Gosh, I'm terrible at this...

It's not that I haven't been online. I just haven't had the desire to share the minutia of our days, I guess.
So, as of today, I am 35 weeks 4 days pregnant with little Declan True. I'm feeling great overall. My hips are starting to hurt while I sleep and my back only if I sit to long. And I'm getting tired earlier and earlier in the evenings. But still, nothing to complain about. :o)
Milo turned 7 on Sept 13th!

He' doing fantastic with school. Honestly, Calvert's 1st grade is a little too easy for him. But I'm pressing on and just adding a page of copy work and a math worksheet to each day and letting him read through his included Reading text books as fast as he wants and he hasn't gotten bored so far.
Autry has been asking to take his training wheels off his bike pretty much since he got the bike for his 5th bday in June. But I was the one dragging my feet about it. I finally consented and the boy was riding perfectly the first day. None of that running behind them holding the seat for balance stuff. Silly Mama. He did run into and knock off a neighbors mailbox, though. :o/ lol (we fixed it, btw.)

He is also doing fantastic in school and loves all the hands on activities. My only struggle is figuring out what to turn in as a work sample for Social Studies. ?? The Calvert is a literature based curric versus last years history based WinterPromise. So, that's where I'm having to supplement for him.

Finlay is just fantastic. He is so sweet and sensitive and empathetic and curious and I can't take his cuteness. It's just overwhelming. I just want to eat him. We do alot of snuggling, reading, tickling and imaginative play like knights and super heroes.
These great photos were a gift from my bestie, Delane, who came down to visit and take some maternity photos with her new camera.

Thank you, Delane!!
My baby shower is next weekend and I can't wait to get together with all my friends and family and have fun. :o)
Matthew is going back to Indiana next week on Oct 3rd! It's been way to long since he's been there so, I'm so happy he's able to go.

Recipe for preserving a husband

I saw this in a christian moms forum I belong to. A lady spotted this in the Jams/Jellies section of her new Amish cookbook. lol

Be careful of your selection. Do not choose too young. When once selected, give entire thought to preparation to domestic use. Some insist on keeping them in a pickle, others constantly getting them in hot water. This makes them sour, hard and sometimes bitter. Even in poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity, keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion, and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

30 Days of Blogging v2

Day 02- The meaning behind my blog name

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1

30 Days of Blogging

In an effort to get back on the wagon, I'm going to be following the "30 Days of Blogging"calendar. So here we go. Day 01- A recent picture of me and 15 interesting facts about myself.

1. I am surprisingly conservative. 2. Cooking is a stress reliever for me. 3. I'm very friendly and have many close acquaintances but very few real friends. 4. I love making things that have a use or purpose. Knitting, quilting and making clothes make me happy. 5. I really struggle with having enough patience. 6. I would love to have a daughter but I'm also afraid of having a little me. 7. I think 5 kids is the perfect #. 8. I love the structure of classical curricula AND the ease and nurturing aspect of Waldorf toys and activities. 9. I'm always the last one ready to go anywhere or do anything. 10. I honestly wish I was a better house keeper. 11. I knew I would marry my husband within a week of meeting him. I never had any doubt in my mind about that one. 12. I love sleeping. No really. I could sleep all day. 13. The Pretenders are my favorite band of all time. 14. Sour Patch Kids are my favorite treat. 15. I really struggled to come up with these. And they're probably not all that interesting but, oh well.

Tuesday with Papa

We got up early (for us anyway) and got ready real quick to go out to breakfast. And Daddy let Alvin drive.

I figured we'd go to this little local mom and pop cafe we found recently but Matthew had much grander plans for our day. We headed down to Hillcrest for some Hash House A Go Go "twisted farm food."

This is a pic of what I COULDN'T finish if my life depended on it, but delicious Biscuits and Gravy.
Then since we over fed the meter we walked down to Buffalo Exchange and I scored two new tank tops on the cheap.But then we had to practically run back to the car to make it back in time. lol
After getting all loaded up in the car again, Matthew says, "Let's go see your dad at work." :o) Now, for those of you who don't know him, my Dad works for the Navy on North Island. I haven't been on base in forever and the kids hadn't ever gone. So, he called up my Dad to see if we could swing by and 20 minutes later we began the tour. We started in my Dad's shop where they build/ load with explosives the ejection seats for the jets. Then we got to walk through the hangar where they rebuild to perfection the jets that need love. After that we got to visit the airplane graveyard and hangar where volunteers restore to mint (though not operational) condition for the Aerospace museum. They were working on a WWII fighter plane that had been sunk in Lake Michigan for the last 50 years and was just pulled up. It was incredible to see and talk to these men who were so knowledgeable. But the best was yet to come.
My Dad had made a call to a friend and all the boys got to sit in the "display bird," an F-18, on the flight line.

The boys were so excited and all agreed, "Papa's work is sooo much cooler than Nana's work!" No offense Nana. hahahaha
Then, per my request we stopped at Ikea for a few things and the big boys played in the kids playroom while we shopped. Poor Fin slept in the stroller the whole time.
Then Rancho's for supper. And a visit to Nana and Papa's house completed our day. It was such a wonderful day. Praise God!