a waste of alot of 'Good-Bad';)!

Winter in Georgia:)

2010-01-14T05:51:00.000-08:00

Our Winter Waiting Angel, Talia

Dear God, PLEASE let it snow! Thanks, Talia

ITS SNOWING!! Troy, Lydia,and Simeon and Isaac are all jumping up and down with excitement!

This is what you call a 'southern snowball' ;)

Well okay..they did manage to get enough to roll out this one!

Can you see Simeons excitement as he spent a good hour collecting this snowball pile:)

Lydia seemed to find more in her hair than on the ground!

Wow-ZA, LOOK at this SNOW!

Snow flakes are falling on my tongue...

...gonna catch them.. One by One!

This is what a Arizona girl does when there is snow..When you enjoy the sun, you get out your chair and towel and soak it up.. When you enjoy the snow you get out your chair and blanket and you...

Soak it up:)

2009-10-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

Its fall!! A trip to the apple orchard:)

Slides..pulleys,

Petting farms with kitties,piggies,calfs,sheep,goats,bunnies and chickies...

Tractors..

Lots of Apple cider..

Pop..a rare treat for our kids who savored every last drop;)

Hiding in the apple tree's..

Lots of Big Smiles:D

Lunch time sillyness..
The whole gang, all together..all tuckered out after a run through story book land..home to make some apple crisp:) YUM!!!

September where did it go...

2009-10-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

We started off with our fall birthday girl Talia, turning 6..can't believe my baby girl is 6 already~

Below is a picture of Talia and Gracie. As Gracie and Talia put it.."We are the bestest friends in the WHOLE world!" I must say I like Talia's choice in friends, she is a sweet thing and they seem to bring out the best in each other:)

Talia had about 14 kids over for her first ever real big party..It was alot of fun but will likely be the last for some time to come;)

Talia~ our babygirl, 6 you are..and what a big life you have already lived! You are such an amazing girl and have taught me so much! You were the baby in the family and then became a big sister to Victoria..you took real good care of keeping mommy company on a long bedrest.. all for your baby sister.. you kissed your little sister hello and then kissed her sweet angel face goodbye.. ...You then traveled halfway across the world to Africa to help mommy bring two new sisters home. You gladly gave your right up as the oldest girl in the family and went back to being the baby despite your strong leadership skills and desires. You gave up many of your things to give to them and never complained about anything, despite the fact that there were so many moments you had the right to complain. You have lived in 3 different states in your short life and 5 different houses!Now you are enjoying school where your teachers get to be blessed by all your sweetness. They tell me how sweet you are to all the kids there and that you have such a sensitive spirit towards kids that are sad or hurting..like a little mother you fix them up. You are always so excited about life and seem to have grasped the true meaning of capturing every moment to its fullest. You are my sweet, silly, girly- girl, who taught this mama how to live again..what a gift to others you are!
I Love You, Mommy

2009-08-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Titus my oldest.. going to Highschool..can't believe it!! Am I really old enough?Is he?? When I asked him how it went he said, 'good'.
I said, "thats all, just good?"..and he said,
" its not like it was great or anything Mom, its JUST school!".
No, he didn't let me walk him to the bus stop. I'm sure its because he still loves to hug and kiss his Mama goodbye and maybe he just didn't want his peers to see
;)

The middle schooler's were so funny as they all had parents at the bus stop sending them off.. yet parents were on one side while the students stood quiet and nervously on the other.

Talia was SO.....READY. I was shocked at how confident and excited she was! Especially since last week she cryed she didn't want to go. Once she met her teacher this past Friday though, her tune changed and she was non stop talking about it all weekend and all the way out the door and on the bus. I tried to let her know that she could rest her back at the bus stop by taking off her backpack..but no she wanted to keep it on the whole time she waited. The smile on her face as the bus came around the corner was priceless! She was the first in line and after big hugs and kisses she got on and waved from her seat goodbye!! I on the other hand waved choking back the tears as I walked back home..my baby is growing up!

Isaac and Simeon were both very Excited to start there new school.

First day of School...

2009-08-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Lydia instead of joining the crew on the bus, hopped on a plane for Arizona for corrective ear surgery that was a SUCESS:) She should have restored hearing once the swelling goes down..we think we have already noticed a difference..her speech is MUCH clearer:)NOTE: Lydia had a wonderful first day at school and the second night she woke up shortly after going to sleep (an hour later) thinking it was already time for her to eat breakfast.. silly girl!

