Goodness...

We went into the dentist this morning for a couple fillings and as our brood was walking out a taller woman walked in the door. Micah(3) pulled on my hand and said nice and loud "Boy, dat's a BIG mommy, huh Mamma?!"

Blessings Abundant

The Lord has provided for our family through Pauls faithful work from the beginning. I have such a hard work'n man and am so proud to be his wife! We laugh how every time we find ourselves pregnant, Paul gets a raise. Every time. Remember that song Count Your Blessings?Well here are a few of our blessings just this week...

1. Last night Paul came home with some news that isn't good, but isn't bad at the same time. He was offered overtime for the next 8 weeks, which could be enough to pay for the midwife for the new baby. Very cool, though we will miss daddy temporarily on the weekends.
2. Found a brand new pair of Avia tennis shoes for Jacob for $4.99 at the thrift store.
3. Mom just called and happily announced she found my 4.5 quart baking dish I have been hunting for for months at a garage sale!
4. I went shopping yesterday for Fall clothes(warm ones) for Daniel, after much looking I came home empty handed. An hour passed and Mrs. Sunshine(my tomato sandwich neighbor) was standing there with a heaping grocery bag of clothes of which complete a Fall wardrobe in Daniels size.
5. Went to the Green Barn for this weeks produce stock and they had a strawberry closeout and I was one of the first to arrive. Which means I picked all the beautiful looking berries and came home with 14lbs for $14. Less than U-pick. We quickly coordinated an assembly line, right down to the three year old and the berries were processed and frozen on cookie sheets in no time for winter smoothies!
6. Oh, and my wonderful niece Emily is going to watch the children tonight while Paul and I go on a date...alone.
7. Many more forgotton by me.

California Trip - Day 4, 5, 6 & 7

I couldn't' help but add this. As I was getting ready for bed tonight I noticed these two sitting on the front porch swing together. An 11 yr old sister resting her head on her 10 yr old brother's shoulder, all wrapped up in a blanket as he reads to her from a book. Isn't that sweet?!

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Saturday Day 4 - We settled in at the S's home. We got up and went to a city wide garage sale in Ferndale, CA what a hoot! They put Lynden to shame. There were so many G-sales and so little time. Lot's of fun. The day was packed with activities, food and topped off with a movie(Little Lulu) before bed. This couple's energy should be bottled and sold. They put us to shame!! These two gems get an A+ in my book for hospitality, I learned a lot.

Sunday Day 5 - Laundry Day. To preserve space in our all but spacious trailer, I put four days worth of clothing in a tote for each child. We visited only two laundromats! I don't know if that is something I should be proud of, but we did it. Above is how you pass an hour and a half in a laundromat...

We packed up lunches and drove to Fern Canyon. A BEAUTIFUL hike in a fairytale-like canyon. Blanketed with petite ferns with brilliant colors and itty bitty streams cascading down the walls.

Here we are with the S's all taking a break from the walk and having lunch. Paul doesn't normally take his blanky with him on hikes....Gracie is in the back-pack directly behind his head.

Picture perfect.

I know, I know. It's JUST a mushroom. But you know me and mushrooms. This is the only little guy I spotted and I couldn't help but get down and take a picture of him. The only one around and basking in the sunlight.

We finished the day with a stop at Moonstone Beach for a good hard play, then Trinidad Marina and Dock then a killer buffet dinner. I rarely see my two oldest stuffed and they were stuffed!!!

Day Monday Day 6 - Andy's waffles! Waffles and peaches for breakfast, who could ask for more. Off to the Redwood Forest!

Founders Tree - Was the tallest tree in the world until another redwood was found to be taller.

Still a celebrity in our eyes.

Many more things were packed in this day, We ended with a hot dog roast and the blessing of meeting one of the S's daughters and her family. It is not every day you meet someone who is so like-minded, it was so wonderful to meet them.

Tuesday Day 7 - We went over the S's other daughters home who is a avid collector of M&M's memorabilia. Their garage is tastefully smothered with 50's type decor, a full soda fountain and everything you need to put on one good party. We all had ice cream with yummy toppings and played I-Spy with the walls.

Then came the hard part. Look at all those red eyes. It was so hard saying goodbye to this couple and their family. I am an emotional wreck when I am pregnant anyways and just turned into mush. They children cried miles down the freeway(don't' read this Lorraine) We started wondering if it was even such a good idea to do this. But then as miles and time were put on, everything came back into perspective and we were so happy the Lord allowed us the opportunity to come down here and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

Tears turned to tiredness and soon after this picture they were all napping.

On the road again....Soon enough Micah was entertaining all of us with the frog that lives in his tummy. He has this make believe "frog" that he swallows and regurgitates. At any given time you may ask Micah "May I see your froggy?" and he will make this *noise*(a tasteful noise) and up comes this *frog* into his hand and he carries it around and shows it off. When he is done, he swallows it again until the next day...week...or month.

Mornings like these

Make me smile....

Look what I woke up to! 5 healthy little ShihPoos. 3 boys/2 girls. No heart murmurs, no cleft palates, everything looks good from the onset.

