Stop and smell the flowers!

While glancing at my planner, I am quickly reminded that before long, the beauty of the warm, sunny, summer days will soon be over.

Earlier this week I was on my way to check the garden. As I hurried along at a rather brisk pace, Emilee ran up beside me.

"Momma, smell this pretty flower," she said.

For a brief moment, I contemplated uttering, "Honey, I don't have time. Momma's in a hurry."

But, I didn't.

My quick pace came to a complete halt. I knelt down, looked into her precious, innocent eyes, leaned forward and took a deep fulfilling breath.

Once again, she nurtured my soul.

Thank you, sweetheart. Momma needed that, I thought to myself.

At that moment, I was reminded that the time I have been given with my children will soon be a distant memory, just as these summer days. Summer will end and crisp, autumn mornings will arrive to greet us.

Don't let the precious moments that fill your life pass you by.

Stop and smell the flowers.

You will be glad you did!

With many thanks...

I thank you all for the kind emails, phone calls, and visits! Each of you had something that spoke to my heart, things that I have easily overlooked or simply forgotten. Sometimes, it takes someone from the outside to look in and remind you of the important things in life. Family. Friends. Faith. Dreams.

I am thankful to have all of those. I have an incredible circle of family and friends. My faith, although it waivers at times, still stands firm. My dreams are still within reach and my desire to attain them is still strong.

I took the weekend to think about the things each of you said. Some of them took a little longer to sink in than others but each of them I needed to hear.

Things here are undoubtedly, difficult. Times are about to get even more so. However, I have to keep positive and remind myself of what we've went through already and what is still to come. We are okay. I am okay. All will be fine.

Tim will have two more days of work and then he will be laid off. I'm done with classes after Monday until they resume again in January. I'm about to begin my clinical 3rd rides for the Ambulance as well as in the hospital ER. I'm pretty excited about that. My EMT class is going great and for that, I'm thankful. I have to believe that the Lord knew exactly what he was doing all along.

I have to remind myself that everyone has a dream. Whether it's a big dream or a small one, there is a desire inside each of us. For me to pass that dream up would be doing an injustice to my children. To my family. To others who have to work just as hard as I have. But most of all, to myself.

I will not give up. The good things in life don't come easy. I will continue to fight. I will continue to pursue my dreams, attain the goals I set forth, and be where I feel deep in my heart that I should be. I have to remember that this, too, will be just another stepping stone for me. It will be another chapter in my life that will, one day, come to an end just as all of the previous chapters in my life have. Someday, I will look back on this experience and be able to see the big picture. I will know exactly why things turned out the way that they have.

For now, I will remain thankful. I will stay strong and keep pushing forward.

Thanks to you all,
-Becky

We're okay, really.

Sad, absolutely.
Exhausted, you bet.
Angry, no longer.
So full of hope, determination, and knowledge
that a future full of blessings lies ahead for us.

We're okay, really.

Thank you for the concern you've shown us. Thank you for your friendship, love and support. Thank you for offering us all that you have. To know that we are surrounded by the love and friendship of each and every one of you has helped make this journey in our lives a bit easier.

We are so thankful, more than our words could ever express.

Know that you are loved. All of you.

Out of Time, Energy and Money

As you can see, my time has been spent elsewhere the past few days. I have been blessed to be surrounded with family and friends throughout the holiday. Our time has been filled with so much laughter and many memories to last forever.

On Thursday, A friend and I were on the road at 5:15am and off to shop! I came home and we did the traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the inlaws. I snuck in an hour nap and finished the night and following day shopping until I couldn't hardly move! We shopped until 1am Friday morning, came home and made our game plan for Black Friday shopping. An hour and a half later, we were back on the road again. Our first stop was Kohls, which opened at 4am. We froze as we waited in line for 30 minutes before being one of the first 50 people in the store. I guess that's nothing compared to what we saw the night before. At 7:00 PM there were people lined up outside of Best Buy, lawn chairs, sleeping bags, and coffee mugs. Seven P.M. I don't believe they ever opened up until 6am the next day! That is a LONG time outside in the frigid temps that we had through the night here! (oh, about 20 degrees or so).

We finished up our shopping about 7:00am and headed to breakfast. Throughout breakfast, we must have looked like heck! I don't think either one of us said more than five words. We were simply exhausted. Our goal was to eat as fast as we could and get home into our comfy beds. We arrived home by 8:00am and went to bed! I was up about 3:30pm to get our Turkey dinner in the oven (for a late dinner). We ate about 7:30pm and ended staying up until about 4 am on Saturday!

Saturday we didn't do much of anything during the day. During the evening, we watched movies, played games, ate pizza (leftovers were slim pickings by then), and stayed up until 3AM on Sunday!

By this morning, my body is telling me to sleep. I can't. Too busy. Too much to do. We spent the day and early evening with a friend and her girls. We changed some things around here in the house. Did some laundry. And now, we are enjoying the time together as our little ones are tucked in their beds!!