Well I did it..
I sent my baby off to kindergarten
and my oldest to Highschool,
and My 'tweeners' of to there first year of Middle school!
New schools for everyone.
The house has been in a state of excitement and anticipation all weekend. Everyone woke up SUPER Early without trouble:) We will see how long that lasts;)
Its strange to see myself as a mother with KNOW kids home anymore. There has always been SOMEONE home with me for the past 14+ years!!! Its quieter than quiet and feels nice, yet at the same time a bit lonely:) No problem with finding things to do..there's laundry, cleaning and cooking, and shopping and all the mounds of paperwork there is to do with running a household with 7 children..and if I get good at budgeting my 5 hours of silence..maybe time for scrapbooking and photoshop-n:)

Reflections..

2009-07-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

One of the great things about moving.. it seems to really offer a time of reflecting. Often times we get stuck in a routine. It may even be a good routine, but none the less we find ourselves only able to keep it going. With very little time to reflect. Sometimes it takes a move(maybe physical, maybe emotional) to get you into focus. Freezing that constant blur of commotion that our lives have been overtaken by, everything begins to take a crisp focus. Reflecting is GOOD!!

Zeme's Latest..

2009-07-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

So Zeme has been asking for straight hair for quite some time. So I decided to let her go for it and get it chemically straightened. She absolutely loves how much easier it has made it, for her to care for her own hair. I love braiding and playing with her hair, but it IS her hair;) Life will be busy this year with 7 in school..so it will free up more time for us both. Either way, she is just beautiful, dont you agree:)
P.S Flat ironing alone takes a good 2+ hours and doesn't last but two hours in Georgia humidity..thus, the need for chemicals.

Summer Birthdays...

2009-07-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Lydia~ You are 8, and Great you are!! You are a ray of sunshine, and sprinkling laughter everywhere you go. Endearing, lovable and courageous! You are an over-comer and work hard to shine the brightest you can! You love what you love, and you do what you LOVE well!! Teaching the 'serious ones' in life, how to enjoy the small stuff even more. Keep Shining bright my dear Lydia, I love you ~Mom

Jacob~ you are 12..you are strong, you are confident in who God made you to be..You think deeply and are never afraid to ask questions. When you struggle you do not give up. You inspire me and others around you to do the same. You love and seek after Truth and it shows in the way you carry yourself in life. Thanks for being YOU! I love you~ Mom.

Psalm 8

2009-07-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Psalm 8:1
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
3: When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place"..

Enjoying summer days

2009-07-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

With all the rock in Arizona, we rarely played in the sprinklers..so this was the younger ones first time doing that. Brought back Wisconsin memories of all the boys spending hours running through the sprinklers. Very refreshing and heart warming to watch them run with such Joy and Freedom:)

Our Trip to the ocean was very refreshing too..

Talia lost her first 'non-wiggled tooth'

2009-07-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

It was wiggly for weeks but she was a bit squeamish to help the lil bugger out. So by the time it fell out, it didn't even bleed,it was just red like in this pic. She was ecstatic to put it under her pillow. She also found out that 2 dollars goes A LONG ways when you go thrift sailing with mama:)

Meet our new family member, DAISY :)

2009-07-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Humid.. HOT!! sWEaT, WET... going to the pool..not going, raining..pouring rain, FUN!!!

2009-06-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

We are HOME!!!

2009-06-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

A pool and a lake for fishing walking distance from our house:)

Its been a week in our new place. The first two days I had a nasty case of food poisoning or something and literally sleeped 48 hours, with only breaks to the restroom:( blaah!! Amazingly things got unloaded off the truck quickly and we are getting settled. We had so much help from my sisters church what a blessing! The neighbors all came over and introduced themselves and are constantly offering help with the kids and gathering school info for us! The kids have already made a few best friends as there are 25 kids in our 6 house culdasac! We aren't even the largest family, there is one at the end with 9 kids:) Its a swim tennis community and everyone seems to watch out for eachother, I love It!!The house is BIGGER and BETTER than the last, God is so good!! Here I was so ready to downsize and now we are paying less than half our last payment with a house we even like better. It is 2 story with a full walkout basement that has a finished area and if you counted it in the square feet it would be close to around 5000 square feet! I love that all the bedrooms are upstairs and that the kids have a his and her bathrooms near there rooms:)Here are some pics:)

Together Again after 2 long weeks away from eachother..

2009-06-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

First view of Dad driving the truck with Simeon and Lydia riding with him. Grandpa was in the PT cruiser following behind him with Jacob and Zemenay. What a relief to all get to the other corner of the USA in one piece!!! Especially for them, as they ended up in a hotel surrounded by drug dealers the night before..Troy had a JOB to convince them he REALLY was NOT interested in scoring anything;)

Look at these faces of excitement to see the rest of the family!!!Wish you could all here the squeals of delight!

Lots of Hugs!!!