We are having a fun day today. I got a phone call from a friend who announced she was "finally" in labor and asked if her two boys could come spend the day with my boys, what fun! Their mamma has had a really tough time with this baby and it sounds like her labor is no exception. Hopefully by the end of the day they will have #11 safely in their arms at home.

On the baby note, if anyone knows of a tasteful pregnancy ticker/countdown for blogs that does not promote astrology or other, please let me know.

If you have time...

Here is a YouTube link to Pastor Voddie Baucham opposing the issue of having a woman in one of the highest offices in the country (and the world). This is becoming a very hot topic in the church and rightfully so, weighing out a pro-life view vs. the biblical role of a woman is making us all think....and talk. It is 7 minutes long and worth the time. I will be posting more articles as time goes on why my husband and I will not be voting for Mr. McCain/Mrs. Palin or Mr. Obama but rather writing in a candidate that we can vote on without usurping God's Word.

Should Christians Support a Woman for the Office of Civil Magistrate?

Many other thought provoking insights on this topic at Doug's Blog.

California Trip ~ Day 1, 2 & 3

It is SO good to be home! That is a successful trip when you are not looking back thinking "Oh, I wish it could have gone on longer" Nope. We are done. It was great. I am going to post a little each day as I took over 309 pictures(don't worry I will spare you) and I am wading through them for our album. Yikes.

By the way, the Lord graciously answered our prayer and though Daniel had the flu the first 24 hours of traveling it just went away and no one else ever became sick. That just doesn't happen.





Wednesday, Day 1 - We left Wednesday night after dinner at 6:30 pm. We made it to Salem, Or at 1:30am and put down anchor in a good ole Walmart parking lot. Most Walmarts offer free RV overnight parking, so we are well acquainted with Walmarts around the West Coast! Hit the road Thursday morning. We kept driving to nap times. As soon as the little ones got antsy we pulled over and hit a city park for a good hard play.





This picture says it all. How do two parents survive a trip of over 1000 miles with 6 children? Espresso and Jonathan Park played on the Ipod through the van stereo. It kept even Gracie listening to the action. We went through 2 full albums!





Thursday, Day Two - Driving and stopping. We were impulsive. If we saw a beach or anything interesting we pulled over and jumped on it. It was so great to "just do it". The above picture is a forest fire near the I-5 coming in to Sutherlin, Or.





A very familiar sign on the Redwood Highway! We pulled more hills and our van did so well. Never a hitch in her giddyup.





Dutch Brothers! We have heard of these these quaint coffee stands from other Lyndenites. Dutch Bros is a popular stand throughout Cali and Or. They blend their own espresso and it is nothing like anything I have had before. Very tasty! Needless to say, we were loyal customers if one was in town.





We made it!! We had to stop at the sign amidst all the whoops and hollers that we made it to Cali! The kids think they are something special now! Two nice, um, young California men took this picture for us.





Highway 101 is gorgeous. We love it. Isn't this great? Did I mention our weather from Oregon to home stayed around 80 degrees every day? We were in a couple 90's, but it was nice.





Here the kids and I had to jump out on this beach and play, it was too postcard-ish not to. The waves crashing we so loud we had to yell to communicate.

A new game "Wave Running"

Friday, Day 3 - Stayed in Crescent City, Ca. Highlights of the day - seeing huuuge redwoods, beaches, elk heard by road, Gracie tumbled out of the trailer and buggered her nose.

Paul Bunyan and Babe at the Trees of Mystery. Paul even talked to the kids, waved his hand and made Babe do tricks. Nice gift shop and tours.

After the announcement we had passed the sign "Entering the City of Fortuna" This is their response...we made it!

We made to the S's home in Fortuna. Got all set up and relaxed....

If you think of it..

Could you pray for us? Daniel just spiked a fever this afternoon, has quite a headache and his "stummy" isn't feeling well. These things usually don't visit without hitting at least half the kids...or us...and with the close quarters ahead it may not be pretty. Thank you...

A restful blog...

Our blog is going to take a break until Sept 15. We are leaving tomorrow on our trip to California. We are packing and stuffing and cramming the trailer. The van and trailer are stamped by Daddy as A-O.k. and ready to travel. New tires, towing insurance and the like are all in place. This is our biggest Family Adventure yet, I am so excited! If this goes well, next year, the good Lord Willing, we are hitting Yellowstone.

But for now we will be traveling to a couples house who bought a puppy from us back in March. They live in Fortuna, right along side the Redwood Forest, yeah!. We will have blinders on and drive straight down, then on the way back take the children to see the Oregon Sand Dunes in Florence, the Evergreen Aviation Museum(home of the Spruce Goose!) the Tillamook Factory, if time provides and a stop at some dear friends' home whom we churched with before heading for Washington and our own beds..I will miss my big comfy bed.

It has been a chore finding care for all the animals. My sister took the hermit crabs and gerbil, My mother took the parakeets and the fish(though she doesn't know that yet), and our wonderful tomato sandwich neighbors are taking care of our rabbits, dogs and cats and chickens! If you know where I live you are welcome to pick all the dahlias you want. They are in full bloom and will be wasted...oh the shame.

So, unless I stumble upon a puter in Cali, this here blog will sit rather quiet for some time.

So, stay tuned faithful bloggers.