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday. To finish off my Thankful Days... I am so very thankful for the friends and family that continue to surround me. The memories that we make, the fun and laughter that we share, is priceless!

Many blessings to each of you,
Becky

Thankful Day 6-5-4-3

Miss me?

Forgive me?

Yeah, I'm a smuck! I had such a jam packed weekend that I never made it here to post my thankfulness posts.

So, Day 6: Friday: TGIF! Enough Said.

Day 5: Saturday: I was thankful for warm winter clothes. I sat out watching our football team in the semi-finals and it was soooooooooooo cold. They lost after a very exciting and tough game. 21-14. Boy did they play their hearts out. We were so very proud of them.

Day 4: Sunday: I was thankful for the friends that surrounded us, for the meal we were able to make, and for the R&R I was able to get.

Day 3: Monday: Today, I am thankful for vacuum cleaners. With five little ones running all over, three animals, and everything else....our floors get a bit d-i-r-t-y! I really can't wait for wood floors. In time...in time!

I hope to get back into the groove tomorrow for Thankful Day 2.

Until next time...
-B

Thankful Day 7

Today, I am thankful for heat. It seems silly to those of you who are not at the start of the winter freeze as we are here in Michigan. Today, in addition to the Runaway Beef, I also saw snowflakes falling. We have been so lucky to have held off the frigid temps this long.

I am not one that handles the cold all that well. I love to sled, iceskate, and play outdoors making snowmen. I just hate freezing!

So today, I am thankful for the wood that fills our fireplace tonight and the propane that takes over when it's time to go to bed.

Stay warm!

Thankful Day 8

Today I'm thankful for all of the fellow bloggers who post the yummy new receipes for me to try.

Tonight, I am cooking chicken breasts and this yummy soup that I found on Amy's blog. Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup Amy didn't add the broccoli but I did!! I actually modified the receipe a bit. First, I cut it in 1/2 because I only had one can of chicken broth.

















This is the receipe as it appeared on Amy's blog:
Cheesy Potato Soup

Ingredients:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 (14.5 oz) cans low sodium, fat-free chicken broth, divided (I didn't use low sod.)
3 cups peeled, cubed potatoes (about 1.25 lbs) **I used canned diced potatoes!!**
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped (I added broccoli until I felt it was enough)
1 small onion, chopped (I used my own amount, a handful of finely chopped)
1 ¼ cups 2% reduced fat milk
1 (8 oz) block 2% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used shredded instead just as Amy did)
2% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping (optional)
chopped green onions for topping (optional)
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

Directions:
Whisk together flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth until smooth. **Set aside**

Combine remaining chicken broth, potatoes, broccoli and onion in a Dutch oven (or large saucepan). Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cook, stirring often, 5 minutes.

Stir in milk & 8 oz. of freshly shredded cheese. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Add salt & pepper to taste. Top each serving of soup with shredded cheese and green onions as desired.

**I actually put all ingredients together, including the milk, broccoli, broth, potatoes and onion. (Teaches me to read the full receipe first!) It actually turned out just fine! I did add the flour mixture as directed as well as the cheese. Jacob and I each had a bowl of soup with another 2 bowls left over on 1/2 a receipe. I agree with Amy that this would be wonderful in a slow cooker cooking all day long!

So, thank you to each of you who post all of the new things that I end up trying with my family. We are enjoying the new variety of cooking!

Thankful Day 9

Today, I am thankful for my willpower!

Place a box of chocolates in front of me and I'll push them away. Chips and candy, not a problem. Set a can of Mt. Dew down in my sight and I'm all over it faster than you can blink.

I am a Mt Dew addict.

Last night, I sat thinking about how different my body is now. How much weight I have put on over the years. I understand that after ten pregnancies (five losses), months and months of bedrest, and five children that my body will change. However, I can't contribute all of the changes to the above.

I have a habit of drinking can after can after can of soda. Which, in return, has given me a caffeine high 24/7 as well as a lot of extra weight to carry around.

So last night, I made a goal once again to avoid all soda. Today, I have been successful. I have a case of it in the dining room, cold ones in the refridgerator, and could have had it during our trip out for dinner...but I didn't.

So, Thank you Willpower!

Anyone else out there given up soda? How did you do it? Did you notice a difference in yourself afterwards? I could use some encouraging words!

Thankful Day 10

Today, I am thankful for our local EMS crew. While their fate is uncertain at this point, I'm thankful that they were there when we needed them last night.

Today has been a very long day so I won't have much of an entry. Instead, I am going to snuggle up on the couch and drift off to sleep.

Until next time...

Thankful Day 11

Today, I give thanks for modern technology! Whether it is something as simple as a lighter or as complex as an EKG machine, I give thanks to all of those inventors that made our lives what they are today.

In particular, today I give thanks for:

Every piece of medical equipment that helps to save or sustain the lives of people. Without these pieces of technology, many of my precious children, friends, and family wouldn't be with us.