'Rainy-thingies'

2009-05-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it rained or shall I re-phrase that..IT POURED!! It was so Refreshing for these former desert dwellers. I felt like a kid again in the rain:) Talia our 'desert diva' says to me as we are driving on the highway with the wind shield wipers going full speed, "WOW mommy everyone has 'rainy-thingies' here!" Guess we never taught her the word wind shield wipers in AZ!! The boys were about to correct her, but I shooshed them right away..its too cute, gotta keep that one in her a bit longer;)

Well we made it to Georgia...

2009-05-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

We have been staying at My sisters Jocelyn's since last Tuesday night. Every day is filled with house hunting. We are currently waiting to hear back on a house that we would like to rent and applied for. Praying it goes through because the truck is due to arrive with the rest of the family on this Thursday or Friday!!! ..I am so ready to live just ANYWHERE at this point!!
I LOVE, LOVE Georgia:)It's SOO Green and beautiful,Hill-y. From what Ive noticed so far.. the people are super friendly and chatty.People seem less rushed and take the time to relax and hang out..not that 'BUSY,BUSY' feeling in the air:) The negatives: BUGS..the itchy scratchy kind!YUCK!!aaaaND.... HUMID!!!!!the feeling of being sticky, clammy, wet all day, HUMID..hard to get your breath, HUMID! Yes in those respects I am a desert girl! I'll gladly trade it in though, for the Beauty-full greeeeeen... aah:)
The Kids are enjoying there time with there cousins.
Talia and Beth are two pee's n a pod! They love dresses and all the girly things.. ALOT! So they hit it off well! We even learned they have the same taste for clothes as they came down in these dresses one morning!

Beautiful Magnolia's and GREEN green grass and trees:)

The boys have been Enjoying the Trampoline and Uncle Andrews Arcade style video game out in the Garage and Enjoying hanging out with there cousins.

My sister got some video of the girls singing and dancing together, hopefully I can get it from her to download onto here soon.

Today we are kicking back and relaxing. If we dont hear back about the house we want by tomorrow morning we will be back to house hunting! Please pray!!!

At Grandpa and Grandmas...

2009-05-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

After El Paso we stopped in Carlsbad New Mexico to see Grandpa and Grandma:) Here are some pics of our time there!

The Kids loved riding on Grandpa's golf cart:)

Stopped by a place with lots of animal collections and Isaac loved the bug exhibit:)

Titus enjoyed making himself a shelf and cell phone tree in Grandpa's awesome woodshop:)

Grandpa enjoyed Talia's Exciting adventures she shared:)

Made it to Louisanna, relaxed in the pool and hot-tub:)

On my way out of Louisanna I got the pleasure of meeting a long time on-line friend, April. She and I got to chat at Mc'd's and it was such a refreshing break! It felt like we had been 'real-life' friends for years..just two moms catching up on eachother's lives. She is even more beautiful in person and I wish we had even more time to hang out:)

On our way to Georgia..

2009-05-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Move for half the family has began!!! Mom, Titus, Isaac and Talia..oh and the bird Paco too!Yes..We left on Saturday and tonight we are in Shreveport LA!! First night was in El paso TX. Here are some pics..

Where do I begin this monster post??

2009-05-09T17:37:00.001-07:00

I have so many things I have been wanting to post about that I kept putting off..Easter pics(late)- First year anniversary with the girls(late;) and.. Our Moving plans.. and our visit/farewell to family In AZ and our time there with My grandparents who got to meet our newest addition(s) of the family for the first time:)... So any way I will start with the Easter pics..

Here Are my three daughters with one of there favorite girl cousins Lily:) Lily lives here in AZ. and we are really going to miss her:"(
My Beautiful and Dear to heart, Aunt Delight and Uncle Pete..Man are we going to MISS THEM!! It has been such a blessing that God had our paths cross this way.. for this time. We really Thank God for this new friendship we have made with them and Thank God for orchestrating it ALL!! I'm sad to say goodbye for now.

.. Here are my gorgeous boys 'hanging together' on A porch swing- MUCH like the time they did right before we made our journey here to Arizona, only NOW there much bigger and our next move is on the horizon!!Back then they were 8,6,4,2:) now they are 14,almost 12,10,8:)

My sweet girl Lydia enjoying her first Easter egg hunt.. In this moment.. she adorned her cute lil 'pout-y look' ;)

Here is my handsome Hubby of nearly 15 years- on the hunt with the kids:)
>

Now onto our first year anniversary of 'gotcha day'..Gotcha day is the day we celebrate Zemenay and Lydia joining our family. We decided to celebrate this special day on the day we actually arrived back in the states.. being this is the day we ALL meet up together:) I had hoped to have a party until I realized I had made our plane reservation for the same day!! Yes, the three girls and I celebrated on the PLANE, again;) I had stowed away a pack of 'pop-a-tin' gum from our time in Ethiopia..It was SO fun to see the girls squeal at the sight of something they had missed from there land of birth:) They had no idea I had saved some for this special day. We flew to Tennessee that day to see my brother Kent who I hadn't seen in years. The girls had a good trip together:) Since we are in the middle of moving... and utter chaos.. I do not have time to put together a video of the first year..I promise though..just as soon as we get re-settled we will do this:)