Helping Hands. While these are not modern technology, without the medical equipment mentioned above, we would only have the oldest helper here with us. So these helping hands, I am very thankful for. Whether they are helping by cleaning or messing things back up, I'm so very thankful.








Washer & Dryer. I'd love to have a couple of these, actually. However, I won't be greedy! I can not imagine having to hand wash clothing for seven of us. I am so thankful I have the luxury of an electric washer & dryer. Otherwise, I'd seriously have to consider a nudist colony! (I'm sure they are thankful for my washer & dryer too!)

A lighter. On this chilly cold Sunday morning, a lighter was all it took to put flame in our fireplace. Well, besides the wood, of course! So today, I'm thankful that I did not to have to rub two sticks together to have heat.

A Chainsaw. Today, the boys and their Daddy are out cutting wood behind the house. They are able to use the chainsaw to make their time outdoors less, in addition to making the chore of cutting wood much easier. Their hard work of cutting the wood pays off when we are all sitting around the fireplace (as well as when we look at the propane bill).

A dishwasher. After spending the evening surrounded by friends, I was greeted this morning by a mountain of ice cream bowls, plates that once were filled with pasta, and numerous cups. After quickly loading the dishes into the dishwasher, I was able to press that magic start button and be done! No dishpan hands today.

A stove, skillet, and electric frying pan. This morning, breakfast was delicious all thanks to the above. Ham, onion, mushroom and cheese omelets complete with bacon just wouldn't be the same had I resorted to rubbing those two sticks together to make fire and cooked my omelets over the top of it.

Digital Cameras. I am so thankful to be able to capture memories like this to be able to share with you all. (More photos from our photo shoot will be posted later)

TV. The pre race show just began which reminds me that I will be able to sit and be lazy the rest of the afternoon. How sweet it is to sit snuggled up on the couch by the warmth of the fire while watching the Nextel Cup Race!

Bloggers, Start your Blogging! Tell us, what are YOU thankful for? You still have time to share.

Thankful Day 12

Today, I am thankful for nap time! Here is a photo from yesterday!


Would you believe me if I told you the moment I finished that previous sentence, my lovely son came around the corner with a cardboard tampon applicator? In. His. Mouth! You have got to be kidding me! Look at the devilish look in his eyes! They scream mischief!



(And for those that are disgusted, let me reassure you that it was an extra for someone who may be here and in need of one. You know, because I no longer have periods! Evil laughter erupts!)

Now, back to nap time.

Jonathon, bless his little heart, is on wheels 24/7. This child has me hopping all day long. Had he been our first child, he would have been an only child. I don't think he ever received the message that mommy can't have anymore babies. He's making sure that there would be no doubt about a future sibling, especially if they were to turn out to be like him!

Nap time is so underrated! We all need a little down time. If given the opportunity, I would take a nap every single day. Tim, on the other hand, will not nap and sees it as a wasted day.

And so, since he's gone for the afternoon with two of the kids, I will take the other three and try to catch a quick nap!

Sweet Dreams, my friends!

Thankful Day 13

Today, I'm so very thankful for friends. Old or new, they each hold a special place in my heart. Whether it is a long cry or a moment that causes you to laugh until your stomach hurts, it's those memories that mean so much.

To my old friends, Thank You! Thank you for your love, patience, support, and of course for just being you! We've come such a long way, creating memories that will stay with me forever.

To my new friends, I hope to have the opportunity to create memories that last a lifetime. And there is no better time to start than now, right?

To my blog friends, Thank you! Thank you for allowing me to sneak a glimpse of your thoughts, your joys and sorrows and your families. Oh, and the yummy food you prepare! Not only has it allowed me to see that I really am not all that crazy when it comes to the dynamics of raising a family but it also allows me to stay connected with others who are doing such a fine job of raising children, living life, and staying sane.

So to one and all of my dear friends, Thank you for being you.

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is officially two weeks away from today. Can you believe it? Holy Gobbler!

So, in honor of Thanksgiving and as a reminder from Carrie, I would like to take the next 14 days and remember all that I have to be thankful for.

Will you take the challenge too? Surely you have so many things to be thankful for.

Day 14: Since fourteen has been my lucky number, I will give thanks for all that it represents. My husband. August 14th, 1991 we started dating. October 14th, 1995 we married. October 14th, 1996 we found out we were expecting our first child. March 14th, 1997 we closed on our first home. We have been together for sixteen years, yet married for twelve. Do you find it ironic that the number between them is none other than fourteen?

So, in honor of my husband, I will list 14 things (even though there are so many more) that he has done that I am thankful for.

1. His proposal
2. Jacob
3. Austin
4. Katelyn
5. Emilee
6. Jonathon
7. Our five precious angels we have waiting for us
8. Worked long hours to allow me the opportunity to be a SAHM.
9. His willingness to step up and help with the kids no matter what.
10. His gentle touch
11. His knowledge
12. His patience
13. His support
14. His never ending, unconditional love he shows the children and I each day.

And so, today, I am thankful for my husband, my lover, my very best friend.

What are you thankful for?