....Speaking of Move.. Yes its official our house has an accepted short sale from the bank:) Yea!!! The only thing is they want us OUT by the end of may..yes just a few short 3 weeks!! So anyway, we do not have a home yet but we have the PLACE........ GEORGIA:) The northern suburbs of atlanta near my Sister Jocelyn..I loved it there and am excited to be close to my sister for the first time in our lives!!(we did not grow up together) ..So anyway the plan has now changed up a bit do to the fact that the move needs to happen quicker than we first hoped. I will be leaving in a short couple of weeks with 3 of the kids, the dog too;) to go out ahead of everyone and get a house staked out! I HOPE anyway!!
.. then Troy and his Dad will bring the rest of the kids across the country with the 2 moving trucks!So anyway this leaves me with a very short amount of time to pack everything up. I hope I can get it all done so I don't have to leave Troy with too much to pack.
... Now for our fun time with my family here in Arizona..Aunt delights family AND a surprise Visit from my Grandpa and Grandpa:) How awesome was that to see them and to have the girls meet there Great Grandparents for the first time:) Here's some pics of our time together...

On the way home from Church The Girls got to ride in Uncle Pete's Convertible:)The Boys had there turn on the way TOO church:)

Here are my Grandpa and Grandma, I Love them Dearly and always feel blessed when I get to see them again! They are 87&85 years old, and WOW, they are in great health and condition for there age:) They are alot like parents to me since I lived with them throughout my teen years. It was wonderful for them to get to meet my newest 2 daughters:)

Here are the kids with there Cousin Lily and there Dad playing together in the pool:)

Here are my Grandparents with our family:)

Silly kids can't stand one more 'pose'!

My grandparents with the kids..

Well if your still reading, thats it for now! Keep checking for posts of our journey along the way to Georgia!! Goodbye Arizona, its been a wild ride;)

Titus and the kids created there own movie..

2009-05-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

They added the sound after the recording and I must admit its pretty funny!!!..Please leave a comment to let them all know how you liked there preview;)Enjoy..(ha Ha! Im still laughing, my kids are-.. well.. it speaks for itself!!.. )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz0-fZloKUQ

Trip to Tenessee/Georgia..visit my brother..

2009-05-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well it was 14 years since I last saw My brother..and well we both had kids since then. I got to meet my neices and nephew for the first time. It was so fun to see little glimpses of my own kids in looks and mannerisms in them.. Funny how strong genetics are. The girls had fun hanging out for a few days and Jordan was sad all the boy cousins weren't there to keep him company. He is the same age as my Simeon, and looks a whole lot like him too..it cracked me up at how they even act similiar:) I was so busy taking it all in that I hardly took any pics! I will post the few shots I got though..

*Well here is a pic of the area we plan to move to..and no its NOT tennessee;)I fell in love with it, the boys and Troy are gonna love it too! They are already excited and its real close to lots of family:)

*Here is my Brother Kent, hasn't changed much! It was so fun to hang out together..just sad it took this long to reconnect! It will be great to live near each other again:)

*Talia, Lydia and Jordan..

*Jordan with baby sis Madison:)

*Jordan with the same charming pouty face and long eyelashes as his Cousin Simeon!!These two 8 year old cousins will have a blast together.

*Love and kisses from Talia who adored her baby cousin Madison.

*Talia, Mikayla, and Madison..

*All the girl cousins together:)

Our first Easter with Zemenay and Lydia..

2009-04-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, we were packing our bags for Africa, Ethiopia:) Now we sit watching our girls do the typical american traditions of easter:) They are so full of questions..what is the celebration about? what do we do? Why?
We started out with talking about the Easter story this morning before Troy had to go to work..then tonight we colored Easter eggs and we also made our own resurrection easter eggs. Scavanger style, looking for each item for the eggs. To make the day even more special, the girls USA birth certificates FINALLY came in the mail! Yeah, they are officially US citizens:) Now we can apply for S.S numbers so we can do the taxes:) YEAH!!!! and Easter celebration barely begun..more to come soon but till then here are some pics...

A new family Blog for new adventures in our life....

2009-03-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Decided that since our life has taken some 'turns' it was time for a blog face lift as well;) I have been asked lately from others,our blog addy..and when I have to say elonensrgrowing.. I realize we are now complete in our family unless God has other plans that we aren't aware of;) I'll never under estimate God.... anyway, Well its just time for a change!!!
Also there have been some big changes in our life that seem to warrant a new 'look' to this blog;) So here it is our new family blog:):):) For new beginnings:):):):):):):)